Rochin Rule Law and Legal Definition
Rochin rule is a defunct principle that evidence obtained unconstitutionally is admissible against the accused unless the evidence was obtained in a manner that shocks the conscience. The standard was set in the case Rochin v. California, 342 U.S. 165 (U.S. 1952) where the suspects stomach was pumped to obtain the illegal drugs swallowed by the suspect. The court observed that “ the proceedings by which the conviction was obtained do more than offend some fastidious squeamishness or private sentimentalism about combating crime too energetically. This is conduct that shocks the conscience. Illegally breaking into the privacy of the petitioner, the struggle to open his mouth and remove what was there, the forcible extraction of his stomach's contents this course of proceeding by agents of the government to obtain evidence is bound to offend even hardened sensibilities.” This case was decided before the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule was made applicable to the states.
