property will be subject to periodic inspections undertaken for specific purposes." Id., at 600.

In Donovan, the Court pointed out that a valid inspection scheme must provide, "in terms of the certainty and regularity of its application . a constitutionally adequate substitute for a warrant." Id., at 603. In Marshall v. Barlow's, Inc., 436 U. S. 307 (1978), to be sure, the Court held that a warrantless administrative search under § 8(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was invalid, partly because the "authority to make warrantless searches devolve[d] almost unbridled discretion upon executive and administrative officers, particularly those in the field, as to when to search and whom to search." Id., at 323." In contrast, the Court in Donovan concluded that the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 imposed a system of inspection that was sufficiently tailored to the problems of unsafe conditions in mines and was sufficiently pervasive that it checked the discretion of Government officers and established "a predictable and guided federal regulatory presence." 452 U. S., at 604.

Under the standards established in these cases, Detective McNally's reliance on the Illinois statute authorizing warrantless inspections of licensees was objectively reasonable. In ruling on the statute's constitutionality, the Illinois Supreme Court recognized that the licensing and inspection scheme furthered a strong public interest, for it helped to "facilitate the discovery and prevention of automobile thefts." 107 Ill. 2d, at 116, 481 N. E. 2d, at 707. The court further concluded that it was "reasonable to assume that warrantless adminis

"The Court expressly limited its holding in Barlow's to the inspection provisions of the Act. It noted that the "reasonableness of a warrantless search... will depend upon the specific enforcement needs and privacy guarantees of each statute," and that some statutes "apply only to a single industry, where regulations might already be so pervasive that a Colonnade-Biswell exception to the warrant requirement could apply." 436 U. S., at 321.

trative searches are necessary in order to adequately control the theft of automobiles and automotive parts." Ibid. The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, upholding the amended version of the statute, pointed out that used-car and automotive-parts dealers in Illinois "are put on notice that they are entering a field subject to extensive state regulation." See Bionic Auto Parts & Sales, Inc. v. Fahner, 721 F. 2d, at 1079. The Illinois statute was thus directed at one specific and heavily regulated industry, the authorized warrantless searches were necessary to the effectiveness of the inspection system, and licensees were put on notice that their businesses would be subject to inspections pursuant to the state administrative scheme.

According to the Illinois Supreme Court, the statute failed to pass constitutional muster solely because the statute "vested State officials with too much discretion to decide who, when, and how long to search." 107 Ill. 2d, at 116, 481 N. E. 2d, at 707. Assuming, as we do for purposes of this case, that the Illinois Supreme Court was correct in its constitutional analysis, this defect in the statute was not sufficiently obvious so as to render a police officer's reliance upon the statute objectively unreasonable. The statute provided that searches could be conducted "at any reasonable time during the night or day," and seemed to limit the scope of the inspections to the records the businesses were required to maintain and to the business premises "for the purposes of determining the accuracy of required records." Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 95%, ¶5-401(e) (1981). While statutory provisions that circumscribe officers' discretion may be important in establishing a statute's constitutionality, the additional restrictions on dis

15

15 For example, the amended version of the Illinois statute, upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, incorporated the following: (1) the inspections were to be initiated while business was being conducted; (2) each inspection was not to last more than 24 hours; (3) the licensee or his representative was entitled to be present during the inspection; and (4) no more than six inspections of one business location could be conducted

cretion that might have been necessary are not so obvious that an objectively reasonable police officer would have realized the statute was unconstitutional without them. 16 We therefore conclude that Detective McNally relied, in objective good faith, on a statute that appeared legitimately to allow a warrantless administrative search of respondents' business."

within any 6-month period except pursuant to a search warrant or in response to public complaints about violations. Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 95, ¶5-403 (1985).

16 Indeed, less than a year and a half before the search of respondents' yard, the Supreme Court of Indiana upheld an Indiana statute, authorizing warrantless administrative searches of automobile businesses, that was similar to the Illinois statute and did not include extensive restrictions on police officers' discretion. See State v. Tindell, 272 Ind. 479, 399 N. E. 2d 746 (1980).

"Respondents also argue that Detective McNally acted outside the scope of the statute, and that such action constitutes an alternative ground for suppressing the evidence even if we recognize, as we now do, a goodfaith exception when officers reasonably rely on statutes and act within the scope of those statutes. We have observed, see n. 5, supra, that the trial court indicated that McNally may have acted outside the scope of his statutory authority. In its brief to the Illinois Supreme Court, the State commented that "[McNally's] search was properly limited to examining the records and inventory of the Action Iron and Metal Company." Brief for Appellant in No. 60629 (Sup. Ct. Ill.), p. 26. The Illinois Supreme Court, however, made no reference to the trial court's discussion regarding the scope of McNally's authority; instead, it affirmed the suppression of the evidence on the ground that a good-faith exception was not applicable in the context of the statute before it.

We anticipate that the Illinois Supreme Court on remand will consider whether the trial court made a definitive ruling regarding the scope of the statute, whether the State preserved its objection to any such ruling, and, if so, whether the trial court properly interpreted the statute. At this juncture, we decline the State's invitation to recognize an exception for an officer who erroneously, but in good faith, believes he is acting within the scope of a statute. Not only would such a ruling be premature, but it does not follow inexorably from today's decision. As our opinion makes clear, the question whether the exclusionary rule is applicable in a particular context depends significantly upon the actors who are making the relevant decision that the rule is designed to influence. The answer to this question might well be different when police officers act outside the scope

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O'CONNOR, J., dissenting

Accordingly, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Illinois is reversed, and the case is remanded to that court for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

JUSTICE MARSHALL, dissenting.

It is so ordered.

While I join in JUSTICE O'CONNOR's dissenting opinion, I do not find it necessary to discuss the Court's holdings in United States v. Calandra, 414 U. S. 338 (1974), Stone v. Powell, 428 U. S. 465 (1976), and United States v. Janis, 428 U. S. 433 (1976). See post, at 368-369. Accordingly, I do not subscribe to that portion of the opinion.

JUSTICE O'CONNOR, with whom JUSTICE BRENNAN, JUSTICE MARSHALL, and JUSTICE STEVENS join, dissenting.

The Court today extends the good-faith exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule, United States v. Leon, 468 U. S. 897 (1984), in order to provide a grace period for unconstitutional search and seizure legislation during which the State is permitted to violate constitutional requirements with impunity. Leon's rationale does not support this extension of its rule, and the Court is unable to give any independent reason in defense of this departure from established precedent. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.

The Court, ante, at 348, accurately summarizes Leon's holding:

"In Leon, the Court held that the exclusionary rule should not be applied to evidence obtained by a police officer whose reliance on a search warrant issued by a neutral magistrate was objectively reasonable, even though the warrant was ultimately found to be defective."

of a statute, albeit in good faith. In that context, the relevant actors are not legislators or magistrates, but police officers who concededly are "engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime." Johnson v. United States, 333 U. S. 10, 14 (1948).

O'CONNOR, J., dissenting

480 U. S.

The Court also accurately summarizes the reasoning supporting this conclusion as based upon three factors: the historic purpose of the exclusionary rule, the absence of evidence suggesting that judicial officers are inclined to ignore Fourth Amendment limitations, and the absence of any basis for believing that the exclusionary rule significantly deters Fourth Amendment violations by judicial officers in the search warrant context. Ibid. In my view, application of Leon's stated rationales leads to a contrary result in this case.

I agree that the police officer involved in this case acted in objective good faith in executing the search pursuant to Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 95%, ¶5-401(e) (1981) (repealed 1985). Ante, at 360. And, as the Court notes, ante, at 357, n. 13, the correctness of the Illinois Supreme Court's finding that this statute violated the Fourth Amendment is not in issue here. Thus, this case turns on the effect to be given to statutory authority for an unreasonable search.

Unlike the Court, I see a powerful historical basis for the exclusion of evidence gathered pursuant to a search authorized by an unconstitutional statute. Statutes authorizing unreasonable searches were the core concern of the Framers of the Fourth Amendment. This Court has repeatedly noted that reaction against the ancient Act of Parliament authorizing indiscriminate general searches by writ of assistance, 7 & 8 Wm. III, c. 22, §6 (1696), was the moving force behind the Fourth Amendment. Payton v. New York, 445 U. S. 573, 583-584, and n. 21 (1980); Stanford v. Texas, 379 U. S. 476, 481-482 (1965); Boyd v. United States, 116 U. S. 616, 624-630 (1886). James Otis' argument to the royal Superior Court in Boston against such overreaching laws is as powerful today as it was in 1761:

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"... I will to my dying day oppose with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of