The Supreme Court took judicial notice of an excuse often heard in the workplace: The computer did it.

The court ruled 7-2 that Phoenix police shouldn't be penalized for an illegal search triggered by a computer error.

Issac Evans was stopped by police after driving the wrong way on a one-way street in front of the police station in January, 1991. A routine computer search turned up an outstanding warrant against Evans, prompting police to search the car and find marijuana.

The computer turned out to be wrong, there was no outstanding warrant, and Evans sued to have the marijuana evidence tossed out under the "exclusionary rule" arguing that it was improperly obtained.

No way, said the court, asserting the police acted in "good faith" based on an error made by some distant court clerk or computer operator.