Also known as: attenuated · attenuation doctrine · taint attenuation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A doctrine under which evidence obtained following an unconstitutional search or seizure remains admissible when intervening circumstances have sufficiently broken the causal connection between the illegality and the discovery of the evidence. Courts assess temporal proximity between the violation and the evidence, the presence of intervening circumstances, and the purpose and flagrancy of official misconduct. Purposeful or flagrant misconduct weighs strongly in favor of exclusion.
Officer Jones stops Angela Acosta without reasonable suspicion. During the stop he learns of an outstanding valid arrest warrant unrelated to the stop. He arrests Acosta and finds drugs on her person. The discovery of the preexisting warrant constitutes an intervening circumstance that attenuates the taint of the initial stop, rendering the drugs admissible.
State investigators unlawfully detain nurse Alan Ackerman without probable cause. Two days later Ackerman appears at the station with counsel and voluntarily surrenders records and passwords. The passage of time and his independent counseled decision constitute intervening circumstances that dissipate the taint, making the records admissible.
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Officers executing a warrant on Antonio Alvarado's home fail to knock and announce. They seize evidence inside. The interests protected by the knock-and-announce rule are too attenuated from the evidentiary use of the seized items to justify suppression under the exclusionary rule.
Police arrest Anika Anand without probable cause. Several hours later she receives Miranda warnings, consults friends, and confesses. The confession must be excluded because the causal chain from the unlawful arrest has not been broken by sufficient intervening circumstances.
A public hospital collects urine samples from pregnant patients without warrants or consent under a policy coordinated with police. The connection between the testing and any subsequent prosecution is too attenuated to support a Fourth Amendment claim by the patients.
Anthony Arnold assists in an armed robbery knowing others carry guns but does not intend to kill. A victim dies during the robbery. Arnold's participation is sufficiently attenuated from the killing itself that the death penalty cannot be imposed without proof of intent to kill.
Courts evaluate the temporal proximity between the illegality and the discovery of evidence, the presence of intervening circumstances, and the purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct. Purposeful or flagrant misconduct weighs strongly against a finding of attenuation.
Supporting sources
Discovery of a valid outstanding warrant constitutes an intervening circumstance that, when combined with at most negligent police conduct and the absence of purposeful or flagrant violation, can attenuate the taint and render evidence found during the subsequent lawful arrest admissible.
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The purposes of the knock-and-announce rule, protecting life, property, privacy, and dignity, are too attenuated from the evidentiary use of seized items. The high costs of exclusion outweigh its marginal deterrent benefit when alternative remedies such as civil suits exist.
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Repeated Miranda warnings, the passage of several hours, and consultation with friends are insufficient to attenuate the taint when a confession is the direct result of the unlawful arrest and the causal chain remains unbroken.
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…importance to our economic well-being. While we do not doubt the importance of education, the Government’s argument is too attenuated. To uphold the Government’s contention, we would have to pile inference upon inference in a manner that would bid fair to convert congressional authority under the Commerce Clause to a…