Also known as: fruit of the poisonous tree · fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine · poisonous tree doctrine · derivative evidence exclusion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Derivative evidence obtained through exploitation of an unconstitutional search or seizure. The doctrine requires exclusion of evidence later discovered by use of information gained in the initial illegality unless the connection to the violation has become sufficiently attenuated or an exception such as independent source or inevitable discovery applies.
Traffic officers unlawfully opened the glove compartment of a dealership vehicle owned by Sunrise Auto LLC and found a notebook listing storage units. They used the notebook to obtain a warrant and seized altered dashboards from the units. The dashboards must be suppressed because they were located only through the initial illegal search.
Cultural heritage officers planted a hidden listening device without a warrant in the back office of Ortiz Gallery LLC and overheard manager Lena Ortiz discuss moving paintings. They obtained a warrant based solely on that conversation and recovered the paintings. The paintings are inadmissible because they resulted directly from the unlawful surveillance.
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Detectives elicited a statement from a suspect in violation of his rights and learned the location of a child's body. Officers later searched the area and recovered the body. The body evidence is admissible under the inevitable discovery exception because search teams were already closing in on the location through independent efforts.
Federal agents conducted an illegal wiretap of conversations involving multiple defendants. One defendant moved to suppress evidence derived from the tap even though his own conversations were not recorded. The court must first determine whether that defendant has standing before applying the fruit of the poisonous tree analysis to the derivative evidence.
Officers obtained an unwarned statement from a suspect revealing the location of a firearm. They then seized the gun. The physical firearm is admissible because the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine does not extend to physical evidence obtained in violation of Miranda warnings alone.
Officers made an unlawful entry into an apartment and observed drug activity. They later obtained a search warrant based on information wholly independent of the entry and seized evidence. The evidence is admissible because the warrant rested on an untainted source that broke any causal link to the initial illegality.
No. The doctrine requires suppression only of evidence obtained by exploitation of the initial illegality. Evidence discovered through an independent source, inevitable discovery, or after sufficient attenuation of the taint remains admissible.
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Courts examine the temporal proximity between the illegality and the discovery of the evidence, the presence of intervening circumstances, and the flagrancy of the official misconduct. When these factors show the evidence was obtained by means sufficiently distinguishable from the primary illegality, the taint dissipates.
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A later warrant does not automatically purge the taint. If the warrant affidavit relies on information obtained through the illegal search, the resulting evidence remains fruit of the poisonous tree unless an independent source or other exception applies.
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…discovery exception to the exclusionary rule. Williams contends that evidence of the body's location and condition is "fruit of the poisonous tree," i. e. , the "fruit" or product of Detective Leaming's plea to help the child's parents give her "a Christian burial," which this Court had already held equated to interrogation. He…