One of my favorite subject matters I covered in law school while taking criminal law was the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree! This is a very important doctrine everyone should be aware of when they are charged with any crime in West Michigan Courts. There are many cases were this idea can apply to your case and may results in getting evidence the prosecutor wants to use against you thrown out of court.
This important doctrine states any evidence has been gathered illegally and actions that are illegal can not be used as evidence. Even if the evidence is not illegal, this evidence can not be used in court against you because it never should have been gathered in the first place.
No Search Warrant Can Be Fruit of The Poisonous Tree
Let’s make up an example. One day the police show up at your door and ask you if they may enter your house. Sadly, you have been embezzled money in your house. You do not want the police to know this. You took this money from your job. The police at this moment have no idea you have this money in your house. You ask them if they have a warrant and they tell you that they do not.
You politely tell the law enforcement officers that you do not want them in your house. However, the officers proceed to come inside your house anyways.
This action by law enforcement is an illegal search becaue they do not have a valid warrant. During this illegal search, they find the embezzeled money and link it to your place of employment. They then present this evidence to the local prosecutor who charges you with felony embezzelment. Because of the doctrine of the poisonous tree, that evidence is not allowed in court. The police officers should not have been in your home. They violated the law by entering your house without permission or a warrant.
This is just one example, of many that can apply to all kinds of different criminal cases. You need to know what your legal options are when you are facing serious criminal charges. If the police have gathered evidence against you by the fruit of the poisonous tree, Shawn can get this evidence thrown out in court and this may get your criminal charges completely dropped!
This important doctrine was established by the United States Supreme Court in 1920 by the decision in Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States.
At the time, this doctrine was not called the fruist of the poisonous tree. Justice Frankfurter came up with this legal phrase in 1939 in his opinion in Nardone v. United States.
Fruit of The Poisonous Tree Exceptions
This doctrine is has three important exceptions. Evidence will be allowed in at court and not excluded if:
- if it was discovered from by another party that did not engage in illegal activity;
- its discovery was inevitable. For example, another law enforcement agency shows up with a valid search warrant a minute after the other law enforcement agency illegally entered your house.
- There is attenuation between the illegal activity and the discovery of the evidence.
As always, if you have any questions regarding the fruit of the poisonous tree, please call Shawn today at 616-438-6719. The call is free. Will you be?