Explain the exclusionary rule and the "fruit of the poisoned tree" doctrine. Describe how these rules/concepts affect police officers

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• The exclusionary rule prohibits the use of illegally seized evidence. According to this rule, any evidence obtained by an unreasonable search or seizure is inadmissible against a defendant in a criminal trial.
• It doesn't matter how incriminating the evidence, it usually cannot be introduced at a trial if illegally obtained.
• Furthermore, any physical or verbal evidence police are able to acquire by using illegally obtained evidence is known as the "fruit of the poisoned tree" and is also inadmissible. For example, if the police use the existence of a bloodstained knife to get a confession out of a suspect, that confession will be excluded as well.
• One of the implications of the exclusionary rule is that it forces police to gather evidence properly. If they follow appropriate procedures, they are more likely to be rewarded with a conviction. If they are careless or abuse the rights of the suspect, they are unlikely to get a conviction.