If you are facing criminal charges, one legal doctrine you should be aware of is known as the fruit of the poisonous tree. This can have a major impact on what evidence is admitted to court and how it can be used in your case.
Essentially, this doctrine suggests that evidence—or fruit—can be tainted if there are issues with how it was gathered. The tree itself has been poisoned, so that evidence can’t be used, even if it would’ve been important to the case. This can happen when the police violate a person’s rights while searching for that evidence.
An illegal search
For example, imagine that the police come to your house, and you do not give them consent to come inside. There’s no emergency, and they don’t have a search warrant. However, the officer is convinced that there’s evidence in the house, so they force their way inside to conduct a search anyway.
During the search, the police do find the incriminating evidence they’re looking for. You are arrested, and the prosecution believes that the evidence is going to lead to a conviction.
However, the only reason the police have the evidence is that they performed an illegal search. This is a violation of your rights as an American citizen. Under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, the court may decide that the evidence gathered during the search has to be omitted from the court case. This could lead to your charges being dropped, especially if the police don’t actually have any other evidence against you.
Legal defense options
This helps to show why it’s so important to understand all of your legal defense options when facing charges. It can be helpful to work with an experienced law firm at this time.
