The “fruit of the poisonous tree” is a legal doctrine that can affect evidence in criminal defense cases. In some situations, it may mean that evidence has to be omitted from court or cannot be used against the defendant.
A key component of this doctrine is that an illegal act by the authorities can poison the entire tree, including any of the “fruit” or evidence that is then discovered. That evidence itself may be incriminating, but the illegal action used to obtain it could invalidate the evidence and keep it out of court.
An illegal search
A common example of how this happens is if police officers perform an illegal search.
For instance, say that they come to your home. There is not an emergency, so they cannot enter immediately. Instead, they ask for your consent. They want to come in and take a look around. They may not say it directly, but they are looking for evidence against you.
If you refuse to give consent, then the officers are generally required to get a search warrant. But if they force their way into your home anyway, even if they find evidence that would otherwise lead to a conviction, they have illegally obtained that evidence by virtue of conducting the illegal home search. Due to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, they may not be able to use the evidence against you, even if they make an arrest.
Issues like this can certainly be complicated and may have a dramatic impact on your case when facing criminal charges. Be sure you know what defense options you have at this time.
