The 4th Amendment
The Fourth Amendment to The Constitution of the United States reads:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.”
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
The exclusionary rule is a mechanism for protecting 4th Amendment rights by, in some circumstances, disallowing illegally gathered evidence from being used against a defendant at trial.
Consider the following scenario: A Case of ‘Who did it?’
Mary Ellis, a widow, lives in a townhouse that she shares with her adult son, William, who does….