Is Illegally Obtained Evidence Totally Dismissible In Court?

Question

If someone practices unlawful and unethical means of obtaining whatever evidence they need, is it totally not seen by the courts or even considered?

Granted it might have been taken illegally but the results are there.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

In the U.S., we have the Exclusionary Rule to the Miranda guarantee, which allows for evidence that is unlawfully obtained to be thrown out for the purposes of a defendant's criminal trial. Other countries have not adopted that rule and still others do not provide any "miranda"-style warnings.

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Asker's Comment:

thanks

Answer 2

Evidence that is obtained illegally is not admissible in court. You would need to file a motion to supress.

Answer 3

As a general rule, evidence obtained by illegal means is not allowed in court, under the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine. However, there could be an exception.

The most common exception is called "inevitable discovery". This means if the evidence was obtained illegally, but the prosecution argues it would have been discovered anyway, it could be allowed in.

For example, an officer does a protective pat down for weapons, but goes in the person's pocket and finds drugs. He then runs the persons information, and discovers he has a warrant for his arrest. The prosecution could argue he would have been searched after he was arrested for the warrant.