Question

Your uncle Brian stole three t-shirts from a stand at the mall. You are upset that he made this choice, and decide to use your iPhone to secretly record a conversation with him where he admits that he did, in fact, steal the shirts. He is awaiting trial, and you bring the recording to the police station to submit it as evidence. In your state, it is illegal to use a secretly recorded conversation in a court of law. In other words, this piece of evidence is inadmissible. Do you agree with this rule? In your answer, define the exclusionary rule and doctrine of fruit of the poisonous tree, and explain how these terms apply to your situation.

Answer 1

Answer: I think that the rule is very wrong and it is very foolish.

I think that if someone is breaking the law, we should be able to provide all the evidence we need to put this thief behind bars.

If nobody recorded, how else would the evidence get to the police?

If nobody recorded, the thief can say that he did not steal anything.

The Police and the Supreme Court need to have evidence that way there is no confusion and that way there is not anymore trouble.

Explanation:

Answer 2

Answer: I agree with this rule that secretly recorded conversations cannot be used as evidence in a court of law. I agree with this rule because with technology now days it would be all too easy to takes someones words out of contact or even rearrange what was said. This also violates our rights as Americans and takes away our privacy. The fruit of the poisonous tree rule is an extension of the exclusionary rule meaning, illegally gathered evidence cannot be admissible in a court of law, the fruit being the evidence and the poisonous tree being the means in which the evidence was gathered.

Explanation: