---
title: "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree"
type: Legal Term
source: https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree
---

# Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine extends the exclusionary rule to exclude not only illegally obtained evidence (the 'poisonous tree') but also any evidence derived from or discovered as a result of the initial illegality (the 'fruit'). This prevents the government from benefiting indirectly from unconstitutional conduct. The doctrine has three recognized exceptions: the independent source doctrine, the inevitable discovery doctrine, and the attenuation doctrine, which breaks the causal chain between the illegality and the evidence.

## Related Terms

- exclusionary-rule
- probable-cause
- miranda-rights

## Related Cases

- nix-v-williams
- mapp-v-ohio

## Example

An illegal arrest leads to a confession, which reveals the location of stolen goods. Both the confession and the goods are 'fruit' of the unconstitutional arrest and may be excluded.

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Source: [Fruit of the Poisonous Tree — CaseBriefly](https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree)