You are a legal assistant working with a criminal defense attorney on a homicide case. At the defense team’s strategy meeting the lead attorney points out that there is a disturbing amount of physical evidence linking your client to the murder and if this evidence is fully presented to the jury there is a strong likelihood that you will lose the case and your client will be convicted. However, there is also evidence that the police conducted searches of your client’s vehicle and residence in violation of his constitutional rights.
Your boss intends to focus on preventing the introduction of this evidence and you have been given the responsibility of researching the possibility of your team successfully doing so.
Using the excellent Criminal Procedure text and at least 4 other sources, put together a paper analyzing the following questions.
If the judge decides to exclude the evidence is there any way it may be introduced at the trial?
How does the concept of “fruit of the poisonous tree” apply in this scenario? How can your defense team get around it?
Is there any possibility the judge may dismiss the case at that point? If evidence is admitted, how else may it be challenged?
Combine all your findings into one document for the attorney to review.
Sample Solution
