The Exclusionary Rule and Search and Seizure
The exclusionary rule requires that evidence obtained by a police officer in
an illegal search and seizure be held out of evidence at trial. The primary
intention of the rule is to deter unlawful police conduct. Illegally obtained
evidence is often referred to as "fruit of the poisonous tree," that is, the
search and seizure were tainted and, therefore, evidence produced therefrom is
also tainted.
New York case law has defined in detail what degree of police intrusion upon
a person is permissible in varying circumstances. The legality of police
questioning, stops, frisks and arrests are governed by objective factors which
an officer observes. The evidence of a search made with less than the legally
required level of suspicion by the officer is subject to exclusion at trial.
People are offered the greatest protection from police intrusion in their homes. Unless
it is an emergency, the police must have a warrant to arrest an individual in
his home.
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