What is the "fruit from the poisonous tree" doctrine best described as?

• A. Evidence obtained directly as a result of an illegal act.
• B. Evidence obtained after a legitimate search.
• C. Evidence obtained directly or indirectly as a result of an illegal act.
• D. Evidence that can be admitted if independently corroborated.

Answer: (C)

Fruit of the poisonous tree means that when the initial police illegality contaminates the source, not only the immediately obtained evidence but also anything discovered as a consequence of that illegality is typically excluded. In other words, evidence obtained directly or indirectly as a result of an illegal act is tainted and may be barred from use at trial. The best description, therefore, is evidence obtained directly or indirectly as a result of an illegal act.

The other ideas miss important aspects: focusing only on direct evidence ignores the downstream items that flow from the illegal act, and describing a legitimate search or requiring independent corroboration doesn’t capture the core rule. There are exceptions (like independent source or inevitable discovery) where tainted evidence might still be admitted, but those are shifts from the default rule, not the standard description.