The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree a/k/a Dot Those I's [View all]

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Why do you make sure you have all of your ducks in a row when you serve a search warrant? Because of the doctrine known as the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree. That's a concept rooted in the 4th amendment (and even more strongly embodied in the state constitutions of many of the original 13 states) that says a prosecutor can't use improperly obtained evidence in a trial against you. In fact, not only can't they use that evidence, they can't use any additional evidence it may lead to. So, when you're following a thread, particularly at the beginning, you need to be certain that you have probable cause for any searches or siezures you conduct because the entire prosecution can be derailed by a single mistake. For example, an improper auto stop that leads to a search of a car that turns up a gun in the trunk that has fingerprints on it that tie the gun to the driver and to a murder. Guess what, if there was no probable cause for the driver to be pulled over, anything found in the search of the car or where the evidence found in that search led to cannot be used in the prosecution.

Why do I bring this up? Because there is no doubt that the FBI and the DOJ had their I's dotted and their T's crossed when they applied for and executed the search warrant on Mar a Lago. It may have been tedious-even onorus- for them to patiently and methodically get to the point where they asked for the warrant, but, particularly under these circumstances, they knew exactly what they were doing and had back-up for everything done. If that wasn't the case, just one slip-up at this stage of the investigation could have blown-up any case they were pursuing.

I can't wait to see the warrant. Not just because of the details of what was siezed, but because there's going to be an affidavit (maybe more than one) attached that lays out why they wanted it and what the underlying probable cause for obtaining the warrant was. It may include other evidence already obtained, witness statements, even the revelation of a "confidential informant". One thing I'm certain of is that they did their homework beforehand. One thing it gives me hope for is that Trump is screwed.