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Can someone explain how evidence derived in violation of Miranda is excluded from the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree? I thought if there's a miranda violation, the statement would be inadmissible.

cheeseee wrote:Can someone explain how evidence derived in violation of Miranda is excluded from the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree? I thought if there's a miranda violation, the statement would be inadmissible.

The exclusionary Rule does not per se apply to Miranda violations to make it inadmissible as "fruit of the poisonous tree."

The general rule is that the statement obtained in violation is inadmissible in the Government’s Case-in-Chief, but may be admissible to IMPEACH the defendant. Further note that the IMPEACHMENT EXCEPTION does NOT apply to statements obtained that are coerced or involuntary; and also that the prosecution cannot use a defendant's silence after police issue the Miranda warnings for impeachment purposes.

Nuance: Also, even if the statement in violation of Miranda is admitted at trial, it could be subject to the "harmless error rule," where the verdict can be upheld if the Govt. can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that that the error was of minimal significance and there is otherwise overwhelming evidence to sustain the conviction, despite the tainted evidence.

Hope this helps.