A police officer conducted an unlawful search of Fred's vehicle. When the police office momentarily stepped away from the vehicle, Fred sped away. With the police officer in pursuit, Fred opens the window in the vehicle and voluntarily throws narcotics out the vehicle's window. The drugs are subsequently seized by the police in Fred's arrest for possession of narcotics. Fred files a motion to suppress the narcotics. Applying the attenuation exception, how would the court rule on Fred's motion?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The attenuation exception to the exclusionary rule allows evidence to be admitted if the connection between the unconstitutional police conduct and the evidence is sufficiently remote or has been interrupted by some intervening circumstance. In this case, Fred's act of voluntarily throwing the narcotics out of the vehicle window constitutes an intervening act that breaks the causal chain between the initial unlawful search and the discovery of the narcotics, leading the court to likely deny the motion to suppress the evidence.

A Police Officer Conducted an Unlawful Search of Fred's Vehicle