Page:Brief for the United States, Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (1963).djvu/47

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This Court also applied the "poisonous tree" doctrine in Nardone v. United States, 308 U.S. 338, holding that evidence would be inadmissible, not only if obtained directly from illegal wire-tapping, but also if obtained from leads or clues stemming from the wire-tapping. The Court indicated, however, that the connection between the illegal official conduct and the evidence must be direct and adequate. The opinion carefully pointed out, with respect to the relationship between the officers' misconduct and the government's proof (308 U.S. at 341):

As a matter of good sense, however, such connection may have become so attenuated as to dissipate the taint. * * *[1]

2. On the other hand, the Court has recognized that, even though illegal action by government officers has in some degree contributed to the obtaining of evidence ultimately used, nevertheless, if that evidence represents primarily an act of human free will, the evidence is admissible. In United States v. Bayer, 331 U.S. 532, 540–541, the Court held admissible a confession voluntarily given, without regard to

  1. An example of attenuation, even without an intervening act of free will on the part of the defendant, is furnished by Goldman v. United States, 316 U.S. 129, 134–135, where an earlier trespass in an office to install a listening device resulted in failure of the device. The Court rejected the contention that a later installation, involving no trespass, was tainted by the earlier conduct, even though it was contended that the trespass, and what was learned thereby, was of assistance in placing the second installation. The Court relied upon the findings that the trespass did not aid "materially" in the use of the second device.