What is 'fruit of the poisonous tree'?

• A. Evidence discovered in a designated area like a garden.
• B. Evidence derived from an illegal search or seizure, generally excluded.
• C. A type of tree used in forensics.
• D. A legal remedy that binds a suspect to testify.

Answer: (B)

Fruit of the poisonous tree is a rule in evidence law that says when police obtain evidence through an illegal search or seizure, not only is that directly obtained evidence typically excluded, but so is other evidence that derives from that illegality. The rationale is to deter illegal government conduct and to protect Fourth Amendment rights; if the initial wrongdoing can lead to more evidence, admitting it would reward the illegal act. There are important exceptions—if the taint is sufficiently attenuated, or if the later evidence has an independent source or would have been discovered anyway, it may be admitted. The other options miss the point: they describe something unrelated to how illegally obtained evidence can contaminate later findings or remedies to compel testimony.