Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants = Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States
ArgueDate = December 12
ArgueYear = 1919
DecideDate = January 26
DecideYear = 1920
FullName = Silverthorne Lumber Co., Inc., et al. v. United States
USVol = 251
USPage = 385
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Holding = To permit derivatives would encourage police to circumvent the Fourth Amendment, so the illegal copied evidence was held tainted and inadmissible.
SCOTUS = 1916-1921
Majority = Holmes
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"Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States", 251 U.S. 385 (1920), was a U.S. Supreme Court Case in which Silverthorne attempted to evade paying taxes. Federal Agents illegally seized tax books from Silverthorne, and created copies of the records. The issue in this case is whether or not derivatives of illegal evidence are permissible in court. The ruling was that to permit derivatives would encourage police to circumvent the Fourth Amendment, so the illegal copied evidence was held tainted and inadmissible. This precedent is known as Fruit of the Poisonous Tree and is an extension of the exclusionary rule.

ee also

*List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 251
*"Wong Sun v. United States", ussc|371|471|1963
*"United States v. Crews", ussc|445|463|1980

Further reading

*cite journal |last=Killian |first=B. J. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1982 |month= |title="United States v. Crews": Fruit of the Posionous Tree—A New Wrinkle |journal=Idaho Law Review |volume=18 |issue= |pages=151 |issn=00191205 |url= |accessdate= |quote=

External links

* [http://www.enfacto.com/case/U.S./251/385/ Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States, 251 U.S. 385 (1920)] (opinion full text).