Case Study:
You and your partner are members of a narcotics street unit. Your partner is eager to make a bust and is very motivated and exuberant. During your street prowl you pick up a local prostitute who your partner immediately shakes down and finds a vial of cocaine in her purse. At the time she was not under arrest and was not asked for consent to the search. Before you can respond he tells her that if she sets up her dealer she will not get busted for the cocaine possession. Your partner then tells her that if the dealer is not holding any cocaine she is to plant the vial of cocaine in his pocket so the police can find it there when they do the arrest.
Answer the following questions:
- What aspects of this action may shock the conscience of the court?
- What ensuing evidence found based on this operation may be discarded as “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree”.