Q&A Hero

Question

Case 9.2
Police respond to a third party 911 call and arrive at the scene of domestic violence homicide. Police find the victim underneath his pickup truck, apparently run over. On scene, the man's wife, blurts out that she could not take his physical abuse and drinking any more. She then says "I didn't mean to hurt him I just wanted to get away." The wife has multiple new and old bruises on her body which she claims were from the husband repeatedly beating her while threatening to kill her.

Witnesses report that they heard the two fighting and witnessed the husband trying to grab the wife as she ran outside. They observed the wife get into the pickup truck and heard the husband screaming that he wouldn't let her go as he stood in front of the pickup. Witnesses report that the wife drove the truck over the husband and then backed up. They further state that the wife called someone the phone and said "it's done." Witnesses also tell police that the wife has been seeing another man on the side and that the other man had been with the wife just an hour before the husband/victim had gotten home.

Police interview the wife, who claims that she dialed 911 but hung up the phone by accident, because she was in a panic. Police ask the wife to show them her phone but she refuses. Police check with the dispatch center and fine only one call and that was the one from the witness.

Police arrest the wife for the murder of her husband and transport her to police headquarters for processing. She is searched incident to arrest and her phone is taken into evidence. Police also search the house for additional evidence. While being transported to headquarters the wife changes her story several times claiming that her husband was screaming that he was going to kill her. Her changing statements are recorded by the in car video system.

The police search the defendant's phone is deemed illegal, but the conversation between the defendant and her lover was caught on a legal wiretap of the lover's phone as a result an independent investigation in his involvement in drug distribution case. Can the police still introduce the record of the phone conversation between the two on the day of the murder?
a. No, under the Fruit of a Poisonous Tree Doctrine, the introduction of evidence from another investigation is prohibited.
b. No, as the Derivative Evidence Rule applies solely to evidence obtained directly from independent sources.
c. Yes, under the Independent Source Doctrine, if the evidence was obtained properly from a second and independent source.
d. No, as the accused was not the subject of the wiretap warrant and therefore any evidence obtained should be excluded.