The Exclusion of Evidence Illegally or Improperly Obtained: An Unsatisfactory Answer to an Unstated Question

The law with respect to the exclusion, in a criminal trial, of evidence which is relevant and otherwise admissible against an accused because it was illegally or improperly obtained is far from clear. More importantly, in the author's opinion, it does not best give effect to its stated purposes; and it may permit a result which is inconsistent with one of them. Those stated purposes are: