Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

On Christmas Eve, two uniformed Springfield police officers, Eddie and Lou,

knocked on the door of one, Krusty the Clown, the local host of a popular children�s t.v.

show, �Cowabunga.� Krusty�s annoying co-host, Bart Simpson, had been reported

missing two days earlier and several witnesses had heard the two hosts arguing on-set

shortly before Bart�s disappearance. When Krusty opened the door, Officer Eddie said,

�Look, Bart Simpson is missing. Do you know anything about it?� Krusty replied, �I

want to talk to my lawyer before I say anything.� The officers then drove Krusty to the

police station. On the way, the two officers, seated in the front of the squad car, began

loudly talking to themselves. Krusty was in the rear of the car and was not handcuffed.

For several minutes, the two officers joked about how Bart Simpson was the �real star� of

�Cowabunga�, and noted how throngs of fans were holding a candlelight vigil for Bart

outside the television studio � hoping he would be found un-harmed. They remarked that

one fan had even climbed a large tree and declared that he would not get down until Bart

was found. Krusty then snapped, �He�ll be up in that tree an awfully long time then!� At

the station, Krusty was given a Miranda warning and held in a cell for five hours without food.

Getting hungry, Krusty called out for Officer Lou to come in. Lou told Krusty that

they were bringing him some food soon but that �it would be better for everyone� if he

talked to them. Officer Lou also reminded Krusty it was Christmas Eve and the police

were having trouble locating his lawyer. Lou then asked Krusty for a DNA swab. Krusty

remained silent and Lou took a swab anyway. One hour later, tavern owner, Moe

Syzslak, entered Krusty�s cell with a tray of hot food. Moe asked Krusty, �What are you

doing in here?� What Krusty did not know was that Moe was secretly wearing a wire

transmitter, at the request of police, and was recording the conversation. Moe had a lot of

affection for young Bart so when the police had called the tavern asking for some food

and explained the circumstances, Moe had volunteered to wear a wire. After several

minutes of chitchat, Krusty told Moe, �Bart is missing and may not be coming back to

Springfield.� Two hours later, Officer Eddie came in and told Krusty that he would have

to wait until the morning to see a lawyer. Eddie also told Krusty, �I hope that kid doesn�t

fall out of that tree and get hurt before morning. It�s snowing awfully hard. By the way,

that kid�s wearing a Krusty the Clown special edition t-shirt.� Krusty looked down at the

floor for several minutes in silence and then finally said, �You may want to look in

Sideshow Bob�s trailer.� Police searched the trailer and found a blood-stained knife.

Outside the trailer, the police searched with canine dogs and found a blood-stained shirt.

Using the previously-taken DNA swab, the police were able to match Krusty�s DNA to

the shirt. Krusty subsequently was indicted for the murder of Bart Simpson.

You are the trial judge. Krusty�s defense lawyer files a pretrial motion to suppress

objecting to the introduction of: (a) Krusty�s statement in the car, (b) Krusty�s statement

to Moe in the jail cell, (c) Krusty�s statement about the trailer to Officer Eddie, (d) the

bloody knife and shirt, and (e) the DNA test results. For categories (a)-(e), address

whether there was a constitutional violation of Krusty�s rights and whether the evidence

should be ruled admissible under prevailing �fruit of the poisonous tree�/exclusionary

rule doctrine. Finally, with regard to Krusty�s statements, discuss whether any of them

may be used as impeachment evidence should Krusty elect to testify your answer making references to cases as appropriate.

2 Answers from Attorneys

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