By: Derek Hawkins//July 11, 2016//
WI Supreme Court
Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Mastella L. Jackson
Case No.: 2014AP2238-CR
Focus: Inevitable Discovery Doctrine
Absence of bad faith by officers not a requirement for inevitable discovery doctrine to apply.
“Demonstrated historical facts proving active pursuit of an alternative line of investigation at the time of the constitutional violation certainly help the State to substantiate its claim that discovery of otherwise excludable evidence was inevitable. However, requiring proof in all cases of active pursuit at the time of the constitutional violation risks exclusion of evidence that the State might demonstrate that it inevitably would have discovered. For instance, a constitutional violation may occur so quickly after the commission of a crime that there has not been time to launch the kind of comprehensive investigation that would be normal operating procedure.”
Concurring:
Dissenting: ABRAHAMSON, J. and BRADLEY, A. W., J. dissent (Opinion filed).