Illegally Obtained Evidence: Poison Or Antidote?

A package lands on your desk. It is the smoking gun that will hand you the case that has plagued your company for years. It comes from an anonymous source, but you know there is only one way it could have come into your possession: it has been stolen. Can you use it? Should you use it?

Although it may sound like a hackneyed set-piece from a low-budget detective movie, situations like this can and do arise.

The issue of illegally obtained evidence has been the subject of much judicial scrutiny over the years. Courts are faced with balancing two competing, but equally legitimate, policy objectives. On the one hand, society has an interest in seeing crimes punished and civil wrongs remedied. On the other, illegal or unethical conduct should not be sanctioned or incentivised.