Submit a 5 – 7 page research proposal, in APA format, addressing
the following scenario:

Mary Ellis, a widow, lives in a townhouse that she shares with her
adult son, William, who does not pay rent. Mrs. Ellis awakens on a
Saturday morning and goes to her walk-in closet, where she finds a
man whom she recognizes as a neighbor, Clyde Stevens, lying on the
floor unresponsive. Mrs. Ellis calls 911. Minutes later, police and
EMS personnel arrive. Mr. Stevens is pronounced dead from an
apparent stabbing, as he has a large butcher knife protruding from
his back. Mrs. Ellis, a senior citizen, is transported to the
hospital for observation, quite distraught.

Police establish a crime scene and call for detectives and crime
scene specialists, who arrive and begin to investigate. Detectives
begin a canvass and interview Clyde Stevens’ wife, Sheila. Mrs.
Stevens tells police that William Ellis has entered her townhouse
several times unannounced and on one occasion appeared to be trying
to get into her bed. Mrs. Stevens gives the police consent to
search the house for any potential evidence that might identify her
husband’s killer.

Crime scene investigators actively process the scene. In William’s
bedroom, technicians develop a blood fingerprint adjacent to a
light switch, using an amino acid stain, after locating the print
using the absorptive properties of blood and a portable argon
laser. The crime scene investigator photographs the print and
recovers a sample of the blood for DNA analysis. The print is from
the right index finger of William Ellis, and DNA analysis matches
the blood to Clyde Stevens. On the basis of this and associated
evidence from the Stevens and Ellis residences, an arrest warrant
is issued for William Ellis.

William is arrested in Utah and extradited to Illinois to stand
trial. His lawyer files a motion to exclude evidence.

Within this paper, your discussion and research should address, at
the least, these questions:

How would William’s lawyer argue to have the physical evidence
excluded? Will the exclusion pertain to all the evidence, or is
there a difference between the evidence collected from the Ellis
and Stevens homes?

What were the legal justifications for a search? Give examples and
cite court cases that deal with these legal justifications.

Discuss the exclusionary rule and the “fruit of the poisonous tree”
doctrine and determine whether these concepts apply to this
scenario. Support your answer by citing relevant literature and
legal cases.

Describe what steps you would have taken had you done this
investigation.

Your paper should contain 5 – 7 pages of content, not including the
title page, abstract page, or works cited page. Your paper should
also contain 5 – 7 outside references, preferably from original
court cases and their holdings or findings, as well as
peer-reviewed sources