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United States v. Ceccolini | 435 U.S. 268 (1978)

In criminal trials, the exclusionary rule generally prohibits the admission of evidence discovered via law enforcement’s violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights. Such evidence is considered tainted by the violation. In United States versus Ceccolini, the Supreme Court explored how the exclusionary rule applies when the discovered evidence is a witness rather than tangible evidence.

While on a work break, police officer Ronald Biro went into a flower shop to chat with his friend, Lois Hennessey, a shop employee. Biro noticed an envelope lying in the cash register. He conducted an unconstitutional search, opening the envelope and discovering both money and betting slips. Biro asked Hennessey who owned the envelope, and she responded Ralph Ceccolini, the shop’s owner. News of Biro’s encounter reached the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, which was investigating illegal gambling in the area.

Four months later, an FBI agent interviewed Hennessey without mentioning Biro. Hennessey voluntarily provided information about Ceccolini’s gambling activities and referenced Biro’s visit.

When the government brought Ceccolini before a federal grand jury, he testified that he wasn’t involved in gambling operations. Hennessey’s conflicting testimony caused Ceccolini to be indicted for perjury. In the perjury trial, Ceccolini moved to suppress Hennessey’s testimony on the ground that the government only discovered her as a witness because of Biro’s unconstitutional search of Ceccolini’s shop.

The district court granted Ceccolini’s motion. The Second Circuit affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court granted cert.

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