Attenuation Doctrine Law and Legal Definition
In criminal proceedings, the attenuation rule provides that despite the illegality in obtaining evidence, such evidence may be admissible if the connection between the evidence and the illegal method is sufficiently remote or attenuated. Under the attenuation doctrine, evidence obtained after an unlawful arrest can be introduced if the connection between the police misconduct and the confession or other evidence "has become so attenuated as to dissipate the taint." The attenuation doctrine is an exception to the doctrine of fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree.
