Being Independent Together: Georgia Adopts Eleventh Circuit’s Two-Step Analysis in Cases Involving the Independent Source Doctrine

The exclusionary rule is a judicially created sanction applied by the Supreme Court of the United States to effectuate the intent of the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment. This rule aims to deter police misconduct by presenting a sanction barring the prosecution from presenting evidence obtained through a Fourth Amendment violation. Despite this honorable intention, however, the rule’s exceptions have arguably eroded the protections it seeks to provide. One such exception is the independent source doctrine. Tatum v. State is one of the most recent decisions by the Supreme Court of Georgia in which the court considered applying this doctrine to a case involving a Fourth Amendment violation. The decision adopted the two-step analysis utilized by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and thus marks the adoption of a new test that Georgia prosecutors must satisfy when attempting to introduce evidence under the independent source doctrine. Furthermore, this adoption could indicate the Georgia courts’ possible inclination to demand stricter standards in cases involving exceptions to the exclusionary rule.