In Wong Sun v. US, what was determined about the connection between an unlawful arrest and a subsequent unsigned statement?

• A. The connection was deemed direct and admissible
• B. The connection was so attenuated that it was not admissible
• C. The statement was ruled out due to the arrest
• D. The statement was involuntary and dismissed

Answer: (B)

In Wong Sun v. US, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of how an unlawful arrest could impact the admissibility of evidence obtained afterward, in particular, a statement made by the defendant. The ruling established that if there is a sufficient distance or attenuation between the illegal arrest and the subsequent statement, then the statement may not be considered a direct result of the unlawful action and is thus inadmissible.

In this case, the Court found that the connection between the unlawful arrest and Wong Sun's subsequent unsigned statement was sufficiently attenuated. Factors such as the time elapsed between the arrest and the statement, the circumstances surrounding the statement, and whether there were any intervening events were considered in determining the degree of connection. Ultimately, it was concluded that because the statement was obtained under circumstances that were sufficiently removed from the illegal arrest, it could not be admitted in court. This ruling reinforced the principle that not all evidence obtained after an unlawful arrest is automatically tainted; instead, the specifics of each situation need to be carefully evaluated.