United States v. Antoine Johnson

POSNER, Circuit Judge.

The defendant, convicted of drug and counterfeiting offenses in separate proceedings later consolidated, appeals only from the denial of his motion to suppress evidence that he contends was seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The appeal requires us to consider the scope of the “independent source” and “inevitable discovery” doctrines — doctrines that are so similar that we’re not sure which one rules this case. The “independent source” doctrine allows the government to use evidence that it obtained both illegally and legally, as when evidence first found in an…