Cite as: 511 U. S. 79 (1994)
Thomas, J., dissenting
him for child abuse violated the rule that a probable-cause determination must, absent extenuating circumstances, be made by a judicial officer within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest. McLaughlin, supra. The McLaughlin error, petitioner argues, required suppression of the custodial statement he made on November 7, which was introduced against him at trial.
Against that argument, respondent and its amici raise several contentions: first, that suppression of evidence would never be an appropriate remedy for a McLaughlin violation; second, that the statement at issue here was not a product of the McLaughlin error, or at least that the connection between the McLaughlin violation and the statement is so attenuated that suppression is not required; third, that suppression is inappropriate under Illinois v. Krull, 480 U. S. 340 (1987), because the officers acted in good-faith reliance on a state statute that authorized delays of up to 72 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) in presenting a defendant to a magistrate; and finally, that even if the statement should have been suppressed, admitting it at trial was harmless error. Even assuming, arguendo, that suppression is a proper remedy for McLaughlin errors, see ante, at 85, n., I believe that, on the facts of this case, suppression of petitioner's statement would not be appropriate because the statement was not a product of the McLaughlin violation.
Our decisions make clear "that evidence will not be excluded as 'fruit' [of an unlawful act] unless the illegality is at least the 'but for' cause of the discovery of the evidence." Segura v. United States, 468 U. S. 796, 815 (1984). As Segura suggests, "but for" causation is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for suppression: "[W]e have declined to adopt a per se or but for rule that would make inadmissible any evidence . . . which somehow came to light through a chain of causation that began with a [violation of the Fourth or Fifth Amendment]." New York v. Harris, 495 U. S. 14, 17
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