Cite as: 519 U. S. 33 (1996)
Stevens, J., dissenting
person constituted an illegal seizure. This holding by the Ohio Supreme Court is entirely consistent with federal law.9
The proper disposition follows as an application of well-settled law. We held in Florida v. Royer, 460 U. S. 491 (1983), that a consent obtained during an illegal detention is ordinarily ineffective to justify an otherwise invalid search.10
See also Florida v. Bostick, 501 U. S., at 433-434 (noting that if consent was given during the course of an unlawful seizure, the results of the search "must be suppressed as tainted fruit"); Dunaway v. New York, 442 U. S. 200, 218-219 (1979); Brown v. Illinois, 422 U. S. 590, 601-602 (1975). Cf. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U. S. 471 (1963). Because Robinette's consent to the search was the product of an unlawful detention, "the consent was tainted by the illegality and was ineffective to justify the search." Royer, 460 U. S., at 507- 508 (plurality opinion). I would therefore affirm the judgment below.
II
A point correctly raised by Justice Ginsburg merits emphasis. The Court's opinion today does not address either the wisdom of the rule announced in the second syllabus pre-9 Since "this Court reviews judgments, not opinions," Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U. S. 837, 842 (1984), the Ohio Supreme Court's holding that Robinette's continued seizure was illegal on these grounds provides a sufficient basis for affirming its judgment.
10 Writing for a plurality of the Court, Justice White explained that "statements given during a period of illegal detention are inadmissible even though voluntarily given if they are the product of the illegal detention and not the result of an independent act of free will." 460 U. S., at 501. The defendant in Royer had been "illegally detained when he consented to the search." Id., at 507. As a result, the plurality agreed that "the consent was tainted by the illegality and was ineffective to justify the search." Id., at 507-508. Concurring in the result, Justice Brennan agreed with this much of the plurality's decision, diverging on other grounds. See id., at 509. Justice Brennan's agreement on that narrow principle represents the holding of the Court. See Marks v. United States, 430 U. S. 188, 193 (1977).
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