The Role of Evidence Suppression in FL Criminal Cases
If you’re facing criminal charges, it’s important to know that not all evidence collected by law enforcement is admissible in court. When a police officer violates your constitutional rights while gathering evidence, a skilled Clearwater criminal lawyer can file a motion to suppress it. Evidence suppression is one of the most powerful tools available in criminal defense, often resulting in reduced charges. In some situations charges are dismissed entirely.
What Is Evidence Suppression?
Evidence suppression is the legal process of preventing certain evidence from being used against a defendant at trial. The most common basis for suppression is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.
For example, if police overstep their authority the evidence they obtain may be excluded. This could be the case if officers searched property without a valid warrant, stopped a vehicle without reasonable suspicion, or interrogated a suspect without properly issuing Miranda warnings.
A motion to suppress is typically filed before trial. Your attorney will review police reports, body camera footage, search warrants, witness statements, and any other available information to identify constitutional issues.
How Can an Attorney Challenge Illegally Obtained Evidence?
A criminal lawyer uses several strategies to challenge evidence:
- Challenging the legality of stop or detention. Officers must have reasonable suspicion to stop a person or vehicle. If they cannot clearly articulate why the stop occurred, anything found afterward may be suppressible.
- Examining the search warrants. A warrant must be supported by probable cause. If the information used to secure the warrant was false, misleading, or insufficient, the search may be deemed unlawful.
- Investigating warrantless searches. While some exceptions exist (such as consent or exigent circumstances), warrantless searches are heavily scrutinized. If police searched a home, car, or personal belongings without proper justification, evidence may be excluded.
- Evaluating statements taken. If you were in custody and questioned without being informed of your rights, your statements and any evidence derived from those statements may be suppressed.
- Reviewing chain of custody issues. Evidence must be handled properly from the moment it is collected. Breaks in the chain of custody can raise questions about contamination or tampering.
Consider a scenario where a Clearwater driver is pulled over for a minor traffic violation. After issuing a warning, the officer begins asking unrelated questions and requests to search the vehicle. The driver declines, but the officer claims to smell marijuana and proceeds with a search, locating pills in the glovebox.
A Clearwater criminal lawyer could challenge whether the officer truly had probable cause. If body camera footage or witness accounts cast doubt on the officer’s justification, the court may find the search unlawful. If the pills were the only evidence supporting a drug possession charge, suppressing that evidence could lead to the case being dismissed.
Has it crossed your mind that there is a possibility evidence was illegally obtained? If you believe evidence in your case was collected improperly, consulting the lawyers at King Law Group as early as possible can make all the difference. Schedule a confidential consultation today.