If you are preparing to go to trial on criminal charges, whether they are federal or state charges, your defense attorney may discuss your options for filing a Motion to Exclude or Suppress Evidence. What is this, exactly, and how can it help your chances for an acquittal?

The Motion to Suppress

A Motion to Exclude or Suppress Evidence (often simplified to “Motion to Suppress”) is a pre-trial motion, a formal request to the courts to exclude one or more pieces of evidence from the upcoming trial. Under the law, only evidence that is pertinent to your case and legally obtained may be presented at your trial. This safeguard is in place to protect you, the defendant, from any skewed or contrived evidence that might be used to incriminate you unfairly, covering anything from items unlawfully seized to coerced confessions. Unfortunately, when the authorities suspect you of committing a crime, due process is not always followed, and the resulting evidence may be tainted. If your attorney determines that this is the case, he/she may file a Motion to Suppress, citing the reasons why the evidence in question is inadmissible in court. It is up to the judge to determine whether your claims are valid, and whether or not to approve the motion.

Why the court may exclude or suppress evidence

There are number of valid reasons why the judge may affirm a Motion to Exclude or Suppress Evidence. For example:

• The evidence was obtained illegally. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects U.S. citizens from unlawful search and seizure of their property (i.e., without a valid warrant) or “probable cause.” This is also known as the “Exclusionary Rule.” If there is any indication that evidence gathered by police was obtained without the proper warrants, you have the right to challenge its admissibility.
• Improper handling of the evidence. There is a “chain of custody,” a proper procedure for handling evidence that is gathered in your case. If evidence has been improperly tagged or didn’t follow the chain of custody correctly, your attorney can challenge it, not because it isn’t valid evidence, but because of increased probabilities that the evidence was tampered with.
• Failure of the police to read you your Miranda Rights. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” If the police interrogated you without first reading you these rights, your attorney can file a Motion to Suppress any recorded answer you gave the police.

How a Motion to Suppress can help your case

Excluding or suppressing inadmissible evidence from being presented at trial may not only protect you from a wrongful conviction due to the government overstepping its bounds (or corrupt officials tampering with evidence), but if a significant amount of the evidence is inadmissible, it may even result in reduced or even dropped charges, and you may be able to avoid a trial completely. For more information on Motions to Exclude or Suppress evidence, or other pre-trial motions, contact the Federal Criminal Law Center today.