If the police illegally gathered evidence against you, your attorney may be able to have that evidence thrown out of court.
If you’re involved in a California DUI case or are just a fan of law and crime shows on television, you may have heard the term “motion to suppress” or “suppression.” It is a common practice in criminal cases, as the police are held to certain standards in gathering evidence. If they violate these rules, then a judge may find that this evidence may not be used against a defendant.
In DUI cases, an attorney can file a motion to suppress for a number of reasons. A motion is a legal document that asks a judge to issue a ruling on an issue. In a motion to suppress in a criminal case, the lawyer is asking the court to throw evidence out, usually because the police did something wrong in getting that evidence.
A DUI lawyer in Tustin, CA should review every aspect of your case to determine if there is a valid motion to suppress based on the police obtaining the evidence illegally. If there is, your attorney can use this to try to have the charges against you dismissed or reduced. Read on to learn more about how these motions work — and how they impact your California DUI case.
Motions to Suppress
A motion to suppress is usually a written document where an attorney lays out the factual and legal reasons why evidence should not be allowed in court. These motions are filed pre-trial so that the judge can decide the issue before a jury is selected. There is often a suppression hearing, where each side presents evidence related to the issue. Typically, police officers will testify as to what they knew, how they knew it, and the steps that they took to gather evidence.
In DUI cases, motions to suppress often revolve around whether or not the police had probable cause to stop a vehicle, and whether they followed the proper procedures in taking breath or blood samples. Motions to suppress may also be filed to keep statements that a suspect made out of evidence or to prevent the prosecution from introducing evidence of other items (such as drug paraphernalia) into evidence.
Many DUI suppression motions involve the question of whether or not a police officer had probable cause to stop your vehicle. Probable cause means that a law enforcement officer has a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or is being committed. A reasonable belief has to be something that an officer can actually put into words — it can’t just be a hunch or a feeling that someone must have done something wrong. In DUI cases, probable cause to stop a vehicle on suspicion of driving under the influence can be gained through witness statements (i.e., a person at a bar calls to tell the police that you are intoxicated and getting into your car to drive home) or through the police officer’s own observations, such as that you are driving erratically.
A skilled DUI lawyer in Tustin, CA may challenge the basis for the DUI stop in the first place. Perhaps the way that you were driving wasn’t due to being intoxicated — but to foggy weather, dark roads, or another issue. If the police cannot demonstrate that your actions gave them probable cause to pull you over, then it is possible that all evidence related to the stop will be suppressed. In that situation, the charges against you may be dismissed entirely. It depends on the specific facts of your case and how the judge determines the law applies to these facts.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tustin or the surrounding areas, you will need a smart, aggressive lawyer who understands how probable cause impacts your case and how to make a strong argument for suppression. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to learn more about how we can help you fight back against California DUI charges.
