Evidence issues can be complicated in criminal cases, but every defendant should make sure that evidence is suppressed whenever possible. Always have a Riverside criminal defense lawyer on your side during your criminal matter.
When a prosecutor issues criminal charges, they must prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt to get a conviction. This is the highest burden of proof in the United States legal system, so it requires strong evidence to meet this standard.
Defense strategies often revolve around challenging the evidence against a defendant, so the prosecutor has insufficient evidence to prove the charges. One way to reduce the evidence against you is to have the court suppress key evidence in your case.
How does a defendant go about doing this? It requires complex legal arguments and motions to the court, which is one of many reasons you need a Riverside criminal defense lawyer handling your case.
Violations of Your Constitutional Rights
Often, evidence is obtained in a manner that violates your constitutional rights, usually under the Fourth Amendment or Fifth Amendment. This might happen when:
- Law enforcement officers obtain evidence of a crime during an unreasonable search that is not justified by a search warrant or any other exigent circumstances.
- Officers fail to inform you of your Miranda rights when you are in custody, or they ignore your attempt to invoke your rights, and they get a confession or other potentially incriminating answers during interrogation.
In these types of situations, the exclusionary rule supports the suppression of any evidence that was unlawfully obtained because it is the “fruit of the poisonous tree.” However, this does not happen automatically. Instead, you must file a motion to suppress with the criminal court, and the judge will rule to suppress the evidence, which means the prosecutor cannot use it against you.
In this type of suppression case, it is possible to keep key evidence out of court. For example, if the cops unlawfully found drugs in your car, the drugs are necessary evidence for a drug possession conviction. Similarly, your charges might rely on your confession, and the confession might be suppressed. When this happens, it can result in the prosecutor dropping your charges.
Against the Rules of Evidence
Criminal cases must follow strict rules of evidence, and if the prosecutor is trying to introduce evidence that violates the rules, it is up to the defense to point it out and have it suppressed. Evidence that should not be allowed might be overly prejudicial, hearsay, irrelevant to the case, and more.
The court will not keep such evidence out without the defense filing a motion or objecting to evidence at trial. The more evidence your defense lawyer can keep out of court, the less the prosecutor will have to offer to meet their burden of proof.
Let a Riverside Criminal Defense Lawyer Help You
Evidence rules and rights violations are complex parts of the criminal justice system, and you want a Riverside criminal defense attorney who knows how to use all of these to your advantage whenever possible. DeLimon Law is ready to defend against many types of criminal charges, so please do not wait to call (951) 382-5559 or contact us online.