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If you've been charged with a crime but have doubts about a key piece of evidence, you
may be able to get it thrown out at trial. Your guilt or innocence isn't the issue here, but
rather the admissibility of police evidence. An experienced defense attorney knows how to
suppress evidence that is collected illegally or which is otherwise inadmissible. But in order
to have evidence thrown out, no matter how illegitimate you think it is, you must first file
amotion to suppress evidence with the court. A judge will then make a ruling on the
admissibility of the evidence.
Evidence used in a criminal case must be both “relevant” and “competent,” meaning it
needs to be directly related to the charges and collected/handled in accordance with the
law. Knowing how to suppress evidence in a legal proceeding is an important step in any
criminal defense. See FindLaw’sCriminal Evidence section for related resources.
Unlawful Search and Seizure: The Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful
search and seizure applies to many situations involving police officers, including routine
traffic stops and visits to your home. With some important exceptions, police must have a
valid search warrant, a valid arrest warrant, or probable cause that a crime has been
committed in order to search for and gather evidence.
Failure to Read Miranda Rights: The law requires that officers read “Miranda rights” to
a suspect in custody prior to their questioning or interrogation. These rights inform the
suspect that she has the right to remain silent, that anything she says may be used
against her in court, and that she has the right to an attorney. If the suspect has not been
“read his rights,” confessions or statements made after the arrest may not be admissible.
See“Miranda” Rights and the Fifth Amendment for specific details on how this right
works.
Chain of Custody Errors: The “chain of custody” refers to the documentation and
proper care of evidence, from its seizure by police to its presentation at trial. If the chain
of custody is broken, the evidence may lack credibility and could be deemed
inadmissible. For example, a woman involved in a car crash has her blood drawn (with a
warrant) to see if she was intoxicated while driving. But the police mislabel or mix up the
blood evidence with others at the lab. This evidence may be suppressed because the
chain of custody was improper.