What Is a Motion to Suppress?
A lawyer defending a client accused of driving under the influence frequently will file a motion to suppress evidence on the client’s behalf. A motion to suppress asks the court to suppress, or not allow to be used in court, a certain piece of evidence. The motion argues that the evidence should not be used in court because it was obtained illegally, it is tainted, or for some other similar reason. Motions to suppress arise from the exclusionary rule in criminal cases. The exclusionary rule states that defendants have the right to have excluded from trial any evidence that was obtained through an illegal search and seizure. Simmons v. United States, 348 U.S. 397 (1955).
The Constitution of the United States lists the right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment. Defendants’ right to exclude evidence from an illegal search and seizure only extends to their own privacy. In other words, if someone else’s privacy was violated during the search but evidence was discovered that implicates the defendant, the defendant will have a difficult time arguing that the evidence should be excluded. See, e.g., Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128 (1978).
Common grounds for motions to suppress include that property was seized without a warrant and no exception to the warrant requirement applied, that the warrant was insufficient, that the property seized was not the property described in the warrant, that there was no probable cause underlying issue of the warrant, or the warrant was illegally executed. Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257 (1960).
Motions to suppress usually are filed before trial along with any other necessary motions, such as a motion in limine. A motion to exclude evidence on any other grounds besides illegal search and seizure, such as violation of the rules of evidence, generally is filed as a motion in limine. However, you can file a motion to suppress at a trial or hearing if there was no opportunity to do so earlier or you did not know about the grounds for the motion until then. The judge has discretion to decide the motion at the trial or hearing.
If the court grants a crucial motion to suppress, the prosecution may not have enough evidence to pursue to the case to trial, and you may end up with a dismissal. Winning a motion to suppress could be very important for your case.
Need a motion to suppress filed? Clint Patterson, Esq., of Patterson Law Firm, a former Tulsa prosecutor now using his trial experience and expert-level knowledge of DUI science to defend drivers, assesses his clients’ best options for defenses and sentencing. To schedule a case evaluation, visit Patterson Law Firm online or call Clint’s office at (918) 550-9175.