People facing criminal charges have many different defense options available to them. Some people have alibis that can prove they didn’t commit a crime. Others may be able to mount an affirmative defense by showing that they acted in self-defense or while in a state of duress.
In some cases, a defense strategy prioritizes the elimination of key evidence. A criminal defense attorney can ask the courts to exclude or suppress certain evidence that the prosecution intends to use during a trial. Understanding when invoking the exclusionary rule is an option can help people strategize with their defense attorneys.
Did police officers violate civil rights or the law?
If defense attorneys can show that police officers either broke the law in their efforts to gather evidence or directly violated the rights of criminal defendants, they can invoke the exclusionary rule. In those situations, a defense attorney can ask the court to suppress the evidence obtained through misconduct and civil rights violations.
The exclusionary rule helps criminal defense lawyers limit the evidence connecting their client to a crime. For example, if police officers stopped a driver without probable cause, any evidence they gathered during that inappropriate traffic stop may not be admissible during a criminal trial. Defendants who believe that a search was illegal or that police officers violated their Miranda rights during an interrogation may need to discuss those concerns with a criminal defense attorney.
Suppressing evidence can lead to the state dismissing charges. The exclusion of evidence can also make it easier to raise a reasonable doubt about a defendant’s guilt. An attorney can help determine if illegal conduct or civil rights violations could play a role in a criminal defense strategy accordingly.