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Can you block the prosecution’s evidence in your case?

On Behalf of | Aug 26, 2022 | Criminal Defense |

In order to try to convict you on the criminal charges that have been levied against you, the prosecution is going to use some combination of witness testimony and physical evidence. You might be worried about how this evidence is going to portray you and the impact that it may have on your case and your future.

However, even if the evidence against you seems overwhelming and insurmountable, you might be able to push back against the prosecution, block some of their evidence from being used against you and protect your future and your freedom. One powerful way to do this is to suppress the prosecution’s evidence.

What is evidence suppression?

Evidence suppression is the process of blocking evidence from being presented and used against you in your case because it was illegally obtained or is otherwise unfair. Before evidence can be suppressed, though, you’ll have to file a motion with the court specifying why you think the evidence in question shouldn’t be used against you, laying out the legal reasoning behind your argument.

How can you argue for the suppression of evidence?

 There are various justifications that you can make to support an argument for the suppression of evidence. Here are some of them:

  • Illegal search and seizure: Generally speaking, the police are supposed to have a warrant before they search you, your home, or your vehicle. After all, you have a Constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. With that said, there are exceptions to the general warrant requirement, but law enforcement officers often misapply these exceptions. When this happens, your rights might be violated, and the evidence gathered may be considered tainted by illegality. This situation is often seen when the police pull you over without a legally valid reason and then find something incriminating in your vehicle. That seized evidence is considered tainted by the illegality of the traffic stop and, therefore, will likely be deemed inadmissible.
  • Evidence collection errors: If physical evidence is going to be used against you, the prosecution is going to have to provide assurances that it hasn’t been compromised in any way. But the police make evidence collection and chain of custody errors all the time. If you can demonstrate that the evidence in question has been compromised by these errors, you may be able to block the evidence from being used against you.
  • Deposition issues: Depositions can be a great way to figure out what the prosecution’s witnesses are going to say at trial; that way, you can better tailor your defense. But if the prosecution’s witnesses fail to appear at depositions for which they’ve been subpoenaed, you may be able to block those witnesses from testifying against you.
  • Unfairly prejudicial evidence: If the evidence to be presented against you is more prejudicial than probative of the issues before the court, you might be able to prevent it from being used against you. This is a good tactic to use when the prosecution tries to use evidence of your prior criminal history against you.

Using the strongest legal strategies to your advantage

 Although the case against you might seem strong, you may have ways to aggressively defend yourself. However, you’ll need to know the rules of evidence and how to use them to your advantage. If you’d like assistance in figuring out how best to address the intricacies of your case and defend your freedom and your future, you might want to discuss the circumstances of your case with a criminal defense attorney of your choosing.

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