If your criminal defense lawyer determines that the police did an illegal search, then any evidence obtained by the police as a result may be inadmissible. Evidence obtained pursuant to an illegal search is referred to as “fruit of the poisonous tree.”
Just as poisonous fruit is inedible,
illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible.
This means that any evidence collected pursuant to an illegal search cannot be used in trial by the prosecution. This consequence was written into law to give police a disincentive to violate people’s rights to privacy. The reasoning is that police will generally abstain from such violations if they know they could never use the evidence against the person being searched.
While this rule does not prevent all illegal searches, it does provide criminal defense attorneys with a very powerful weapon. Ironically, the illegal search is a very welcome circumstance in a criminal case.
When evidence is obtained illegally, your criminal defense attorney can file a motion to suppress this evidence. Such a motion will explain why the search was illegal and will specify what evidence must be suppressed. When the judge grants this motion, the evidence cannot be used against you by the prosecution in trial.
The effects this can have on the prosecution’s case can be disastrous. In some case, when a judge grants a motion to suppress, all of the prosecution’s evidence is lost. As a result, the prosecution is forced to drop the case entirely.
In other instances, a successful motion to suppress may eliminate a substantial portion, but not all of, the prosecution’s evidence. This may weaken the prosecution’s case to the point where it is advantageous for them to negotiate on more favorable terms than before. In some cases, this can mean reduced sentences, waiving of a minimum mandatory prison sentence, or a reduction in charges from a felony to a misdemeanor.
The impact a successful motion to suppress has on any one case will depend on the specific facts of that case. Each case is different and circumstances change from defendant to defendant. The best way to determine if your case presents such opportunities is to hire a criminal defense lawyer to investigate your case and determine if you have any such legal remedies.
If you do, it may make the difference between winning and losing your case.