It’s important to remember that in the context of a criminal case, the burden is on the prosecution to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s a high hurdle to clear, and it requires competent and persuasive evidence. Therefore, in many criminal cases, there are several defense options available to you. But it’s up to you to raise them in an effective and persuasive manner. Only then can you convince a jury that the prosecution has failed to meet its burden and that you should therefore be acquitted of the charges you’re facing.
But what’s the best way to attack the prosecution’s case? The strongest option that you might be able to utilize is evidence suppression. Here, you seek to block the prosecution from using evidence against you at trial. If you’re successful in doing so, you can devastate the prosecution’s case, sometimes even to the point that they voluntarily dismiss the case against you. So, how can you suppress evidence in your case?
There are several ways you can try to suppress the most damaging evidence against you. Here are some of the most common tactics, any of which may be applicable in your case:
- An illegal search and seizure: Evidence that’s illegally collected is considered tainted and therefore may be deemed inadmissible at trial. A common example of an illegal search is one that’s conducted subsequent to an illegal traffic stop. If the police don’t have a legitimate reason to stop you but they do anyway, then any search they conduct at that point will be tainted with illegality, and so will any evidence they collect, rendering it inadmissible at trial. It’s therefore a good idea to analyze the circumstances surrounding the collection of any evidence in your case to see if you can successfully argue that it was illegal in nature.
- Improper evidence collection and storage: Before the prosecution can submit evidence at trial, they have to provide reasonable assurances that it is what they claim it to be. That’s why the police have to follow certain protocols when collecting and storing evidence. If they don’t, then the integrity of the evidence may be compromised. And when this happens, you have an opening to argue that the evidence is so unreliable that the prosecution shouldn’t be allowed to present it against you.
- Unfairly prejudicial evidence: You have a Constitutional right to a fair trial. If the prosecution presents evidence that attacks your character in an unfair attempt to show that you have a propensity to commit the crime in question, then the evidence may violate that right. So, you should analyze the evidence the prosecution intends to present against you to see if you can argue that it’s unfairly prejudicial and lacks sufficient probative value.
- Testing errors: Some evidence has to be tested to be confirmed. This is true in many drug cases where the substance in question has to be tested to confirm that it’s illegal in nature, as well as drunk driving cases where blood and breath testing machines must be accurate. If there are issues with testing processes or machinery, then you might be able to successfully attack the evidence in question and block it from being used against you.
You might feel like the prosecution is coming at you full force in your case with insurmountable evidence. But there could be several strong criminal defense options available to you, waiting for you to utilize them to their fullest potential. And if you’re able to do so, you could beat the prosecution and protect your future. That’s why now is the time to fully assess your criminal defense options and act on those that show promise in protecting your interests.