The Cook & Tolley Blog


Don’t let an illegal search and seizure lead to your conviction

A drug crime conviction can threaten to derail your life as you know it. It has the potential to hit you with jail or prison time, sure, but it can also subject you to hefty fines and a mark on your criminal record that will haunt you for years to come. We don’t point that out to scare, but rather to show you the importance of preparing a strong criminal defense that first and foremost seeks dismissed charges or acquittal. If that outcome isn’t possible, then the next best outcome is securing reduced charges that leave you facing less severe penalties.

Regardless of your circumstances, though, you might have strong criminal defense options available to you. For example, if the police acted illegally in stopping you or searching you or your vehicle, then you might be able to have that evidence suppressed, meaning that it can’t be used against you in a court of law. This is true even if the evidence, if admissible, would completely make the prosecutions case.

So how do you go about suppressing evidence? You’ll have to file a motion requesting that the court suppress it and have a hearing on it. At that hearing you’ll need to demonstrate how law enforcement violated your Constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure. This may mean showing that an initial traffic stop that led to the search and seizure of drugs was illegal in the first place, or it might mean presenting evidence that police officers lacked exigent circumstances to conduct a warrantless search.

These are slippery legal terms that are often difficult for people to fully understand, let alone argue in a court of law. That is why many people who are facing drug charges, including those who have been wronged by the police, choose to seek out legal assistance from an experienced and aggressive criminal defense attorney.

Cook & Tolley, LLP
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