Motion to Suppress Evidence

Salt Lake City Attorney: Motion to Suppress Evidence

Sometimes police officers go on a "fishing expedition" by inappropriately asking questions unrelated to the reason for an initial traffic stop. This is a violation of your rights. It follows that you are under no obligation to and should not answer such questions. It is an attempt to improperly obtain information that may incriminate you in other illegal activity.

If the officer has no reasonable suspicion of a further illegality, independent of any information you provide, and questions you, this is illegal police conduct. It conflicts with your constitutional rights. Because many individuals do not know their rights, they are pressured into incriminating themselves by police misconduct. The law provides a remedy to deter this police misconduct — motion to suppress evidence. The judge may suppress evidence through such police misconduct for use at trial against the defendant.

Utah DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyer

My name is attorney David Paul White, a Utah criminal defense lawyer with more than 30 years of experience. As your attorney, I will obtain the evidence against you and review it to determine possible defenses. I will also carefully scrutinize the facts to determine whether there was police misconduct that should be addressed in a motion to suppress.

Things I consider in my review of evidence include:

• Was there reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop?
• Did the officer question you on issues only pertaining to the cause for the stop?
• Were you detained despite the officer not having evidence to support his or her suspicions?
• Did the police officer search you, your car or your home without a valid warrant or consent?

Any one of these things can be valid reason to seek a motion to suppress evidence.

DUI and Motion to Suppress Evidence

Motion to suppress is particularly helpful in drunk driving cases where blood alcohol content level (BAC) provides incriminating evidence against you. There are specific standards for conducting field sobriety tests and breath test operators must be properly licensed. Showing that the officer did not meet the standards or requirements can be cause for filing a motion to suppress, and be a good DUI defense.

Contact a Salt Lake City Attorney

If you believe you have been wrongfully detained or have had other constitutional rights violated during your arrest or questioning, representation from an experienced defense lawyer may make all the difference. Contact David Paul White criminal law office online, or call 877-593-0970 for a free initial consultation.