A police officer has rules and regulations they must follow when they stop a person and when they arrest a person. A failure to follow these could mean the case against the person is dismissed. When a person is arrested and charged with a crime, one defense a criminal attorney in Salisbury, MD might look at is insufficient evidence.
When an officer wants to search a person’s car, home or purse, they need to either have permission or probable cause. The person can give permission for the officer to conduct a search, but it’s usually not in their interest even if they don’t have anything to hide. The officer will then need to have probable cause to search. This doesn’t mean they can conduct a search just because they think a person looks guilty. However, if there are drugs within plain view in the vehicle or the person was seen buying drugs and then put something in their purse, this could be probable cause for a search to be conducted.
If the officer does not have probable cause or permission and they search a person’s car, home or purse, a criminal attorney in Salisbury, MD may be able to have the evidence suppressed. This is because it was obtained illegally and, therefore, is not admissible in court. If this is the only evidence against a person, the charges may be dropped, but if there is other evidence against the person, this may still weaken the prosecution’s case. Additionally, other evidence can be suppressed if it was only obtained because of the illegal search. This is the fruit of the forbidden tree doctrine and it states that any evidence gained solely because of other evidence that was illegally obtained cannot be used in court.
A lawyer can review a person’s case to determine if the officer had probable cause or permission to conduct a search. If they had neither, the lawyer may be able to have the evidence suppressed and the case dismissed due to a lack of evidence. This is only one type of defense a person might have against their charges. Visit Domain to speak to a lawyer and learn about other possible defenses for your case.
