Just because you’re arrested and charged with a crime doesn’t mean you’re guilty, and it doesn’t mean you don’t have any options. Even if the prosecution seems to have evidence that points to you as the person who committed the crime, it doesn’t mean they have a case against you. In fact, when you hire a criminal law attorney in Rapid City area, you may find that some of the evidence they want to use against you is not lawful and can be suppressed.
Suppression of evidence is a way for your lawyer to ensure you have a fair trial. There is a variety of reasons why a piece of evidence can be suppressed, but your lawyer will be aware of all of them. They will be able to review over every piece of evidence to find out if the evidence was obtained lawfully and then kept lawfully until the trial. Some examples of when evidence may be suppressed include:
- If the arrest was deemed unlawful, any evidence that came from the arrest may be unlawful as well
- If the evidence was not collected following specific procedures
- If the chain of custody for the evidence was broken at any point in time or compromised in any way
These are just a few of the most common ways evidence can be suppressed. If your Criminal Law Attorney in Rapid City is able to get some or all of the evidence against you suppressed, the prosecution will not have as strong of a case against you. This can mean you will receive a not-guilty verdict, or it may mean that your charges are dropped altogether. Your attorney will be able to let you know if either of these is possible with your case, based on the evidence that is allowed into court and what they can successfully suppress.
If you’ve been arrested, contact a criminal law attorney as soon as possible. The longer they have to review your evidence, the more likely it will be that they can find a way to help your defense. One of the most common ways is through suppression of evidence, which can give you a much better outcome for your case than you may have thought. You may even be able to avoid being found guilty or have your charges dropped.
