Suppression Hearing

Drivers have constitutional rights and if their rights are violated the evidence gathered against them may be inadmissible in court. A violation of rights may occur if a law enforcement officer stops a driver or makes an arrest for DUI without probable cause. Following a DUI arrest there will be a hearing called a motion hearing which is generally held 6 weeks to 3 months after the pretrial conference.

The goal of the suppression hearing is to eliminate and suppress evidence against the DUI defendant thereby significantly weakening the prosecution's case. At the suppression hearing a driver's DUI lawyer may challenge evidence the police have gathered against the driver. Police officers and witnesses may provide testimony to the judge, and the judge will evaluate all of the DUI evidence and determine if the evidence was gathered legally. If the judge decides that evidence against the defendant was illegally obtained they may throw the evidence out or dismiss the DUI case.