Georgia DUI Motion to Suppress

To ensure your civil liberties are protected, there are a number of guidelines law enforcement must follow during the course of a driving under the influence (DUI) stop and arrest. Violating the proper protocol, such as not having probable cause to pull someone over—or not having enough evidence to make a drunk-driving arrest is against the law—is problematic, and could affect the state's case against you.

If you elect to fight your DUI criminal charges, there will be several hearings before the main trial. At one of these hearings, the judge will review the evidence against you. If your attorney believes any of the evidence against you is unlawful, he or she will file a motion to suppress. If this motion is granted, the judge will throw out this evidence so it cannot be used in trial. As a result, the prosecution's case against you may be weak, resulting in the dismissal of the offense or reduced charges.

So what makes a piece of evidence eligible for suppression? If the officer pulled you over without probable cause—that is, no signs that you were committing the act of drunk driving—evidence collected after the fact may be unlawful. This means that your field sobriety test performance or any evidence found in your vehicle may be inadmissible.

Of course, the arresting officers may not want to admit that they messed up or did not follow the proper procedures. Fortunately, most Georgia patrol cars are equipped with dashboard cameras, which means your attorney can review the videotape evidence of everything, from before your traffic stop through any field sobriety tests and the arrest. This can then be introduced at the hearing to support the motion to suppress.

One of the mistakes many people make after being arrested for any crime is believing that the evidence against them is accurate. However, police officers are people, and thus are prone to mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes can result in a conviction unless you decide to fight your charges.

The firm of The Turner Firm, LLC invites our online visitors to submit their questions via our online form, and we offer obligation-free case evaluations for those who want to learn more about their rights.

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