You were recently driving through a residential area of Corona del Mar at 2:00 AM on a Friday night. Despite following all traffic regulations, a police officer stopped you and proceeded to administer a field sobriety test (FST). You are now being charged with a DUI under VC 23152(a). Can you suppress the evidence resulting from the traffic stop?

Motion To Suppress Evidence

A motion to suppress evidence is a written request that asks a judge exclude all evidence resulting from an unreasonable search or seizure. A search or seizure is “unreasonable” if it is conducted without reasonable suspicion, without a warrant, or with an improperly-issued warrant. The motion contains persuasive arguments explaining why the evidence should be excluded as well as legal authority in support of this contention.

If a police officer violates your Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches or seizures by pulling you over without reasonable suspicion or arresting you without probable cause, you may be able to have any evidence resulting from the traffic stop excluded. Without this critical evidence, the prosecutor will likely not be able to convict you of a DUI under VC 23152(a) or 233152(b).

Once your attorney files the 1538.5 motion, the prosecutor will have the opportunity to respond. First, the prosecutor will likely do his or her “homework” by researching the applicable law, examining the evidence against you, and interviewing the arresting officer. After completing these steps, the prosecutor will most likely file a formal objection to your motion to suppress evidence.

If the prosecutor objects to your motion to suppress evidence, the court will hear your suppression motion. At this hearing, both sides will have the opportunity to argue their positions before the judge. Your criminal defense attorney may have you or any other witnesses testify. The prosecutor may choose to have the arresting officer testify as well.

After both parties have presented their oral arguments, the judge will make a ruling on the 1538.5 motion to suppress evidence. Specifically, the judge may decide to exclude all evidence resulting from the unreasonable search or seizure or to admit it into evidence.

If the evidence is excluded, the prosecutor may face considerable difficulty in convicting you of a DUI. This may lead to reduced charges or a complete dismissal of the case against you. If the evidence is admitted, you will still have several options. For example, you may plead guilty in order to receive a reduced sentence. Depending on the strength of your case, you may also choose to proceed to trial.

Wallin & Klarich Can Help You File A 1538.5 Motion

The experienced attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been successfully defending clients charged with a DUI for over 30 years. Due to our decades of experience, we can help you file a 1538.5 motion to suppress evidence resulting from an unreasonable search or seizure, regardless of the case type. We will aggressively defend you from the first day you retain our office in order to help you stay out of jail. When you are accused of a DUI or any other crime, there is too much at stake to entrust your legal representation to anyone other than an experienced Wallin & Klarich DUI defense attorney.

Our offices are located in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, West Covina, Victorville, Torrance, and Sherman Oaks. Give us a call today at (888) 280-6839 to discuss your case. We will get through this together.