One of the best ways to protect yourself if you’re accused of a drug crime is to get the evidence suppressed. By doing this, you could, in essence, completely destroy the prosecution’s case. With no evidence, it may be impossible to prosecute the case and win.
Suppressing evidence is more common than you may think. This is because there are set requirements for how evidence has to be collected and held. If there are errors made when collecting evidence, transferring evidence or holding it, then you may be able to use those errors to your advantage.
There was no right to search your property
One of the first ways to get evidence in a case suppressed is by showing that the police had no right to search your vehicle or property. You may also take action to show that they had no right to stop your vehicle.
For example, if a police officer stops you while you’re traveling, you have a right to ask why you were stopped. If they claim you were speeding or driving recklessly but you can disprove those claims or the officer has no evidence to back up the traffic stop, then any evidence collected during the stop might be able to be suppressed.
Similarly, if an officer has no reason to enter your home and does so without a warrant, you may be able to have the evidence collected suppressed.
Errors in the chain of custody
Errors in the chain of custody are also important to consider. The evidence should only be in the custody of those qualified to handle it. If it goes missing or is handed off to the wrong person, then it may be considered tainted or tarnished. If that happens, you may be able to get the evidence suppressed, since someone may have tampered with it.
Evidence suppression could help you protect yourself against a conviction
These are a couple of things to think about as you look into protecting yourself against drug charges. Evidence matters, so getting evidence suppressed may help you minimize the risk of a conviction for drug charges.