Gilbert & Smallman Nominated by Florida Super Lawyers magazine as "Rising Stars" for 2010

Fort Lauderdale - Miami Criminal Attorney

>>Winning your Case Prior to Trial

Motions to Suppress Evidence

A motion to suppress evidence, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190, is an effective avenue to winning your case without having to go to trial. The officers who make the arrest have certain procedures that need to be followed when they collect evidence in the case against you. If those procedures were not followed, the evidence was not obtained legally, and therefore will not be admissible to be considered by a Judge or Jury at trial. Certain evidence is required in order for the State of Florida to prove their case. If that evidence is not allowed to come into the trial, then the State cannot move forward, resulting in a dismissal.

Types of Evidence that could be subject to suppression

1. YOUR WORDS-What you say to an officer can be used against you in a Court of Law, but only if they obtain the statement correctly. If they do not follow procedure, the statement may not come into a proceeding before a Judge or Jury. If you are in custody (meaning that your freedom is restrained) and an officer is asking questions in order to investigate, the officer is supposed to read you the Miranda warnings, which is a list of rights explaining that you are not required to answer questions without an attorney present. If Miranda rights are not read, the statements may not have been obtained legally and therefore may not be used against you in Court.

2. YOUR IDENTITY-I know it sounds strange to think that your identity is actual evidence to be used against you, but it is. If an officer pulls you over because he has a hunch that you’ve committed a crime, or because he thinks he sees a traffic infraction that turns out to be perfectly legal, then the officer had no right to pull you over in the first place. If the officer had no right to pull you over, then he had no right to ask you for your ID, and was therefore not entitled to even know who you are.

3. THE OBJECT OF THE CRIME-If drugs (or stolen property) are confiscated at the scene of the alleged crime, or even more damning if they are found on your person, then the drugs (property) just became the main evidence to be used against you at trial. What if the officer had no right to stop you? What if the officer had no right to ask you out of your car to search it for drugs (property)? In either case, if the officer did not possess such a right, then the drugs (property) found as a result of the illegal search are not admissible to be entered into evidence at a trial.

We handle cases in the following areas of criminal law:

*Click Here to view the DUI Law for the State of Florida*

Our Law Offices are Located at:

Miami Office

The White Building
One Northeast Second Ave, Suite 200
Miami, FL 33132
Phone: (786) 371-4431
Fax: (305) 358-2503

Fort Lauderdale Office

214 SE 13th St.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
Phone: (954) 661-7371

Tallahassee Office

909 East Park Avenue
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone: (850) 391-7045
Fax: (850) 391-6152

Fill out this form to have one of our experienced trial attorneys contact you immediately (All communications are protected by Attorney/Client privilege):

Contact Harris Gilbert at 786.371.4431 or e-mail him directly to hgilbertlaw@hotmail.com for a free consultation

Miami Office

The White Building
One Northeast Second Ave,
Suite 200
Miami, FL 33132
Phone: (786) 371-4431
Fax: (305) 358-2503

Fort Lauderdale Office

214 SE 13th St.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
Phone: (954) 661-7371

Tallahassee Office

909 East Park Avenue
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone: (850) 391-7045
Fax: (850) 391-6152