Q: A police officer working with a C.I. stops a man driving a car. No probable cause, no ticket, but arrested!
He searches car without asking, has a body cam but claims no footage of "finding" drugs. He enters his evidence using incorrect date. Should his evidence be considered covered by our 4th amendment; the evidentiary exclusionary rule?
A: It's entirely possible that the Court would suppress the evidence seized in a search or even suppress the arrest if no probable cause existed. An experienced lawyer would need to review all the evidence and file a Motion to Suppress. Only after the Court conducts a hearing will the evidence or the arrest be suppressed.
Juan Ooink agrees with this answer
A: Only your attorney can answer this question. Your attorney will have all of the needed information in order to answer this question. If you have not hired an attorney yet, you should do so right away. The sooner you hire an attorney the better.
A:
I think the best possible answer is that it's possible that the evidence can be covered by the 4th Amendment and the exclusionary rule.
The problem is, without access to the police reports and other information, it's impossible to give you a reliable assessment of your chances of winning. I say this because I am 100 percent positive that the officer did not write anywhere in his police report that he performed a warrantless search of the car (or anything else for that matter) with no probable cause. He's going to claim something to try to justify the search. The question is what, and whether or not that "what" will satisfy a judge because there are a lot of exceptions to the exclusionary rule that good lead to a motion being denied.
If you don't already have a defense lawyer, you need to get one. Any lawyer you recruit should have experience in Fourth Amendment issues both in knowing the law and practical experience in court.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
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