This blog devotes a lot of space to the suppression of evidence before a trial of an accused person. That is because warrantless searches that violate your Fourth Amendment rights occur frequently, and the inclusion or exclusion of the evidence the police obtained in an illegal search or seizure may represent the difference between a conviction or an acquittal (or dismissal) of the charges against you. Given the importance of these arguments, it pays to ensure you have an experienced and effective Maryland criminal defense lawyer on your side when facing drug or weapons charges.
Take, for example, a recent evidence suppression case from Prince George’s County. The evidence the police obtained during a vehicle search was inadmissible at trial because the police lacked an appropriate basis for searching the interior of the defendant’s car.
In reaching that conclusion, the Appellate Court helpfully laid out some “ground rules” for what is — and what is not — a legal vehicle search. The court’s recitation of the law serves as a notable reminder of two things:
- Small details (and differences) can matter a great deal in a search-and-seizure case, and
- Search-and-seizure law concepts can sometimes be analogized to sports.