Motion to Suppress


Definition of Motion to Suppress

A motion to suppress is a legal motion that is filed by an attorney in a trial in order to exclude a specific piece of evidence from the legal case.

The only way that one side of a court case can get something left out of the case is to file for the right to do so by requesting it through a motion to suppress. The judge must rule on the validity and the merit of suppressing the specific piece of information, and does not have to allow for the suppression should they feel that it is not warranted.



Motion to Suppress Explained

The main reason why a motion to suppress would be filed is when there is a breach of a defendant's constitutional rights. The most likely scenario for such a filing would be within criminal court and often in relation to either an illegal search, illegal wiretapping or illegal seizure.

If a motion to suppress is allowed, it is often the case that the defendant is found not guilty.





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