A motion hearing is a court procedure in which some decision of a trial is made preemptively. For example, a motion may include a motion to suppress or to keep out certain evidence or a motion in limine to limit other evidentiary considerations that one does not want a fact-finder to hear. Motions may limit or streamline the data necessary for the fact-finder to make their decision.
Generally, motion hearings in Leesburg DUI cases are generally heard on the trial date, meaning they are not set in a special hearing at a different time than the rest of the trial. Motions are usually conducted orally by the DUI defense attorney who demonstrates why the judge should accept a motion. However, simply making a motion is not enough. Motions must be noticed on the court dockets, include a date and time for the motion to be heard, and, in some cases, a fee must be assessed.
A motion to suppress evidence is one of the most typical motion hearings that occurs in a Leesburg DUI case. A motion to suppress evidence generally asserts that some manner or method of the DUI encounter was in violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights. Typically, a motion to suppress in a DUI case will involve the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. A motion to suppress essentially argues that evidence was obtained illegally, and should, therefore, be ignored.
The attorney essentially asks the court to suppress evidence that comes after the violation occurred, so if the violation was at the stop, anything after the stop should be out. It is a very critical weapon in the arsenal of a Leesburg DUI defense attorney. If law enforcement failed to execute their stop correctly, the whole case may be dismissed.
A motion to compel discovery is a motion that says discovery has been requested but, for some reason, the prosecution has not fulfilled their obligation. A motion to compel discovery is far more common in civil cases than in criminal cases, but in criminal cases, it may arise when the defense believes the Commonwealth has some piece of evidence that it is refusing to turn over and wants the court to rule on whether or not they should turn it over.
It may also apply in a criminal case when a defendant has propounded discovery on a third party through a subpoena, and then that subpoena was not answered. The defense may then look to have the court enforce that subpoena
There may be a motion to exclude certain witnesses as a pretrial matter. This may be due to some bias that the witness may have, tainting their ability to give factual testimony. Taking care of this concern during motion hearings in Leesburg DUI cases.
There may also be a motion for a rule on witnesses, meaning that the defense or the Commonwealth is requesting the witnesses to sit separately and have no contact during the pendency of the trial so as to not coordinate their testimony. Otherwise, attorneys may request that certain forms of testimony be limited in use in the form of an exclusionary motion. This is often used for the results of field sobriety tests.
If you are heading to trial for a DUI charge, it may be helpful to have a lawyer make some motions to improve your chances of a positive outcome. There may be several issues that could be handled during motions hearings in Leesburg DUI cases that might even see the case completely dismissed. To learn how motions to suppress, exclude, or compel might help your case, call a seasoned criminal defense attorney today.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
