To build their white-collar crime case against you, law enforcement and prosecutors will rely upon evidence seized from your home and perhaps your place of business. While this evidence can seem insurmountable, you might be able to block the prosecution from using it against you if you can demonstrate that it was collected in violation of your Constitutional rights. And one way to show that that’s occurred is by illustrating law enforcement’s reliance on faulty warrants and the inappropriate use of exceptions to the warrant requirement.
How law enforcements conducts illegal searches
Sure, an illegal traffic stop can taint the legality of a subsequently conducted search of a vehicle, but there are many other circumstances that can render a police search of a home, business, car or person illegal. This includes:
- Providing the court with false information to secure a search warrant.
- Conducting a search that goes beyond the scope of a warrant that was validly issued.
- Misapplying an exception to the warrant requirement.
- Securing a warrant that lacked requisite probable cause to justify its issuance.
- Relying on a warrant that lacked the judge’s signature or a date of issuance.
- Using a warrant when the address to be searched is wrongly identified.
Any of these errors can be pivotal to your criminal defense, since blocking the prosecution from presenting certain evidence against you can completely derail their case. So, be sure you carefully analyze the facts of your case to see if you can make a valid argument showing that your Constitutional rights were violated.
Build an aggressive criminal defense that protects your interests
Addressing search and seizure issues is just one part of an effective criminal defense. So, if you’re facing white collar crime charges or are under investigation for something like embezzlement, then now is the time to start thinking about the best way to build the holistic criminal defense strategy needed to protect your interests.