A motion to suppress is a testimonial court hearing where the Defendant is asking the Judge to exclude evidence from a trial because the State has violated the Defendant’s constitutional rights when it gathered evidence. For example, the police may have obtained evidence in a private residence without obtaining a warrant or consent to enter the home. It could be one piece of evidence or a number of pieces of evidence and it can be based on different constitutional rights. If the Court finds that the evidence is excluded, the Defendant does not automatically win the case. The State may still be able to prosecute the case with other evidence.
