Seattle DUI Attorney | There is No Such Thing as Inevitable Discovery in Washington State

Posted on 2009-12-08, 07:10, by Smalls, under Law.

If you are not a Seattle DUI attorney, the title of this article probably means nothing to you. But if you are ever stopped and searched by the police illegally, you are going to be happy this rule (or lack of rule) exists. The rule, the inevitable discovery doctrine, is a benchmark of United States legal jurisprudence. It has saved cops on occasions too numerous to count from having illegally obtained evidence excluded from trial. And it now formally doesn't exist in Washington State.

In Seattle criminal law, there is a basic way that things work. First, the cops do something wrong that should get evidence suppressed. Second, the guy who is arrested because of the illegally obtained evidence hires or is appointed a Seattle criminal attorney. Third, the Seattle criminal lawyer files a motion to exclude the evidence because it was obtained illegally. Fourth, the motion is denied, the evidence is allowed in, the case goes to trial, and the guy loses. Fifth, and finally, the issue is appealed up to the Supreme Court where (hopefully) a thoughtful and careful analysis of the issue is completed and a correct decision is issued. This process seems straightforward, and it is. But it takes forever. So we only finally got the decision on this issue this week. But I guess it's better late than never.

Inevitable discovery, in a nutshell, works like this: If the cops pull you over for speeding or something and end up arresting you, often they will search your vehicle. Up until recently, this was legal. Now it is illegal. So, when cops are illegally searching your vehicle and finding evidence, whatever they find is supposed to be suppressed. The inevitable discovery doctrine, however, allows evidence that was obtained illegally to be admitted at trial if the prosecution can show that it would have inevitably been discovered.

Confused? Let me give you an example. Let's say you are driving and you have a warrant out for your arrest for something. The cops pull you over for speeding, learn about the warrant, and arrest you on the warrant. While they are arresting you, they decide to search your vehicle – all of it. In the back seat they find a gun and some drugs, and you are arrested for that too. The problem for the cops, however, is that they shouldn't have searched your vehicle. It was illegal. But the prosecutor says even though the search was technically illegal, it would have been discovered inevitably because when the car was impounded, an inventory search would have been conducted and the items would have been found. Evidence comes in and you go to jail.

In Seattle, however, things work a little differently, particularly after last week. Last week, the Washington Supreme Court decided that the inevitable discovery doctrine doesn't work here. The state constitution here is more specific about the rights of its citizens, and the court has found that exceptions for illegal searches don't apply to Seattleites and others in Washington State. The inevitable discovery doctrine is a federal rule conceived via the US Constitution. Because our constitution is more specific, we get more rights.

If you are pulled over for Seattle DUI or any other criminal charges, don't wait until you get out of jail to talk to someone. Call a Seattle DUI attorney as soon as possible – it can make a huge difference in the outcome of your case.

Similar Articles:
Tags: , , , , ,
«
»