Whether a criminal and/or DUI (aka, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, DUII, DWI or more commonly called “drunk driving”) defense lawyer is representing a client on a misdemeanor or a felony charge, that lawyer is always on the lookout for any illegal search and/or seizure conducted by the police. The criminal defense lawyer begins by looking at the initial traffic stop (if there is one) or other initial stop of the client (again, if there is one) by a police officer, and whether or not the officer’s procedure in contacting or otherwise stopping the client and then conducting any type of search and/or seizure was done in a lawful manner. The Oregon Constitution provides Oregon residents with protections which are in addition to the United States Constitution. So in addition to the Fourth Amendment protections, an Oregon resident also has the protections of Article 1, Section 9 of the Oregon Constitution which prohibit illegal and/or unreasonable search or seizure.
If an Oregon criminal defense attorney identifies what appears to be an illegal search and/or seizure involving the client, that Oregon defense lawyer can file a motion to suppress the evidence which was illegally obtained from the client. If a court ultimately rules that the search and/or seizure conducted by the police was in fact unlawful, then not only is the prosecutor forbidden from using that evidence against the client in during the criminal trial and forbidden from presenting it to a jury, any evidence obtained by the police as a result (something we call “fruit of the poisonous tree”) is also forbidden from being presented to the jury and used against the client by the government.
The Duvall Law Office is based in Eugene, Oregon. But we represent criminal and/or DUI (aka, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, DUII, DWI or more commonly called “drunk driving”) clients throughout the state. We represent clients charged with offenses in Lane County Circuit Court, Eugene Municipal Court and Springfield Municipal Court, and in the surrounding cities of Junction City, Cottage Grove, Florence, Coburg and others. We also represent clients in Benton County Circuit Court in Corvallis, Linn County Circuit Court in Albany, and Douglas County Circuit Court in Roseburg. If you would like to discuss your criminal and/or DUI (aka, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, DUII, DWI or more commonly called “drunk driving”) case, please contact our office to schedule an appointment at: 541-345-4500.