Paralegal Certification PrepLitigationMedium
A paralegal is assisting with a criminal defense case involving a defendant accused of armed robbery. The defense attorney believes that the police obtained key evidence, a confession, through coercive interrogation tactics that violated the defendant's Fifth Amendment rights. To prevent this confession from being used at trial, which pre-trial motion should the paralegal prepare?
- AMotion for Severance
- BMotion for Change of Venue
- CMotion to Suppress Evidence
- DMotion for Bill of Particulars
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Motion to Suppress Evidence
A Motion to Suppress Evidence is the appropriate legal tool to prevent evidence, such as a confession obtained in violation of constitutional rights, from being presented at trial. It challenges the legality of how the evidence was acquired.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A Motion for Severance requests separate trials for co-defendants or separate charges.
- B. A Motion for Change of Venue seeks to move the trial to a different location due to concerns about impartiality.
- D. A Motion for Bill of Particulars requests more detailed information about the charges, not to exclude evidence.
Motion to Suppress Evidence
A pre-trial motion filed by a criminal defendant requesting that certain evidence be excluded from consideration at trial because it was illegally obtained or is otherwise inadmissible.
- Challenges legality of evidence acquisition
- Often based on Fourth or Fifth Amendment violations
- Can lead to exclusion of crucial evidence
Memory trick: Suppress the bad, Sever the ties, Change the place, Particulars specify.