Types of Motions Filed in a DC DUI Case

In some criminal cases the government may plan on submitting statements or physical evidence at trial in an attempt to use that evidence as a way to convict the defendant. If a DC DUI attorney believes submitting such evidence might be illegal or in violation of certain procedural rules, the defense can file a motion to suppress that evidence. A motion to suppress evidence means that the defense is asking the judge to prohibit the prosecution from admitting certain evidence in trial.

As an example, if a person is charged with a crime as a result of a weapon that is found in the person’s car, the defense might be able to argue that the search of the person’s car violated certain constitutional requirements. The motion would have to include the relevant facts and give a legal explanation as to why the search violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. The prosecution could file a response and the judge could hold a hearing to hear any testimony or additional arguments before deciding whether or not to allow the government to use that evidence.

Motion to Suppress in a DUI Case

In a DUI case, there is typically not much physical evidence that might be used by a prosecutor. However, there could potentially be other evidence that could be suppressed if the evidence was obtained by the government in violation of a person’s constitutional rights or in violation of procedural requirements. An experienced lawyer is able to check through the legitimacy of how evidence was obtained for the case.

As an example, if the police arrested a person for driving under the influence and subsequently interrogated that person without reading them their Miranda rights, the defense might be able to file a motion to suppress any responses to the interrogation made by their client. The reason is because asking a defendant certain questions after being arrested without informing that defendant of their right to remain silent and to not answer questions after being placed in custody could be a violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights. In such a situation, the defense attorney might be able to argue through a motion to suppress that the judge or jury should not be able to consider the defendant’s statements as evidence against the defendant in their trial.

Motion for a Judgment of Acquittal

After the prosecutors have presented their evidence at a trial, the defense has the opportunity to make an argument that the judge should enter an acquittal in the case after hearing a motion for a judgment of acquittal. A motion for a judgment of acquittal is when the defense argues that even if the court makes all inferences in favor of the prosecutors, no reasonable jury would be able to find sufficient evidence to convict the defendant.

A motion for a judgment of acquittal places a low burden on the prosecutors to take the case to a final verdict. That means the defense would need to argue that even if the court assumes all facts in favor of the prosecutors, there is not sufficient evidence for any reasonable finder of fact to find the defendant guilty. If the court is convinced by this argument, the court could enter a judgment of acquittal without hearing any additional testimony from the defense and without sending the case to the jury in the event that the case is tried before a jury.

Motion to Compel Discovery

In Washington, DC, the rules of procedure generally say that discovery requests are made informally. Discovery is the process by which the defense asks the prosecutors to turn over the evidence that they have collected in their investigation. The discovery rules do not create an open discovery process in DC, meaning that the prosecutors are not required to turn over their entire file to the defense. DC rules require the defense to make specific discovery requests to the prosecutors, and for the prosecutors to respond to those discovery requests either with the information requested, or by saying that DC rules do not require them to turn over that information so they are declining to do so.

If the defense feels that they have made a request to the government for certain evidence, and the government has either failed to produce that evidence or has declined to produce that evidence, the defense can file a motion to compel discovery with the court. A motion to compel discovery is a motion filed by the defense asking the judge to order the government to turn over requested evidence. The defense will have to make an argument for why this evidence is relevant, why the DC rules require the prosecutors to turn over the information, and why the defense believes the government has the information.

The government has the opportunity to respond either by arguing that they should not have to turn over the information, by claiming that they do not have it, or by saying the defense is not entitled to the information. If the judge agrees with the defense, he or she could then order the prosecutors to turn that information over.

Additional Motions

There are many different types of motions that can be filed in a DUI case. These motions could include a motion to dismiss the entire case as a result of procedural or constitutional violations. The defense could file motions to suppress certain types of evidence if that evidence was obtained in an illegal or unconstitutional way. The defense could also file motions to change a defendant’s conditions of release. They can file many other types of motions that are similar under DC law.

Often a client will ask me whether we can file motions to dismiss cases based on lack of evidence. The answer is no because the only way a judge could decide a case on the merits is by having a trial and having a defendant either acquitted or found guilty after testimony is heard and after a trial is concluded.