Denver criminal defense lawyer / probable cause

In light of last week's discussion of reasonable doubt, I thought it might be useful to talk about some other burdens of proof. Reasonable doubt is obviously the most important tool for Denver criminal defense lawyers, because it can singlehandedly get the defendant acquitted without anything else. A defendant can simply argue that the prosecution did not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. If the jury agrees, the defendant is acquitted. That said there are several other burdens of proof (or levels to which the lawyer must prove his case) that are crucial during a criminal trial.

Probably the most important is probable cause. This is the level of proof the state must meet in proving evidence is admissible. It applies for both out of court testimony and evidence found through searches. This is because the Fourth Amendment requires officers have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed and that the search will unveil evidence of the crime (the Constitution doesn't actually say that, but the courts have read that into the amendment). So if your Denver criminal defense attorney can show that either of these things did not happen, the fruits of the search are excluded. That can be so fatal to the prosecution's case the evidence is simply excluded.

In the case of a "seizure" or an arrest, the prosecution has to show that either they had probable cause to believe a felony took place, or that they directly saw a misdemeanor. Either of these is good enough to justify an arrest. If these are not present, any answers you give during interrogation after arrest, or things found during searches at your arrest can't be put into evidence at trial.

So what in the world is probable cause anyway? Basically there is no great way to easily define it. It really is evidence that gives one pretty strong reason to suspect, though that's probably not terribly helpful either. The way lawyers look at it is this: there are a million cases where the Supreme Court and lower courts have looked at evidence and testimony and said "yes" or "no" to the probable cause determination. Your Denver criminal defense attorney knows these cases and can put together the strongest motion possible to exclude the evidence against you.