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If there is evidence in your case that the police obtained through a search warrant, the criminal defense lawyers at Gates Wise Schlosser and Goebel will leave no stone unturned to determine if the search warrant was valid and whether the police properly executed the search warrant.

The process of challenging the evidence that was obtained with a search warrant is called a motion to suppress. Before a judge issues a search warrant, the judge must be convinced that there is probable cause the to believe that the evidence the police want to seize is in the place they want to search. Many times the police present affidavits to demonstrate to the judge that there is probable cause for the warrant. One method of attacking the warrant is to demonstrate that the affidavit that supports the warrant was false or it was made with reckless disregard for the truth.

Recently, the Illinois appellate court ruled in People v Fernandez that the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s Franks motion for a hearing based on his challenge to the truth of the allegations in affidavit supporting search warrant. The motion is named after a famous Supreme Court case that allowed this type of challenge to a search warrant. In the Fernandez case the defendant presented affidavits from family members that showed that the defendant was not at the house the police wanted to search on date established in the police affidavit and that he did not have regular access to the house.

Many times trial courts do not pay enough attention to a defendant’s claim that the affidavit supporting a search warrant contains false information. The Fernandez case breathes fresh life into our ability to attack the truth of a search warrant affidavit. A successful attack on the affidavit could lead to the suppression of evidence. As a result, the state might not be able or prosecute or prove its case.