Exclusionary Rule in Oklahoma: Protecting Constitutional Rights
Challenging evidence, the exclusionary rule in Oklahoma. I’m Tulsa attorney James Wirth. That’s a topic that we have, the exclusionary rule. In criminal cases, it’s helped to enforce constitutional rights so that if a defendant’s rights are violated, you have a remedy, a remedy that makes a difference in the criminal case and therefore a remedy that is going to matter to prosecutors and law enforcement so that they can act better in the future.
So what’s the exclusionary rule? Well, it’s essentially where rights have been violated in such a way that allowed the state, through law enforcement or elsewhere, to get a benefit. Sometimes that’s in additional evidence. Sometimes that’s by hiding evidence. Either way, if we want to deter that sort of activity, then there needs to be repercussions and the repercussions are part of constitutional law and it’s not just applicable in Oklahoma. It is a United States Supreme Court precedent, but it’s gonna be applicable in Oklahoma as well where we practice and deal with these issues.
Rights Violations and Consequences
What type of rights violations are we talking about? Generally, we’re talking about Fourth Amendment rights violations, Miranda rights violations, or perhaps a Brady or Discovery violation. So if we’ve got a client that was pulled over and there wasn’t reasonable suspicion for that stop and then there was a search done without consent or without probable cause and some sort of contraband was found and then they filed charges based on that contraband, well, they violated the law in illegally detaining you and searching you.
So if you can demonstrate that your rights were violated and that the fruits of that poisonous tree, meaning the contraband, the evidence they use against you, should not be admissible and the court should make a ruling that it is inadmissible and at that point, if the state doesn’t have sufficient evidence or other prosecuting authority does not have sufficient evidence for a conviction or for probable cause to move forward to trial, then the case should be dismissed at that point.
Seek Legal Advice Today
If you’re dealing with these circumstances, you’re gonna want to talk to a Tulsa criminal defense attorney privately and confidentially about your specific case to get legal advice that’s actionable for you. To talk to an attorney at my office, you can go online to MakeLawEasy.com or call 918-879-1681 for a low-cost initial strategy session.
