Can a Felony be Dismissed?

Franklin, Brentwood & Columbia Felony Attorneys Explore All Means of Obtaining Dismissals

Procedural and evidentiary challenges to expose the weakness of the prosecution’s case

By definition, a felony is a serious offense. Prosecutors rarely charge a felony if they’re not willing to pursue it. Occasionally, a prosecutor will charge a felony to leverage a defendant into a plea bargain for a misdemeanor. But in general, prosecutors proceed in earnest to secure convictions on felony charges. It’s therefore up to the defense counsel to expose enough flaws in the prosecution’s case that a trial begins to seem like an exercise in futility and a waste of resources. Prosecutors take pride in their work and zealously guard their image as competent professionals. Losing a case after a bitter trial can be more than an embarrassment: It can seriously damage a prosecutor’s career.  For more than 20 years, the Law Offices of Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates has provided aggressive criminal defense in felony cases, employing all legal and ethical means to deliver a favorable outcome for our clients.

Motions to suppress evidence in drug possession cases and other felonies

It’s a criminal defense attorney’s duty to provide his client with a vigorous defense. A big part of that defense is challenging law enforcement’s procedures and evidence in pre-trial motions. The basic principle is that if the police violated your constitutional rights and if not for those violations, they never would have obtained evidence against you, they cannot use that ill-gotten evidence. The exclusionary rule is meant to deter police misconduct by denying them any advantage. The court may exclude evidence against you obtained by:

  • Traffic stop without cause
  • Stop and frisk without reasonable suspicion
  • Warrantless search of your car or premises
  • Warrantless wiretap
  • Compelling you to make a statement against your interest
  • Refusing to let you talk to a lawyer

For instance, in cases of marijuana possession, suppose the police pull a car over for no apparent reason and proceed to search it without getting permission or a warrant. They find a bag of marijuana in the trunk and it’s large enough to charge felony possession. In pre-trial motion, your defense attorney must assert that the evidence against you is the fruit of an illegal search, and if not for their unlawful actions, the police would have no evidence against you. Under those circumstances, the judge would order the evidence excluded, and your case would have to be dismissed.

Contact a Columbia felony lawyer with a thorough knowledge of criminal procedure

Criminal defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Altshuler & Associates provide aggressive felony defense in Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Lawrenceburg and Pulaski, Tennessee. To learn more about how a defense attorney can assert your constitutional rights to force a dismissal of the charges against you, call us today at 615-977-9370 or use our convenient online form to schedule your free initial consultation.

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