There are several reasons why a criminal charge could be dismissed by a court or prosecutor, even before a plea is entered or before the case heads to a trial. When a criminal defense attorney first reviews a case, he or she will examine the case to see if there are any grounds for dismissal. Keep reading to learn about probable cause in the arrest, errors in the criminal complaint, unreasonable search and seizure, insufficient evidence, a lack of witnesses, lost evidence, and a successful appeal.

Before they can arrest anyone, a police officer has to have probable cause to do so. This means that he or she has to have a reason to think that someone may have committed a criminal offense; they cannot arrest someone on a hunch. As an example, let's say a police officer finds someone hiding near the scene of a burglary who matches the description of the burglar given by eye witnesses. That officer could have enough reason to justify an arrest. But if the officer simply happens upon someone who is hiding near a burglary scene and arrests them with nothing to go on, such as a description, then that officer lacked probable cause. This could lead to a dismissed burglary charge. That being said, if incriminating evidence turns up after the arrest, the prosecutor might be able to refile that burglary charge.

In some cases, a charge can be dismissed because a criminal complaint or charging document was erroneously filled out. Local laws will determine whether or not a complaint was properly issued. An officer has to write out this complaint and sign it under oath. If something important is left out or incorrect, the only person who can fix this problem is the officer who issued the complaint, and they must do so under oath. If the officer has since left their position or retired, etc., and they were the only officer in that case, then a prosecutor may have no choice but to dismiss the charge.

Another instance when probable cause is necessary is for a police stop or search. To pull a driver over, an officer has to see that driver run through a red light or break some other rule of traffic. An officer cannot pull someone over on a whim, or because they racially profiled someone. When it comes to searches, an officer either has to have a search warrant or to be in a specific situation. These situations include searching a person who has been arrested if the officer has probable cause to think that the suspect is armed. Another situation includes when a driver has been arrested, such as for a DUI, then the officer can search the vehicle. In emergency situations, police can go into a house without a warrant; this could be the case if they hear gunshots inside the house, for example. If an officer found evidence unlawfully, then that evidence could be thrown out. This could be enough to ask for charge dismissal due to lack of evidence.

For whatever reason there is a lack of evidence, this could be grounds for charges to be dismissed. In order for a charge to stick, a prosecutor must first convince a grand jury or judge there is sufficient evidence to show that there is probable cause to suspect a defendant of a crime. If the grand jury or the judge does not believe there is probable cause, then they will dismiss the charges. Or the prosecutor may decide ahead of time that they do not have enough evidence to convince a grand jury or judge and may dismiss the charge themselves.

It is possible for charges to be dismissed if a witness is unavailable or crucial physical evidence is lost. With this testimony or without this evidence, the prosecutor may realize that they do not have enough evidence to win the trial. This could be the case if a key witness cannot be tracked down, passes away, or invokes their Fifth Amendment rights, knowing that their testimony would incriminate them too. If a witness is unable to confidently identify the defendant as the culprit, then the prosecutor may not have a case. There may even be cases where a witness will be prohibited from identifying the defendant in the courtroom because police did not conduct the identification process correctly.

Then there are times when prosecutorial discretion could lead to a charge dismissal. The prosecutor may decide to dismiss a criminal charge if it is a minor charge (such as a misdemeanor loitering charge) or if there are extenuating circumstances. Even rarer is the case where a victim asks the prosecutor to dismiss the charge.

As a final note, it is possible to dismiss a case after a defendant has been convicted. This would in the case where a defendant has a successful appeal, where an appellate court could dismiss the case or a lower court could decide to not retry the case. This could happen if the defense can show that there was an unlawful arrest or search, that there was inadequate evidence to support the verdict, or that a court overreached its jurisdiction.

In order to get a criminal charge or case dismissed, it will take the expertise of a skilled criminal attorney. If you are looking for the best criminal defense lawyer possible, search our directory today for the rigorous defense you need.