People interested in learning about the dynamics of a criminal case usually focus only on
the trial itself, but a very large body of law governs pre-trial motions. Typically, a skilled and
experienced criminal lawyer will carefully examine the evidence against his client, which is
contained in what is known as “discovery.” Discovery is all the evidence that the prosecutor
intends to bring against the defendant in a trial. The prosecutor is constitutionally required to
supply the defendant and the lawyer the discovery. This is when the lawyer gets to really dig in
to the essence of the case against his client. In this article, I want to zero in on “statements,”
which can be oral or written.

When a defendant is formally arrested, the police must read him the Miranda rights.
These rights set forth the “ground rules” that they must follow in questioning the defendant.
Basically, the defendant has an absolute right to remain silent. If a statement is made after an
arrest, but before the rights are read, that statement can be suppressed by bringing a formal
motion before the trial judge, asking that the statement be stricken, and not be introduced against
the defendant in a trial. This also means that information derived from the stricken statement can
be suppressed. There are many nuances and gray areas surrounding the questions about when an
arrest is actually made and when a statement is actually made, but an experienced criminal
lawyer can make sense of it all. I have prepared and argued many pre-trial motions, and can state
that only experience can put together a winning outcome.