Khalil S. was stopped and detained by members of the Illinois State Police working in conjunction with the Kankakee Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Task Force. Khalil was driving his car in a normal manner when he was pulled over and asked to exit his vehicle. Officers then asked him to exit his vehicle in order to issue him a written warning for speeding. After he exited, the officers searched his truck and found a 9 mm luger and some controlled substances.
We started our investigation by obtaining the written police reports. We also subpoenaed the dispatch transcripts from the day of his arrest. After reviewing these items we realized that the police had violated Khalil’s Fourth Amendment rights. We filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence and asked for the court to conduct a pre-trial evidentiary hearing.
The court found that because the arresting officers didn’t see anything illegal in his car they had no right to ask Mr. S to exit. When they did, they violated his constitutional rights. Under the law, ANY evidence seized as a result of an unconstitutional search must be Suppressed or “thrown out”. The gun and the narcotics were suppressed and Khalil’s case was dismissed.
