Title: How Could I Get My Criminal Charges Dropped? | CriminalDefenseLawyer.com
Headings: Getting a Criminal Charge Dismissed
Getting a Criminal Charge Dismissed
Many cases are dismissed before a plea or trial. Learn about the common reasons why.
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No Probable Cause to Arrest
Mistake in Criminal Complaint
Illegal Stop or Search
Insufficient Evidence
Unavailable Witness or Lost Evidence
Prosecutor's Discretion
After a Successful Appeal
A Bad Arrest or Search
Insufficient Evidence to Support the Jury's Finding
No Jurisdiction
Consult an Attorney

Content: If the grand jury or the judge do not find probable cause, then the charges must be dismissed. when prosecutors have very limited evidence against a defendant in a criminal case, they may conclude that they do not have enough evidence to move forward in the case and dismiss the charges on their own. Unavailable Witness or Lost Evidence
If a key witness in a criminal case is unavailable to testify or the prosecution loses important physical evidence, the prosecutor may have no choice but to dismiss the case because there is not enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In some cases, physical evidence is so important that, without it, the prosecutor cannot prove the case. If a witness disappears, dies, or refuses to testify on Fifth Amendment grounds (because his testimony may incriminate him, in that it shows that he also committed a crime), the prosecutor may not have enough evidence without the witness' testimony. Some cases also hinge on a witness being able to identify the defendant as the person who committed the crime. Without the identification, the other evidence might not be strong enough to get a conviction. If a witness realizes after first identifying the defendant that he or she is unsure and not able to to identify the defendant at trial, the prosecutor might decide that, without the witness identification, there is not enough evidence to win at trial and a dismissal is in order. In some cases, the defense will challenge the procedure police used to obtain the witness' identification of the defendant by challenging the way the police conducted a line-up or raising other issues with the witness identification process. If the judge finds the police conducted a line-up or other identification process improperly, the judge may not allow the witness to identify the defendant at trial.