District court — criminal · Pretrial motions
Motion to Suppress Evidence
Seeks exclusion of unlawfully obtained evidence.
Filed by: Defendant
Not yet verified. Compiled from the national rules and not yet verified by a reviewing attorney. The national rules are amended each December 1, and local rules, standing orders and judges' practices add to them. Confirm with the current rules before filing. This is not legal advice.
What it must include
- Caption with court, case title (United States v. …) and case number
- Motion identifying the evidence and the grounds
- Memorandum of law
- Affidavit or declaration establishing standing and facts (often required for an evidentiary hearing)
- Request for evidentiary hearing
- Signature of counsel of record
- Certificate of service (FRCrP 49(a)–(b))
Deadline and length
Deadline: Before trial, by the court’s pretrial-motion deadline (FRCrP 12(b)(3), (c)).
Governing rules
- FRCrP 12(b)(3)(C)
- FRCrP 41(h)
- Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments
Check the local rules for
- Hearing / notice-of-motion procedure and briefing schedule
- Assigned judge’s individual practices or standing orders
Applies in federal district courts. Find your court for its local requirements.
Other pretrial motions
Draft this filing in DraftAria.
Court-formatted template with this checklist built in, and brackets where your matter details go.