What is a motion to suppress and what happens if we win it?

The motion identifies evidence and argues it was obtained in violation of your rights. It's filed before trial, and it's litigated at a hearing where officers testify and are cross-examined.

That hearing matters beyond its outcome. It puts the officer under oath, on the record, describing what happened — often the first time that's occurred. Testimony given there is locked in, and where it diverges from the report or the video, that divergence exists permanently.

If the motion is granted, the excluded evidence can't be used in the State's case. Where that evidence was the case — the substance in a drug charge, the breath result in a DUI — the prosecution frequently can't proceed and the charges get dropped.

But suppression and dismissal are different rulings. The State can sometimes continue on remaining evidence, and it may have the ability to appeal the suppression order.