Page 87 - Juvenile Practice is not Child's Play

the officer was not reliable, and he made no attempt to corroborate it before searching F.L. On its face, the tip

provides no additional detail that would readily indicate its veracity or the informant’s basis of knowledge, and the
officer did not personally observe F.L. engage in any criminal behavior that would warrant further investigation. The
officer simply assumed that the content of the tip was true without further investigation. Even if the officer later

found F.L. by the bleachers with a bag of white powder, there was no reasonable basis for suspecting him before the
officer’s search. Further, the tip spoke only of bags of white powder that appeared to be cocaine, so there was no
reliable assertion of the illegality of the tip for the officer to go on, as J.L. requires, only the officer’s personal
suspicions of F.L. See id. at 272. Because the anonymous tip provided no reliable basis for suspecting F.L. of any illegal

activity, F.L. was arrested based on the officer’s suspicions. Brinegar, 338 U.S. at 175 (probable cause may not be based
on mere suspicion). Without probable cause to believe that F.L. committed any crime, all statements made by F.L.
subsequent to his seizure, must be suppressed as fruit of his illegal arrest.

WHEREFORE, Defendant prays that the confession and statements taken from the Defendant, and the knowledge
obtained as a result of said confession and statements be in all things suppressed.

Sample Motion to Proceed Ex Parte And Motion for Appointment of Expert Assistance

CAUSE NO. 123567

IN THE MATTER OF § IN THE DISTRICT COURT
§
§ XXXth JUDICIAL DISTRICT
§
CLIENT NAME § HARRIS COUNTY, T E X A S

NOTE TO RECIPIENTS: What follows is a draft of a memorandum of law in support of a motion to suppress

a juvenile statement. It is a far from perfect draft, but is meant to provide a framework for such a pleading.
Of course, before using any of the law contained within this motion, the cases should be Shepardized and the
pleading should be edited to incorporate local law.