Let $S$ be a smooth noetherian scheme, and let $Sm/S$ be the category of smooth schemes over $S$. Voevodsky constructs the homotopy category of motives (resp. the stable homotopy category of motives) $H(S)$ (resp. $SH(S)$) by localizing the category of simplicial presheaves on $Sm/S$.
Since I am a newcomer to this idea, I'm not sure how all the technical details work. I'd like to know what role smoothness plays in the construction of $H(S)$ and $SH(S)$. What prevents us for defining analogous categories for all schemes over $S$?