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The Nature of Evidence

The Nature of Evidence. A Guide to Legal Evidence & the Courts. Evidence : Any statement or object from which conclusions can be drawn. Circumstantial Evidence. Information that seems to point to a perpetrator, including witnesses & documents

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The Nature of Evidence

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  1. The Nature of Evidence A Guide to Legal Evidence & the Courts

  2. Evidence: Any statement or object from which conclusions can be drawn

  3. Circumstantial Evidence • Information that seems to point to a perpetrator, including witnesses & documents • Documents could be credit card receipts, telephone records or correspondence (mail or email)

  4. Physical Evidence • Actual objects that are associated with the crime & can be linked to the perpetrator • Can include blood, hair, fibers, DNA, etc.

  5. Class Evidence • Evidence that can be linked to a GROUP of people • Example: hair, fiber, blood type

  6. Individual Evidence • Evidence that can be linked to ONE individual person • Example: fingerprint, DNA

  7. “Discovery” Each attorney is required to submit information regarding facts and expert information BEFORE the trial. This includes a list of witnesses.

  8. Science Admissibility Standards • Frye Standard • Federal Standard • Daubert Versus Merrell Dow

  9. Frye Standard • The court must decide if the questioned scientific procedure, technique, or principles are “generally accepted” by a meaningful section of the scientific community • General acceptance is usually shown through expert testimony, books/documents/articles, as well as prior judicial decisions

  10. Federal Standard • More flexible than Frye Standard • Does not rely only on “general acceptance” • Describes expert testimony • Witness is considered an “expert” based on knowledge, skill, experience or training • May testify if testimony is based on facts or data, reliable methods were used, and the expert applied them to the facts of the case

  11. Daubert vs Merrell Dow • Landmark Supreme Court ruling (1993) • Judges in federal court must assume the role of “gatekeeper” in the admissibility and reliability of scientific evidence • Has the technique or the theory been tested • Has it been subject to peer review and publication • Potential rate of error • Standards controlling the technique • Widespread acceptance within the scientific community

  12. Expert Witnesses • An individual whom the court determines possesses knowledge relevant to the trial that is not expected of the average person

  13. Laws & Crimes • Law: codes of behavior with penalties for infractions • Civil Law: lawsuits for injuries, traffic violations, contracts, punishable by fines • Criminal Law: punishable by fines, jail time, community service, possible death

  14. Crime • Violation of a local, state, or federal law • Must have a “victim”, a “perpetrator” and a “crime scene”

  15. Misdemeanor • Minor crime • Punishable by fines & jail time of less than one year • Examples: theft, minor assault, license violations

  16. Felony • Major crime • Punishable by larger fines & time in prison • Examples: murder, rape, armed robbery, drugs, fraud, auto theft

  17. Locard’s Exchange Principle Whenever 2 objects come in contact with one another, there is an exchange of trace materials between them.

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