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EVIDENCE is

EVIDENCE is. “Testimony, writings, material objects or other things presented to the senses that are offered to prove the existence or nonexistence of a fact.”. EVIDENCE does. Evidence : any means which seeks to prove the truth of a fact in question

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EVIDENCE is

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  1. EVIDENCE is “Testimony, writings, material objects or other things presented to the senses that are offered to prove the existence or nonexistence of a fact.”

  2. EVIDENCE does • Evidence: any means which seeks to prove the truth of a fact in question • Only that evidence which is relevant, material, and lawfully collected may be considered by the jury

  3. Real Evidence • Real Evidence is any evidence which may be perceived with one of the five senses • examples: physical items, pictures, trial exhibits, witness testimony • either direct or circumstantial

  4. EVIDENCE Evidence includes all items that can be touched, heard, smelled, or seen that helps establish that a crime has occurred and who committed the crime. A major responsibility of a peace officer is to identify and safeguard evidence. You will also be required to present evidence in legal proceedings when you receive a subpoena to appear in court. Proof is the establishment of fact by evidence. It is the state’s responsibility to prove sufficient evidence to establish guilt of the defendant beyond reasonable doubt. This is called the burden of proof. The state is obligated to provide sufficient evidence to prove any and all facts surrounding a crime.

  5. Instrumentality of a Crime Evidence which include objects used in the commission of the crime. Gun used to shoot victim.

  6. Establishing a Chain of Custody record • The chain of custody is a written, witnesses unbroken record of all individuals who have maintained control or had access to any physical evidence. • A complete chain is required or the evidence will be excluded.

  7. Chain of Custody Record • It begins with the discovery of an item and should contain: • Report number • Who found the item where and when it was found • Describe the item • Who recovered the item • Who transported the item • Where was it stored • How was it secured.

  8. Handling evidence • Any one handling the evidence officially accepts custody by signing the record.

  9. Direct vs. Circumstantial Evidence • Circumstantial evidence: evidence, material, or information which requires a presumption or evidence which indirectly proves a fact • Direct evidence: is that information, material, or matter which proves a fact without the need for inference or presumption

  10. Direct vs. Circumstantial Evidence • Direct and circumstantial evidence are used to: • Establish Jurisdiction • demonstrate Guilt • prove the statutory Elements of a behavior in question (Corpus Delicti) • prove Mental State, Intent, motive, etc.

  11. Direct vs. Circumstantial Evidence • Circumstantial inferences of guilt • Prosecutors bear no obligation to prove, means, motive, or opportunity in a criminal case. • However, the proof of such may strengthen the government’s case.

  12. Real Evidence that can be seized from a person • Contraband • Fingerprints • Handwriting and voice samples • Body fluids • Blood • Saliva and fingernail scrapings • Hair samples

  13. Fingerprints • Intro- since 1946 in California fingerprints have been declared the strongest evidence to prove the identity of an individual

  14. Description • The print is a copy of an impression of the ridges and valleys of the outer skin. Location • At crime scenes entry points or exit points • Objects that required movement • Objects used in the crime

  15. Fingerprint Picture

  16. Precautions • Handle as little as possible • Pick up items in the area least likely to have a print • Gloves or cloth used in handling may erase the print • Bring any portable item to the lab to be printed

  17. Forms of fingerprints • Visible • Latent

  18. Latent Prints – Fingerprint Powder with Fiberglass bush

  19. Authentication of Photograph • Photographer • Time • Location • Camera position • Equipment • Any other information relating to the case

  20. Criteria for allowing crime scene photographs to be admitted as evidence • Show an object or person relevant to the crime • Accurately represent the scene • Marked properly to be identified • Not used to appeal to the emotions of the jury

  21. Crime Scene Photo

  22. Types of photographs • Location • Witnesses • Evidence close-ups

  23. Scientific Evidence • Scientific Evidence: physical evidence which involves theories, processes, experiments, empirical analysis and/or results of same which requires the utilization of expert testimony

  24. Physical Evidence • Documents • Includes: • Handwriting and signature comparisons • Typewriting, printer, and ink analysis / comparisons • Indentations, altered, and charred documents • Computer documents and • Fingerprints

  25. Physical Evidence • Voice Recognition • Firearms • striations • ballistics • trace evidence • DNA

  26. Gun Shot

  27. Gun Shot Wound with Contact

  28. Sources of Physical Evidence • Physical evidence can be found in many places and can be used to determine what crime has been committed, to lead to other evidence. • Can be used to reconstruct the crime, and to assist in convicting the perpetrator.

  29. Where to Look? • The most logical and lucrative place to find physical evidence is at the crime scene. The perpetrator’s person, vehicle, home, place of business, or base of operations, victim’s person are prime sources of evidence.

  30. Bite Mark

  31. Kinds of Physical Evidence • Fruits of a crime–the items obtained as a result of the crime. • Instrumentalities used in committing the crime–the objects that the perpetrator used to commit the crime. • Contraband–any item that is illegal for a person to possess. • Evidence of a crime–any object that shows that a crime has been committed.

  32. Scientific and Medical Facts • A scientific or medical fact must be an established fact. • Scientific and medical theories progress from the unknown to the debatable, to the generally accepted, and then become established facts.

  33. Determining the Impact Angle • Pointed end of blood stain always faces its direction of travel • Measure the degree of circular distortion to determine impact angle • As the angle decreases the stain becomes increasingly elongated

  34. Point of Convergence • Point of convergence is identified by drawing a line through the long axis of a stain • The point at which the stains converge is the blood spatter origin

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