Term Paper on "Criminal Evidence"

Term Paper 3 pages (1380 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Evidence

Criminal Evidence

In order to bring an accused person into Court, there must be evidence. Without evidence there can be no trial. Criminal evidence can be (1) physical and documentary; (2) testimony of witnesses, or (3) the accused person's confession. Physical evidence is things like fingerprints, the murder weapon, blood, footprints, tire marks, something left behind at the crime scene, or DNA. Documentary evidence could be a "paper trail," receipts, photographs, letters, diary, drawings, maps, taped telephone conversations, or video from an in-store camera. Witnesses can be eyewitnesses to the crime or expert witnesses, such as a coroner, psychiatrist, handwriting expert, or social worker.

A confession is only admissible as evidence if the prosecution can show that it was not obtained by any sort of coercion and that the accused person knew that anything he said could be used against him in a Court of law, was aware of his right not to speak, and knew he had a right to have a lawyer present during police questioning. The law requires that these rights be made known to the accused in order to offset the basically coercive and intimidating atmosphere surrounding a police interrogation when police officers suspect an individual of having committed a crime. If this "Miranda" requirement is not scrupulously adhered to, a waiver may be obtained at trial and the unwarned confession made inadmissible as evidence (Dix, 2002).

Evidence may be refutable, that is, it can be shown in court to be untrue, or it may be irrefutable. For instance, for many years fatherhood was irrefutable if the child was born during the marriage of the man to the child's mother. Such a man was not entitled to argue in Court, for example, that the child had blond hair and blue eyes and was 6'4" tall while he had black hair, brown eyes, and was only 5'3," and besides the child looked exactly like the next door neighbor. As long as the man was married to the child's mother when the child was born, he was legally the father of the child. In some cases, this has now changed and fatherhood has become refutable since the introduction of DNA testing where it can be proven that a man is not the father of a child. However, if the man raised the child for several years, and now because he is getting a divorce seeks to renounce his fatherhood because he'd like to get out of paying child support, the judge is less likely to see this person's fatherhood as refutable (Koenig, 2005).

The police must obtain criminal evidence legally. If evidence is illegally obtained, it will not be admissible in Court. For example, if the police were to enter and search a suspect's home without a legal warrant and find the murder weapon, for example, this evidence would not be admissible because the police had obtained it illegally. Suppose the police officer enters a person's home whom he suspects is selling phony telephone cards and finds a map which shows the location of the phone cards and then finds the cards in that location. Because the officer got the map through an illegal search, "the phone cards are the fruit of that unlawful search and are therefore inadmissible into evidence" (Understanding Search & Seizure Law web site). Similar laws apply when a police officer makes a traffic stop. In order to search the car the police must show probable cause, that is, compelling facts to believe the driver of car had committed a crime. In January of this year the Supreme Court ruled on a case where search and seizure was at issue.

Roy Caballes was stopped for going six miles per hour over the speed limit. The police officer told Caballes he was stopping him for speeding and asked to see his license, registration, and proof of insurance. The officer asked Caballes to pull his car over on the shoulder out of the way of traffic and then to sit in the squad car. The told Caballes he was going to issue a written warning. In the police car, the officer asked Caballes some questions… READ MORE

How to Reference "Criminal Evidence" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Criminal Procedure Term Paper

Criminal Procedure:

The criminal justice system is a process that involves various steps that start with a criminal investigation and end with the release of a convicted criminal from correctional… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1602 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Criminal Investigation Scenario: Criminal Scene Investigators Term Paper

Criminal Investigation Scenario:

Criminal scene investigators are usually mandated with the task of actively processing a crime scene in order to collect evidence that would be used in arresting and… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2010 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Criminal Investigations Term Paper

Criminal Investigations

This text will concern itself with a number of issues related to criminal investigations. In so doing, it will amongst other things address the various criminal investigation inquiry… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1303 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Criminal Investigations Term Paper

Criminal Investigations

Over the last several years, the issue of criminal investigation procedures has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because a number of legal cases will depend… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1091 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Criminal Investigations Term Paper

Criminal Investigations:

The process of investigating, reporting, and prosecuting criminal offenses requires both legal and ethical preparations in order for successful prosecution of a case. The need for legal and… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (1020 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>