Criminal Evidence 6th Edition Norman M. Garland Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW OF EVIDENCE AND THE PRE-TRIAL PROCESS
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Criminal Evidence
6th Edition
Norman M. Garland
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW OF
EVIDENCE AND THE PRE-TRIAL
PROCESS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Legal Definition of Evidence
o In a legal sense,
evidence is any
information about the
facts of a case,
including tangible
items, testimony, and
documents,
photographs, or tapes,
which, when presented
to the jury at trial, tends
to prove or disprove
these facts.
Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Technical Definition of Evidence
Technically, evidence consists of:
o Testimony or physical items presented to the
judge and jury that they use to:
o decide the truth of an assertion,
o the existence of a fact, and
o ultimately the guilt or innocence of the
accused in a criminal case.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chain of Custody
o The chain of custody refers to how
evidence is handled, and by whom,
from the moment it is found until the
moment it is offered in evidence.
o Simply stated, no item of physical
evidence can be introduced at trial
unless the law enforcement officer has
maintained the proper "chain of
custody" of the item.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Forms and Types of Evidence
o Real
o Demonstrative
o Direct
o Circumstantial
o Physical
o Intangible
o Testimonial
Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Step-by-Step Development of our
Modern Trial by Jury System
The Grand Jury System
o The Petit Jury (circa 1700
A.D.)
o The swearing in of witnesses.
o The right to cross-examine
witnesses.
o Hearsay evidence began to
disappear from the judicial
process.
o Rules of evidence began to
develop. Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Development of the Rules of
Evidence
o Rules of
evidence in jury
trials are
designed to
keep some
relevant
information from
the jury. Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Why isn’t all relevant evidence
admissible at trial?
o May violate some
principle or policy
that the law seeks
to promote.
o May have been
obtained by a law
enforcement
officer in violation
of a suspect's
constitutional
rights. Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
o Today the rules of
evidence in most
jurisdictions are
in the form of a
statute or penal
code, meaning
that they are laws
enacted by a
legislative body.
The Forms of Evidence Rules
Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Federal Rules of Evidence
o By far the most common codification
of evidence law is the Federal Rules of
Evidence (FRE).
o The FRE apply in all federal courts
throughout the United States, and 42
states have relied upon them as a
model in adopting their own evidence
codes.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The FRE in the 90’s
o Forty-two state legislatures had
adopted the FRE as of September,
2004.
o States that have not yet adopted the
Rules include: California, Georgia,
Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts,
Missouri, New York, and Virginia.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Breadth & Scope of the FRE
o The FRE, and their
state counterparts,
cover the entire
field of judicial
procedure.
o These rules apply
equally in civil and
criminal matters.
Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
OVERVIEW OF THE CRIMI NAL JUSTICE
PROCESS o Observation or
report of a crime
o Investigation
o Arrest
o Prosecution
o Trial
o Sentencing
o Appeal
o Service of sentence
o Release Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Participants in the Criminal Justice
System o Law enforcement
o The prosecution and
defense
o The courts and
o Corrections
Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Role of Law Enforcement
o The police are
called upon to
perform three basic
functions:
o (1) enforcing the
law;
o (2) maintaining
public order;
o (3) providing
various public
services.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc./Jill
Braaten, Photographer
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Federal Law Enforcement
o Federal law enforcement agencies
investigate federal law violations
o The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
o The Drug Enforcement Administration
o The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms
o The Customs Service
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Additional Federal Law Enforcement
Agencies
o The Immigration and Naturalization Service
o The United States Marshals Service
o The Border Patrol, United States Park Service
o The Bureau of Postal Inspection, and
o The Secret Service
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Specialized Fields and Personnel
Within Law Enforcement o Ballistics
o Fingerprint analysis
o Blood stain analysis
o DNA analysis
o Investigators
o Courtroom personnel (bailiffs, marshals, or
other guards)
o Jail personnel
o Probation officers, and prison personnel
o Other areas of scientific methodology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Prosecutor’s Office
It is the job of the prosecutor to:
o Pursue a case developed by the police
until the case terminates by trial, guilty
plea, or dismissal.
o Decide whether to pursue a formal
charge, and, if so, what crime to charge.
o Conduct any plea negotiations, deciding
whether to dismiss charges.
o Try the case.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Dual Court System
o There is a dual
judicial system in
the Untied States:
the federal and
state courts coexist.
o The federal court
system applies
nationwide, and
federal courts are
located in each
state. PhotoLink/Getty Images
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Court Jurisdiction:
The Power or the Authority
for the Court to Act
Federal courts coexist with individual state
court systems.
o Whether a defendant is tried in a federal or
state court depends on which court has
jurisdiction over the particular case.
o The acts involved in the case must have
taken place within or have had an effect
within the geographical territory of the court,
or there must be some statutory authority for
the court's power.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Federal Court System o There are currently federal trial courts in
each state and twelve United States
Courts of Appeal, arranged by circuit
(eleven numbered circuits and one
federal circuit).
o The lowest level of the federal court
system consists of 94 district courts
located in the 50 states (except for the
District of Wyoming, which includes the
Montana and Idaho portions of
Yellowstone National Park).
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Venue vs. Jurisdiction
o Venue refers to the neighborhood,
place, or county in which an act is
declared to have been done, or in fact
happened; and, thus, defines the
particular county, or geographical
area, in which a court with jurisdiction
may hear and determine a case.
o Jurisdiction refers to the power or the
authority of the Court to act.
o The Distinction should not be overlooked!
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Individual Constitutional Rights
in a Criminal Case The Fourth
Amendment of the
Bill of Rights:
o the freedom from
unreasonable
searches and
seizures
McGraw-Hill
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Individual Constitutional Rights
in a Criminal Case The Fifth (and Fourteenth) Amendment
Rights:
o the right to silence and counsel during
police interrogations (in support of the Fifth
Amendment's privilege against self-
incrimination);
o the freedom from double jeopardy;
o the privilege against self-incrimination,
including a ban against comment by the
prosecution on the defendant's failure to
testify.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Constitutional Rights
The Sixth Amendment Rights The Sixth Amendment Rights:
o the right to trial by jury in cases involving
serious offenses
o the right to assistance of counsel in any
case in which a sentence of more than six
months in jail or prison is imposed
o the right to compel witnesses' attendance
at trial, to confront them, and to cross-
examine them
o the right to a speedy and public trial
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendments o the freedom from cruel and unusual
punishment
o the freedom from racial and sexual
discrimination in substantive and
procedural criminal law (Fourteenth
Amendment)
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Juvenile Court System
o There is also a
juvenile court system
in each state.
o Criminal offenders
under a certain age,
usually eighteen or
sixteen, are dealt
with in juvenile courts
by way of civil, rather
than criminal,
proceedings.
Jack Star/PhotoLink/Getty Images
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Juvenile Court: Then and Now
McGraw-Hill
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Correctional Component
o All states maintain
state penal
institutions (prisons),
consisting of state
penitentiaries,
reformatories, and
training facilities for
juveniles. Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Prisons: A Growth Trend
o There are more than
600 state prison
facilities in the
United States, with a
total population in
all the country's
state and federal
prisons of an
estimated 1.4
million by mid-2003. Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Probation
o The probation department investigates
defendants prior to sentencing and
provides a pre-sentence probation
report to the court.
o Over 4 million adults are on probation
on any given day in the United States.
o Probation is the most frequent
sentence imposed on first-time
offenders.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Parole: After Incarceration
o A person may be sentenced to a term
in prison but released on parole prior
to the expiration of the full sentence.
o Supervision on parole is similar to
probation supervision.
o Violations of probation and terms of
parole lead to hearings that, may in
turn, lead to warning, incarceration, or
re-incarceration.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Pretrial Court Process
o Arrest
o Bail
o Plea Bargaining
o Charging the Crime
o Arraignment and Plea
o Pretrial Motions
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Probable Cause
Probable cause to arrest
exists when:
oa police officer has
enough evidence to
lead a reasonable
person to believe that
a crime has been
committed and that
the suspect was the
one who committed
the crime. McGraw-Hill
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Affidavit
o The complaint charges the defendant
with a particular crime and is
supported by an affidavit, a written
statement sworn under oath, in which
the officer states the facts within his or
her personal knowledge that support
the complaint.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bail
o Most suspects are entitled to release
after arrest and booking, either on the
accused's own recognizance or on
bail.
o In less serious cases, this release can
be approved at the station house.
o In more serious cases, the judge
decides conditions for release at the
initial appearance.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Types of Bail
o Recognizance is a promise by a
person to appear in court.
o Bail is a deposit of cash, other
property, or a bond, guaranteeing that
the accused will appear in court.
o A bond is a written promise to pay the
bail sum, posted by a financially
responsible person, usually a
professional bondsman.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Preliminary Hearing o The preliminary hearing is
the stage in which the judge
considers the prosecution's
case to decide whether
there is probable cause to
believe the defendant
committed the crimes
charged.
o If so, the defendant is held
to answer to formal charges
in the form of a grand jury
indictment or an
information. Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Indictment or the Information
o The grand jury
indicts.
o The prosecutor files
an information.
o Each will formally
charge the
defendant.
PhotoDisc/Getty Images
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Arraignment
At the arraignment,
the defendant can
enter a plea of:
o guilty
o not guilty
o nolo contendere
(no contest), or
o stand mute
McGraw-Hill
Related Documents
