This is evidence that can be classified into two broad categories which is demonstrative evidence and substantive evidence, The demonstrative evidence in a trial is the evidence other than a testimony that is presented during the course of a civil or criminal trial the demonstrative evidence includes actual evidence examples include (set of bloody gloves from a murder scene and illustrative evidence photos and charts. In trial cases many attorneys view the presentation of the evidence as demonstrative. A common example of demonstrative evidence is a still photograph, photographs of plaintiffs bruises taken immediately after an accident, these pictures will be able to help jury understand and see what took place at trial even if the trial is months from that date the injuries actually happened on. In this case a photograph, which is to be considered as demonstrative evidence could possibly solve a case and answer lots of questions a jury might have also questions and concerns the jury might have of the victim. Also another example would be aerial photographs of the crime scene of a vehicular accident can show how a particular intersection is laid out and can make more clear an ambiguous description of a bind intersection given by a witness. …show more content…
(Legal dictionary 2015) The most effective and most useful form of demonstrative evidence is graphs and charts. The tools can illustrate a loss of earrings a decrease in life expectancy and past future. Charts help jury understand evidence much better and show events in chronological order and fashion, this is so the evidence will be
Kassin, Saul, and Lawrence Wrightsman (Eds.). The Psychology of Evidence and Trial Procedure. Chapter 3. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1985. Print.
If handled with care the evidence can be the best assistance to the crime investigator and can be used as a major proof in court. To improve the investigation any detective or expert has to admit the necessity of the non-movable items observation and processing apart from the regular movable evidence collection.
Evidence can come in a variety of forms. It can come from data, information, our own observations and vital signs, as well as patient/family member concerns. In order to be considered evidence however, the information must meet several criteria. It must be objective in that it does not house our personal opinions, it must be relevant towards the situation at hand, and timely in that the information is not out of date. It must also be transparent in that everyone has access to view the information as well
...xpert witnesses. Interviews and statements can be used in court if they are documented properly. The expert witness is used to support the evidence that has been obtained. These three things can preserve the discovery and support the case in court.
Believe it or not, wounds from a victim are also evidence. The wound can allow the investigators to match up any marks that could have been made from the weapon and therefore allows them to determine at what angle, distance, and how fast the weapon was used.
The use of spectral evidence is currently illegal in court, in part because of the Salem Witch Trials and how a number of lives were wrongly lost based on flimsy, unverifiable evidence, or lack thereof. Although spectral evidence was used throughout the entire trails, it was challenged by Cotton Mather. He argued that it’s “dubious value,” was not suitable for the courtroom but nobody decided to listen to his thoughts until it was too late (Salem Witch Trials,
In the criminal justice system, the best chance of a fair trial and justice lies within cases that include physical evidence. Physical evidence, whether fibers, fingerprints, or DNA, can give a jury proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Physical evidence can convict a criminal, or it can free an innocent man. It can bring closure to families and to the law enforcement that work the cases. The following cases will show what physical evidence does in a criminal trial and the vast impact it can make. For each case I will examine how the physical evidence was important to the case and whether or not it could have made more of a difference if the presentation of the evidence were different. The five cases are: the Mosley case, the Warren case, the Chandler case, the Frediani case, and the Swift Case.
...atastrophe for the prosecution in the courtroom. Not only must they understand how to collect and analyze evidence, they must also know how to properly store, tag and account for all evidence in order to preserve the integrity of the evidence. Knowledge of how the defense will respond to presented evidence is also helpful in helping forensic experts explain their actions while conducting forensic testing.
Evidence essentially comes in two forms: verbal or physical. For instance, verbal evidence could be spoken evidence acquired from a wiretap. Physical evidence could include DNA, blood, or bodily samples. Another reliable origin evidence is digital documentation. “As technology has become more portable and powerful, greater amounts of information are created, stored, and accessed” (GEDJ). Over the past few decades, technology has advanced to extreme levels! The most common technology used to find digital evidence are cell phones, computers, tablets, external storage devices, GPS locators, and various other devices (GEDJ). Text messages, social media posts, pictures, etc. are becoming more common data in investigations of the modern era. “Digital evidence can come from both suspects and victims, as all involved parties may have their own personal devices that are relevant to the investigation” (GEDJ). If they are available, computers, phones, social media and much more are very useful sources of gathering data for a criminal case. For instance, both the suspect and the victim may have text messages on their cell phones that could add to the search. “In some criminal cases, digital evidence can be useful if the suspect had associated with it. In some cases it can lead you in the wrong direction or to the wrong people. Or it could simply be useless if the suspect didn 't use anything
In order to understand how to compile evidence for criminal cases, we must understand the most effective types of evidence. This topic is interesting because there are ample amounts of cases where defendants have gotten off because of the lack of forensic evidence. If we believe forensic evidence is so important and it affects our decisions, then maybe we need to be educated on the reality of forensic evidence. If we can be educated, then we may have a more successful justice system. If we have a more successful justice system than the public could gain more confidence that justice will be served. In order to do this, we must find what type of evidence is most effective, this can be done by examining different types of evidence.
The article, “Trial Lawyers Cater to Jurors’ Demands for Visual Evidence,” written by Sylvia Hsieh stresses the importance of visual evidence. Hsieh writes
Forensic Art is a sometimes misunderstood and ignored resource for the law enforcement community. Starting with what Forensic Art is defined as, most commonly, it is perceived as any art that can or is used in law enforcement or legal proceedings. This field has several recognized skill sets most prevalent of which are demonstrative evidence, crime scene/composite sketches, image modification/ identification, and postmortem or facial reconstruction. Having a history stretching back to the 1800s forensic art has grown and improved over the course of the following years. First giving a brief history on where forensic art started and then following with some of the benefits each skill set of forensic art provides to the law enforcement community. I will try to show the progression of forensic art and how it can be used by modern law enforcement.
Forensic evidence is “evidence obtained by scientific methods …. and used in court.” Most evidence collected can be classified as either transient evidence or tangible evidence. Common types of transient evidence includes hair, fibers and glass, fingerprints, shoe prints, bare foot impressions and tire impressions, bodily fluids and skin cells, as well as gunshot residue. Some forms of tangible evidence would be firearms, fired and unfired bullets and cartridges, tool marks, drugs and drug paraphernalia, physical documents such as checks and receipts, and computers, cell phones and other devices.
Some cases cannot be solved without this evidence. “Physical evidence refers to any item that comes from a nonliving origin, such as fingerprints, tire marks, footprints, fibers, paint, and building materials” (“PE”). There is also another group called biological evidence. Biological evidence branches from a living thing, including bloodstains and DNA. Forensic scientists place their evidence into categories including these. “Forensic science is the use of scientific principles and methods to analyze material connected with a crime” (Funkhouser). When a crime is committed, law enforcement officers tape off the scene as quickly as possible (Funkhouser). They then search the area for evidence (Funkhouser). Forensic scientists rarely actually go to the crime scene (Funkhouser). Once all the evidence is gathered from the site, it is then cautiously transported to the crime lab to be analyzed (Funkhouser). Everything about a crime scene is taken very seriously. It is a very tedious process, which takes patience and
Physical evidence is any physical object that contains reliable information that supports a hypothesis about the incident. Digital evidence is physical or electronic information (such as a written or electronic documentation, computer log files, data, reports, physical hardware, software, disk images, objects and so on) are collected during the investigation conducted computer. Evidence includes, but is not limited to, computer files (such as log files or generated reports) and human-generated files (such as spreadsheets, documents, or eail