The Rules of Evidence Essay

Physical evidence is anything that can establish a crime has occurred and anything that links the crime to a criminal. Three examples of physical evidence are fibers, weapons, and hair.

1. In a criminal trial, the defendant must be proven guilty by a preponderance of the evidence or beyond a reasonable doubt?

Her attorney argued that she should never have been brought to trial because the material evidence resulted from an illegal, warrant less search. Because the search was unlawful, he maintained that the evidence was illegally obtained and must also be excluded. In its ruling, the Supreme Court of Ohio recognized that ?a reasonable argument? could be made that the conviction should be reversed ?because the ?methods? employed to obtain the evidence?were such as to offend a sense of justice.? But the court also stated that the materials were admissible evidence. The Court explained its ruling by differentiating between evidence that was peacefully seized from an inanimate object, such as a trunk, rather than forcibly seized from an individual. Based on this decision, Mapp's appeal was denied and her conviction was upheld.

Warrant - Reasoning that connects the evidence to claim. Helps show the relevance of the evidence.

Forensic science is where hard evidence comes from. In paragraph three of the article it says, “Forensic science is a science applied to answering legal questions.” This is where hard evidence comes into play. Hard evidence is where you find condemning evidence against the defendant. In paragraph six of the article it states, “refers to any tangible article or object of any kind, such as fingerprints, weapons, and bloodstains.” This is most of the time where the defendant gets scared.

Evidence gathered from the scene of an alleged crime is critical to constructing a case against a defendant. However, the Constitution provides that it is absolutely essential for the proper procedures to be abided when gathering said evidence. While the availability of certain evidence items procured at the scene of an alleged crime may appear to reinforce the certainty of a defendant's guilt, the process by which this evidence is gotten will have a determinant impact on the ability of prosecution to prove this guilt. As the analysis hereafter will demonstrate, the 'exclusionary rule' is one of the cornerstone clauses to protecting citizens against undue invasion of privacy and freedom while simultaneously creating important standards of practice for law enforcement personnel. The case of Corley v. United States [No. 07-10441), heard before the United States Supreme Court in 2009 and opined upon by Justice David Souter, includes a prominent weighing of the exclusionary rule. The case of Corley v. U.S. demonstrates the determinant impact which the exclusionary rule can have on the findings and outcome of a case.

The Exclusionary rule requires that any evidence taken into custody be obtained by police using methods that violates an individual constitutional rights must be excluded from use in a criminal prosecution against that individual. This rule is judicially imposed and arose relatively recently in the development of the U.S. legal system. Under the common law, the seizure of evidence by illegal means did not affect its admission in court. Any evidence, however obtained, was admitted as long as it satisfied other evidentiary criteria for admissibility, such as relevance and trustworthiness. The exclusionary rule was developed in 1914 and applied to the case of Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383, and was limited to a prohibition on the use

The idea of law and order in this country isn’t a new one and, in fact, has taken a very long time to get to the point it is today. But it isn’t done changing or improving because with every new advancement and technology law must adapt to encompass these new gray areas and make them clear in the court of law. An example of a few large milestones in United States’ law that reflect such adaptability are the Federal Rules of Evidence; Federal Rules for Civil Procedure; and the Sedona Conference. Each of these milestones have made clear many issues and gray areas in the law. Issues in evidence collection and presenting as well as digital evidence collection are a few of the many subjects covered in these federal rules.

Circumstantial evidence is probably one of the biggest ethical concerns when people are being convicted of crimes. Circumstantial evidence is: “Evidence not bearing directly on the fact in dispute but on various attendant circumstances from which the judge or jury might infer the occurrence of the fact in dispute”. (Dictionay.com, 2010). Many

The acquisition of evidence for a trial is an important step both parties take. However, some methods used to obtain such evidence can be debatable. In order to protect both sides from exploitation, a set of rules are set in place. This rule is called the Exclusionary Rule.

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizures. (People v. Williams 20 Cal.4th 125.) A defendant may move to suppress as evidence any tangible or intangible thing obtained as a result of an unreasonable search and seizure without a warrant. (Penal Code §1538.5(a)(1)(A).) Warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable. (Williams, supra, 20 Cal.4th 119; see also Minnesota v. Dickerson (1993) 508 U.S. 366 (stating searches and seizures conducted outside the judicial process are per se unreasonable unless subject to an established exception).) While the defendant has the initial burden of raising the warrantless search issue before the court, this burden is satisfied when the defendant asserts the absence of a warrant and makes a prima facie case in support. (Williams, supra, 20 Cal.4th 130.) Accordingly, when the prosecution seeks to introduce evidence seized during a warrantless search, they also bear the burden in showing that an exception to the warrant applies. (Mincey v. Arizona (1978) 98 S.Ct. 2408; see also People v. James (1977) 19 Cal.3d 99.) Evidence obtained as a result of an unlawful search and seizure is considered “fruit of the poisonous tree” and should be suppressed. (Wong Sun v. United States (1963) 371 U.S. 471; see also Minnesota v. Dickerson (1993) 508 U.S. 372 (stating unreasonable searches are invalid under Terry and should be suppressed).)

Evidence integrity and continuity Introduction In criminal investigations, it is vital to keep the evidence protected and ensure that it does not become contaminated, is tampered or altered in any way. There are two ways of maintaining evidence is in its truest form; evidence continuity and evidence integrity. Evidence is a vital component in criminal investigations and is the determining factor in successfully prosecuting the defendant as it identifies the offender or those who are involved. Evidence institutes facts of the crime and also proves that a crime has been committed (Tom McEwen 2011).

“Physical evidence cannot be wrong; it cannot perjure itself; it cannot be wholly absent. Only its interpretation can err. Only human failure to find it, study and understand it can diminish its value.”  (Harris vs. United States, 1947).

The two forms are preponderance of the evidence and proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Preponderance is mostly used in civil court, whereas proof beyond a reasonable doubt is used in criminal court. In civil court, the plaintiff must provide factual evidence regarding why he or she is suing the defendant. In a criminal case, a higher standard of evidence is required, which is the proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In most criminal cases the prosecutor must attempt to persuade that the defendant, is, in fact, guilty of the charges brought against them. In criminal cases, the evidence must be circumstantial and adequate enough to decide whether the person is guilty. Which is where the term proof beyond a reasonable doubt derives from. It's another way of saying are you certain, is the proof enough for you to say okay, I have no doubt in my mind that this person is

Evidence is the key element in determining the guilt or innocence of those accused of crimes against society in a criminal court of law. Evidence can come in the form of weapons, documents, pictures, tape recordings and DNA. According to the American Heritage College dictionary, evidence is the documentary or oral statements and the material objects admissible as testimony in a court of law (476). It is shown in court as an item of proof, to impeach or rehabilitate a witness, and to determine a sentence. This paper will examine two murder cases, O.J. Simpson and Daniel Taylor.