David playing Defense Attorney to his client, a suspect of Armed Robbery

As Mr. Crook’s lawyer, explain the advice you will give him both pre-arrest and post-arrest.

Dear Mr. Crook, I am the defense attorney assigned to you for this case, and am fully trained to handle the case at hand. As your attorney, I advise you to remain silent when the officers first ask to interrogate you, and to not waive your rights to have me present at the interrogation itself. Finally when I am called in to be present at your actual interrogation, at the time of the interrogation you will be allowed to ask me for advice on how you should answer every question. I urge you to take this opportunity to consult me before answering every question you wish to answer, so you do not give the investigator reason to believe that you are the suspect of the charges you were arrested under.

Chief Justice Rehnquist once stated in the case of Dickerson V. United States (Law.cornell.edu, “DICKERSON V. UNITED STATES” WEB PAGE) that, “In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), we held that certain warnings must be given before a suspect’s statement made during custodial interrogation could be admitted in evidence.” This is the type of expert wisdom I am banking on in my advising you to not speak to your investigator unless I, your defense attorney, is present at their investigative interrogation of you.

Identify all major steps you will take to prepare a defense for Mr. Crook, including investigation of evidence and witnesses, should Mr. Crook be arrested for a felony such as Armed Robbery.

Should you be arrested for a felony such as Armed Robbery, I will take every measure possible to ensure that you will not be convicted of the crime you are charged with, even to the extent of petitioning the judge for a lessening of charges if those you were charged with seem too extreme for the evidence that is clearly at hand. I will be interviewing the witnesses, asking them questions such as any fond memories they have of being your friend, such as asking them what they believe to be your strongest character qualities, such as asking them how long they have known you and what types of business and pleasure activities they have experienced specifically with you. I will also ask them if they have any evidence to prove your innocence, such as documentary evidence including ATM receipts, credit card transaction records, or photographic evidence to be useful in proving you were elsewhere at the time of the crime. I will also be asking the witnesses if they would like to testify on your behalf in the court of law when the time for trial comes along, and if that is the case, I will talk to the judge about sending out correspondence of summons to ensure that they will be present in the court for your trial.

Just to help inform you of the accurate definition of what Armed Robbery actually is, Matthew Bender states (Bender, p. 443), “Robbery involves either violence or the threat of violence, and the theft of property.” Since you may have been charged with using a firearm -- your BB gun in this case -- in the commission of robbing a gas station for $130 dollars as has been brought to my attention, that’s why Armed Robbery might be the charge which may be placed upon you.

Explain to Mr. Crook the pre-trial process and any motions you would file on his behalf (including your reasoning for filing these motions).

I would like to file a pretrial right of discovery motion on your behalf, in order to fully investigate the prosecutor’s evidence in order to prepare my defense examinations on his evidence ahead of time. If any of the prosecutor’s evidence is objectionable in accordance to the right against illegal search and seizure or the fruit of the poisoned tree doctrine, I plan to file a motion to suppress evidence in order to have the judge discard the evidence as objectionable and inadmissible as evidence in the court of law. If the motion to suppress evidence is sustained, then we will hold a hearing to suppress evidence, to determine whether the evidence was indeed illegally obtained or not. If the case was not brought to trial or the prosecutor’s evidence was seriously defective, then I will file a motion to dismiss the charges. If we cannot locate a material witness before the trial, and you provide evidence why the material witness must be maintained, after considerable effort to locate the witness, and if no other witness can present this particular testimony, then I will file a motion of continuance in order to attempt to secure a material witness.

If they charge you for more than one offense such as the multiple charges of assault and armed robbery, I will file for a motion for severance of offenses so they can be tried as two separate cases, if that is your wish. If your mental state comes into question, I will file a motion to determine competency, in order to possibly lessen the charges as applicable or to call for a retrial at a later date. I may also attend a pretrial conference where the adversary and the judge are present, in order to determine if the case even needs to go to trial. The prosecutor may offer you a plea negotiation, which you are free to decline if you wish. If you choose to enter into a negotiated plea, you may also later retract the negotiated plea if it becomes apparent that either the judge or prosecutor do not agree with the plea.

For further information on what occurs during pretrial conference hearings, as Cliff Roberson put it (Roberson, p. 243), “These conferences are informal meetings, usually in the judge’s chambers, between both attorneys and the judge. The strong and weak points of the case are discussed in an effort to arrive at a settlement without going to trial.” So, as you can imagine, pretrial conferences are much more informal than are preliminary hearings or grand jury proceedings.

Describe to Mr. Crook his trial options.

When the time for trial comes along, you will be given a number of options as to how you can plead. As I mentioned earlier, the prosecutor may be allowed to offer you a plea bargain, and you can accept or decline that as you wish. On the other hand if you decline any plea bargain the prosecutor provides, you will be given the opportunity to plead one of the following pleas. If you plea Nolo Contendere otherwise known as No Contest, that would mean you either prefer not to say if you committed the crime or not, or it would mean that you committed the crime but refuse to consider it is a crime from within your chosen system of understanding. If you plead innocent, the case will go on as planned, and I will be required to attempt to prove your innocence before the court and jury. You may also choose to take the stand and testify yourself if you choose to defend your own innocence in such a manner. If you stand mute and refuse to enter a plea, your lack of plea will probably lead the judge to assume you would have chosen to plead innocent if your tongue allowed you to, and the trial will go on as would be desirable. If you plead guilty, your sentencing will follow as according to state law, as this is a state case and not a Federal case.

To help you understand the plea of Nolo Contendere or No Contest a little bit better, the editors of Merriam-Webster Dictionary define it this way as their primary definition, saying (Merriam-webster.com, “Nolo Contendere – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary” WEB PAGE), “a plea in a criminal prosecution that without admitting guilt subjects the defendant to conviction but does not preclude denying the truth of the charges in a collateral proceeding.”

That, in a nutshell, is the legal definition of Nolo Contendere.

If this case goes to trial, discuss with Mr. Crook the possible sentence he could face based upon a review of your own state’s criminal laws.

If this case goes to trial, here is the possible sentence you could face based on the criminal laws of our state Florida. In 1998, Florida Governor Jeb Bush brought to legislation a new gun-law statute aimed to deter violent crimes, notably acts of armed felony. Since you are charged with the armed robbery of a gas station for the amount of $130 dollars, it would indeed be considered a felony, if you are convicted and the 10-20-LIFE legislation in our state would offer you a mandatory minimum sentence if you are proven guilty as charged, along the following guideline of determinate sentencing.

If a firearm was in your possession but not discharged at the scene of the crime, you will be faced with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

If you possessed a firearm at the time of the robbery and it was discharged but did not injure or kill anybody, you will be faced with a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

If you possessed a firearm at the time of the robbery and the gun was used by you to injure or kill someone, you will be faced with a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

I am aware that the weapon you have been charged of being in possession of is a BB gun, but whether the state considers it a firearm or not is considerably up for dispute. In the long run, that is for the judge alone to decide. It is also the decision of the judge as to whether or not your sentence will be only the mandatory minimum if you are convicted, or if he will tack on additional time for reasons he might define during the course of the trial, if this case passes the preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding and makes it to court.

(Info on current Florida legislation derived from the following web page:

“Florida 10-20-LIFE – Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentences”

http://www.dc.state.fl.us/oth/10-20-life/ )

Define key legal terms to Mr. Crook so he has an understanding of the legal principles involved.

Interrogation – A custodial investigation where an investigator or investigators ask a suspect for information regarding whether they were involved in the commission of a crime, and if they admit guilt, also to determine a testimony of exactly how the crime took place, if possible.

Investigator – The investigator is the police officer who conducts the investigation of the crime, and also who can conduct witness, victim, and informant interviews, as well as suspect interrogations, among other duties such as the discovery, collection, preservation, and transmission of evidence from the scene of the crime.

Felony – A felony is the grade of crime considered of higher offense than a misdemeanor. Felonies include slayings, armed robberies, larceny, and other higher offense grade crimes, whereas misdemeanors include lesser offense violations such as petty shoplifting and petty drug charges.

Armed Robbery – Armed robbery is the felonious act of committing robbery while in the possession of a drawn weapon, whether the weapon was fired -- used in an attacking gesture -- or not.

Interviewing – Interviewing is what takes place when an investigator or attorney asks witnesses, victims, or informants for information to be used as witness testimonial evidence in a criminal trial or pretrial.

Documentary evidence – Documentary evidence is evidence which exists in the form of records such as photographs, letters, receipts, and even computer files. It’s different from Physical Evidence and Verbal Evidence.

Testify – To testify is to give one’s opinion in all honesty and to the best of one’s knowledge regarding a case at hand.

Judge – The judge is the one, often referred to as “the court”, who presides over the courtroom proceedings, who ensures that order be kept in the court, who advises the jurors of their responsibilities, and who usually determines the sentence to be given if the suspect is found guilty as charged, beyond any sentencing matrices.

Summons – A summons is a court order similar to a subpoena or citation, which asks someone to appear in court.

Right of discovery motion – Right of Discovery is a pretrial adversarial motion which asks permission of the court for the opposing side to present the evidence they plan to use in the case which is about to occur.

Prosecutor – The prosecutor is the attorney in criminal justice proceedings whose duty is to state the nature of the crime with which the defendant is charged, as well as to present the evidence leading to the defendant’s possible conviction on behalf of the state or Federal government, and to also interview witnesses in the courtroom on the state’s behalf.

Right against illegal search and seizure – This law is set forth in the 4^th Amendment of the Bill of Rights in order to prevent evidence from being admissible in a court of law if it was obtained via illegal means.

Fruit of the poisoned tree doctrine – This works hand in hand with the 4^th Amendment’s stance against illegal search and seizure to also prevent testimonies which are based on evidence illegally obtained from being used as evidence .

Motion to suppress evidence – This is a common defense motion which is used when the defense believes that certain articles of prosecutorial evidence were illegally obtained, or if certain testimonies violated the Fruit of the poisoned tree doctrine.

Hearing to suppress evidence – This is the hearing which follows a motion to suppress evidence, in order to determine if the evidence is truly inadmissible in a court of law or not.

Motion to dismiss the charges – This is a motion to dismiss the charges and thus to dismiss the case at hand, when there is a belief that the prosecutor’s evidence for the case is seriously defective.

Motion of continuance – A motion of continuance is usually placed to the judge by the defense attorney when a material witness is required for the defendant’s case, but if it would take a longer amount of time for the material witness to be located and subpoenaed to court.

Motion for severance of offenses – This motion is used to petition the judge to split a case of multiple charges into several cases of one charge each.

Motion to determine competency – This is a motion which petitions the court to determine if the defendant is mentally capable to stand trial, and must be accompanied by evidence of the defendant’s current incapability in order for the motion to be honored by the judge.

Pretrial conference – A conference between the prosecutor, defense, and judge, sometimes held before the case in order to see if the case truly needs to go to trial or not.

Plea negotiation – A common pretrial procedure in many states, where the prosecutor offers the defendant a lesser sentence (or lesser charges) in exchange for an admission of guilt, usually in order to decrease trial expenses; this is also commonly referred to as a Plea Bargain.

Nolo Contendere – Also known as a No Contest plea, this can be plead by the defendant when they prefer to not plead guilty nor innocent, or if they believe that they committed the crime but do not believe the criminal offense is a crime.

Plead innocent – When a defendant pleads innocent, they do not feel they are guilty of having committed the crime(s) they had been charged of committing.

Plead guilty – If a defendant pleads guilty, they are stating that they are guilty of committing the crime(s) they were charged of having committed.

Mandatory minimum sentence – A guideline of determinate sentencing, mandatory minimum sentences are a guideline to help the judge decide upon the sentence of the suspect if they are convicted of all crimes as charged.

Determinate sentencing – This is a method to assist the judge in coming to a conclusion of how to sentence the suspect if they are found guilty. Charts of determinate sentencing often include sentencing matrices which show common sentencing options in a diagrammatic form.

Preliminary hearing – These take place before a criminal trial, including the adversarial process, in order to determine if the case should go to full trial. The accused is usually present at a preliminary hearing.

Grand jury proceeding – Grand jury hearings also take place to determine if a case should go to trial, but are non-adversarial, and usually consist of the prosecutor handing the indictment or true-bill of the crimes the suspect has been charged with to a grand jury panel, in order for them to determine if the case will go to trial or not. The accused is generally not entitled to be present at a grand jury proceeding.

Cite all legal authority used in giving advice to Mr. Crook.

I come from a family background of a highly religious former entertainment attorney father and a shrewd taxpaying psychologist mother. In high school I excelled at Law, Government, and Economics classes, and I did very well in Criminal Procedure, Criminal Investigation, and sundry other Criminal Justice classes in college as of the time of this writing, as well as performing a great deal of internet research on contemporary law and criminal justice, and on the historical development thereof.

Besides being an attorney, I am also a musician.

References:

1. Law.cornell.edu, “DICKERSON V. UNITED STATES” WEB PAGE.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-5525.ZO.html

2. Criminal Investigation: A Method for Restructuring the Past, by Matthew Bender.

Copyright © 2007 Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.

Licensed to Kaplan University in Agreement with LexisNexis Anderson Publishing

3. Procedures in the Justice System, Eighth Edition, by Cliff Roberson, Harvey Wallace, and Gilbert B. Stuckey. Published by Prentice Hall.

Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

4. Merriam-webster.com,

“Nolo Contendere – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary” WEB PAGE.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nolo%20contendere

5. Florida Department of Corrections web site,

“Florida 10-20-LIFE – Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentences” WEB PAGE.

http://www.dc.state.fl.us/oth/10-20-life/

Offense Issues: Illustrating the ethical and legal preparations required for successful prosecution of a case.

The two crimes I have chosen to outline the investigative and prosecutorial process of for a successful case would be those of Homicide and Rape. Technically speaking, the offense of Homicide is the unlawful yet unpremeditated voluntary killing of another, which might earn the convicted of such an offense a sentence greater than that of manslaughter (involuntary killing of another), yet lesser than that of murder (voluntary killing of another including premeditation). On the other hand, when a crime of Rape has been committed, it means that the victim was forcibly penetrated in a sexual manner without mutual consent. I’ll be speaking about the specific natures of the investigations of these crimes, the sensitivity that would be required of the investigator of these crimes, the nature of the prosecution upon the suspects of these crimes in a court of law setting, and including ethical considerations for the successful investigation and prosecution of cases where these two crimes occur.

1. What are the specific ethical considerations that need to be addressed when investigating the specific crime?

In the case of a homicide, extreme compassion and sympathy should be shown to the relatives and friends of the victim, who would likely be very upset that the victim was killed, and who might also act as witnesses and even informants for the case. For the investigation of a crime of rape, the investigator has to be very sensitive to the rape victim, understanding that they may be in a state of emotional shock, and to sensitively ask the victim for the information necessary to investigate the suspects, as well as for their testimony which may later be used as evidence when the trial goes to court. Furthermore, beyond the interviews and interrogations, an element of sensitivity must be in place for the collection, preservation, and transmission of evidence from the beginning of this process at the scene of the crime. Painstaking care must be taken to avoid the degradation or contamination of the evidence, not only in its collection, but also while transferring the evidence to the respective labs where it would be further analyzed by evidence specialists, including fingerprint technicians, forensic pathologists, and DNA specialists – especially the latter in regards to the analysis of biological evidence of a rape, including skin cells from under the victim’s fingernails, blood stains on their body from defending against the assailant, and semen residue collected at the hospital from within the victim’s bodily orifices. Also, the investigator’s ethics require that they keep their journal in an orderly way, in a careful chronological order, using pen ink as opposed to pencil to prevent the situation that occurs when it becomes apparent that incorrect assumptions had been erased, and the question arises as to whether the investigator’s notes had become tampered with where erasures are present, leaving them up for dispute as to whether they prove fully admissible as evidence in a court of law. To prevent this assumption from occurring, it would be wise for the investigator to simply cross out any errors with a single pen stroke, so the error can still be visible, then to simply write the correction to the right of the strikeout, not leaving any room for doubt that any information had been erased by the investigator in order to outfit the case in an untruthful manner.

2. How can we reduce the ethical problems involved in the investigation of the crimes you selected?

For homicide and rape cases, the suspects should of course be treated as innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. They should not be coerced unduly for information, but should definitely be advised of their Miranda Warnings before the commencing of the interrogation, proving that they understand that any admission of guilt and/or testimony that they provide the investigator during the course of the interrogation can and will be used against them in a court of law, and also that they have the right to remain silent, and that they have the right to have an attorney present, even if they cannot afford one, as well as having the right to end the interview at any time once it has begun. In the case of a rape, the victim should not be distrusted, and their testimonial evidence should be treated as one step of continuing the case along the course toward the perpetrator’s eventual conviction. Any interplay between the victim and their parents – in the case of a child rape victim – should be monitored for any unusual signs, such as the child flinching whenever the parents make eye contact with them, or flinching when the parents gesture in the child’s direction, since it is a proven fact that many child rapes occur in the vicinity of the child’s own home. Often, investigators will have a child psychologist present at the scene of the interview, which may occur in the victim’s hospital room, in order to ensure that the child feels safe to inform the officer of what happened, and doesn’t feel intimidated because of the nature of the interview. On the other hand, some investigative units have officers specifically trained in child psychology, including female officers for the interviews of female victims and male officers for the interviews of male victims, to ensure that the utmost sensitivity is evidenced in regards to compassion and sympathy toward the rape victim at the time of interview.

3. What prosecution problems could arise when the case is presented for trial if the investigator was unethical?

If the investigator was unethical, a number of prosecution problems could arise. The prosecutor could file a pretrial motion for the suppression of charges, if he or she feels the charges were incorrect. Otherwise, for homicide, the prosecutor could strike up a plea bargain for the lessening of charges from that of homicide to that of manslaughter. In the case of rape, if the prosecutor finds that the investigator was unethical, he or she could state that the sexual contact was not rape, but was mutual, and the charges could be dropped, if the evidence were to point in such a direction. Regarding demographics, if the prosecutor of a homicide or rape case were to point to a suspect who had nothing to do with the case, simply because they were nearby and matched the demographic of a type who the investigator might have said would be more likely to have commit the crime simply because their racial or financial type matched that of a group which demographic statistics charts stated had been recently found guilty of having committed such crimes more so than other racial or financial groups, the investigator could be found guilty of fraud, unless they have credible evidence to back up their investigation of such a suspect. Matthew Bender states (Bender, p. 352), “Of all crime statistics, those on homicide are probably the most reliable. This is because two agencies of government -- the police and the medical examiner (or coroner) -- have jurisdiction, file separate reports, and compile data.” Just because crime statistics are reliable, however, would give an investigator no legal license to point to a suspect just because they match a demographic which ranks high among current perpetrators of such a crime, and not based on significant circumstantial evidence, including at least witness, victim, or informant testimonies, physical evidence, or documentary evidence (records) which would lead a jury to believe that the suspect was guilty of the crime, beyond seeing the suspect as being outfit based merely on statistical profiling.

4. What ethical issues are directly related to the prosecutor in the case?

In regards to the prosecutor of the case, a number of ethical issues exist in a similar way to the way that ethical issues play a part in the investigator’s job. Of course the defendant would be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, so the speech of the prosecutor should not be excessively biased in favor of the guilt of the defendant; the prosecutor’s statements and arguments should be limited to only the evidence at hand for the case at hand, and not clouded by the bias of preconceived notions in regard to the defendant. In the case of a homicide, the prosecutor would have to study all the evidence, and if the evidence is not complex, sophisticated, or clear enough to specifically point to the defendant as being the perpetrator of the crime beyond the shadow of a doubt, they may consider motioning for the judge to lessen the charges, or to suppress the charges altogether. In the case of a rape, on the other hand, the prosecutor should bear in mind, in a similar way that the case should only be prosecuted on the basis of the evidence at hand, and not prosecuted based on a personal bias against the defendant of the case. The prosecutor should restrain themselves to not pose questions that would put the defendant under double jeopardy, so as not to violate the defendant’s Fifth Amendment Rights. In this vein, they should allow enough space in their arguments for the defense attorney to have a chance to prove the evidence unsound, from the beginning of the trial to its closure. Furthermore, it is the ethical duty of the prosecutor to ensure that whatever evidence the investigator provides would be entirely relevant to the case at hand. For instance, Cliff Roberson states (Roberson, p. 261), “To identify logically irrelevant evidence, ask, “Does the evidence assist in proving the fact that one party is trying to prove?”; otherwise, the prosecutor may have to file a motion for the evidence to be dismissed as irrelevant to the case at hand.

References:

1. Criminal Investigation: A Method For Restructuring The Past, by Matthew Bender.

Copyright © 2007 Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.

Licensed to Kaplan University in Agreement with LexisNexis Anderson Publishing

2. Procedures in the Justice System, Eighth Edition, by Cliff Roberson, Harvey Wallace, and Gilbert B. Stuckey. Published by Prentice Hall.

Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Regarding Investigative Practice and Methods

In this, my Midterm Essay, I will answer a series of questions regarding investigative practice and methods, explaining the answers to each, as well as providing some examples of how each makes sense in practical application. The questions cover elements of investigation that we discussed in Criminal Investigation class during the first 5 weeks of the semester. The textbook reading, seminars, and discussion board conversations all helped me learn this material, so without further ado, here are the questions, as well as my answers to them.

1. What are methods of inquiry and how are they used in criminal investigation?

The methods of inquiry, at their most basic level, include Interviews and Interrogations, and on a crime-scene specific level also includes Canvassing, which involves going through the neighborhood, often door to door, to find witnesses who hopefully will give the investigators information on what they saw transpire at the scene of the crime. Interviews are non-custodial, and are the common way to gather information from crime victims and witnesses, or even from Informants who might possess further information to help shed light on the facts of the case. Interrogations, on the other hand, are custodial, meaning they are conducted on people who have been arrested as suspects who may have perpetrated a crime, when an investigator is seeking a testimony, if not an admission of guilt or a statement of innocence. While Interviews and Interrogations are two different methods of information gathering, each with its own purpose, they can easily shift from one to the other. For instance, if an interviewee gives information that would lead the investigator to believe that the interviewee may be a suspect of the crime, the investigator can arrest them, converting the Interview into an Interrogation. When this happens, it would be a good idea to read the suspect their Miranda Warnings, so that any testimony that ensues would be admissible as evidence in a court of law, and would not violate the terms of the Miranda Decision (Miranda v. Arizona). Conversely, if during an Interrogation, the investigator finds reason to believe the suspect is being detained in error, the investigator can at their discretion consider reversing the Interrogation to an Interview.

2. What is the optimal mindset of an investigator and how are the concepts associated with the optimal mindset of an investigator manifest?

The investigator has to be sober-minded, inquisitive, and physically able to do his or her job of collecting and analyzing evidence. They have to have a sense of fidelity, ensuring that they act honestly in their job as an investigator, that they will not tamper with the evidence, and thus not commit perjury. They have to show the character trait of bravery, not being frightened by the duties of their job. They have to exercise regularly to maintain their physical health, so that they are fit enough to do the investigative work they are called to do, and also need to be able to relax and stay calm, so they don’t become overburdened with the stressors that come along with their investigative job. They have to have a thorough knowledge of the criminal justice system, including the branches of the criminal justice system, how they interrelate, and the intricacies within the system which the investigator needs to know to excel with their investigative prowess. They need to show a natural integrity, a firm ethical background, and a propensity to only work for the benefit of society at large and not for its degradation.

Here are a few examples of how these traits can be used in practical situations. The investigator can work out daily at the gym before going to work, and they can go to a daily yoga or tai chi class after work, in order to relax. In regard to their personal fidelity, they can refuse to accept bribes from criminals who ask the investigator to discard evidence that could possibly lead to their conviction at a later trial. If the investigator needs to use firearms on the job, they need to show a natural bravery to do their job and not let the perpetrator who attacked them overtake them. Regarding their personal integrity, they would have to be kind to the victims and witnesses they interview, and show patience when conducting interviews. These are a few examples although there are many other ways that the investigator could use these traits while on the job.

3. What is the scientific method and how is it applied to criminal investigation by criminal investigators?

The scientific method means to carefully analyze evidence, to examine a case from every possible angle, to not cease the investigation until all the angles are covered, and to not let personal emotions cloud their mind with bias. Here are several practical applications of how an investigator would use the scientific method while on the job. When they arrive to the scene of the crime for investigation, they would have to scan the area around the scene for clues as well, since there may be footprints around the general area of the crime, not only within the yellow tape. They would have to search for trace evidence, as well as the more traditional forms of evidence, since trace evidence can provide DNA evidence which can also prove who the perpetrator is, when the case is taken to trial. If there is a broken window that the perpetrator came in through, there may be blood near the window which contains DNA evidence; if no blood is present, there may be skin cells near the window which can provide DNA evidence. These are a few examples, but in practical application of investigative practice, there are many different avenues for the investigator to analyze before the case can be closed.

4. Discuss the three primary sources of information for criminal investigators and provide detailed practical examples of each source listed.

The primary three sources of the information investigators need are People, Physical Evidence, and Records (Documentary Evidence). The people investigators would look to for information include Witnesses for interview, Victims for interview (if they are still alive), and of course Suspects for interrogation. An interview could become an interrogation if the witness becomes hostile and leads the investigator to believe that they are a suspect; in the case of a rape victim, the investigator needs to show extreme courtesy, while still proving they understand the sexual jargon they speak with. The type of Evidence (Physical Evidence) an investigator would use as information include Fingerprints, Firearm Evidence, Evidence of Breaking and Entry at the Point of Access, DNA Evidence, Biological Evidence such as what Forensic Pathologists would analyze, and more. For instance, the investigator would have to carefully preserve all the evidence at the scene of the crime, in order to prevent degradation and contamination on its way to the lab for further analysis, and later on the way to the trial where it will be presented as courtroom evidence after the opening statements of the Prosecutor and defense. Documentary Evidence (Records) include identification records such as social security cards, drivers’ licenses, and passports; bank statements, letters of correspondence, receipts, press releases, and more. For example, in practical application an investigator would have to examine these soberly, taking into account any tears, wrinkles, or erasures that would make portions unreadable; if portions are indeed unreadable, they would have to transmit the records to a graphologist lab for further analysis after its careful collection and preservation.