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Evidence
Testimony or items, entered into a court, to prove an issue or support an action
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Chain of custody
Accounting of the whereabouts of a piece of physical evidence from seizure until it's introduction into court as evidence
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Best evidence rule
Origional is needed as evidence unless it is destroyed alowing a copy to be entered into evidence
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Direct evidence
Proves the fact directly
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Indirect evidence (circumstantial)
Must use evidence with other evidence to come to conclusion
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Corroborative evidence
Supports the initial piece of evidence making it more credible
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Cumulative evidence
Added to the initial piece of evidence to lead the jury to the conclusion that the fact is proved
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Physical evidence
Real evidence you can hold, touch, examine, store, read, feel, measure, etc.
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Documentary evidence
Physical evidence in written form
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Testimonial evidence
Physical evidence in spoken form
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Competency
Qualities that make a piece of evidence admissable
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4 issues in determining competency of evidence
- Relevance
- Materiality
- Prejudice
- Reliability
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Relevance
How much the evidence is related to the issue being considered
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Materiality
How important the information is to the jury's decision
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Prejudice
How much the piece of evidence is to inflame the emotions of the jury
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Reliability
How dependable the piece of evidence is
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General competence
Is the witness competant to take the stand
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Content competance
Witness can only testify to fact unless demed an expert witness in which he can testify to opinions rehardin significance of evidence
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Privilege
Cannot testify aginst another if they share this privilage
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4 privilaged relationships
- Husband-wife
- Attorney-client
- Minister-penitent
- Doctor-patient
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Mandatory reporter
- A person who is required by their profession to report suspicious information
- (doctor, nurse, teacher, police, pastor)
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Hearsay
- Written or spoken evidence of an out-of-court statement
- Entered as evidence to prove or disprove the content of the statement
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Hearsay is generally inadmisable as evidence because
Depends on the credability of a person other than witness
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What can inadmisable hearsay be used for
Used in information gathering process incloding PC for a search warrent
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Police reports are considered
Hearsay
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Exceptions to the hearsay rule
- Admissions and confessions
- Dying declarations
- Spontaneous statements
- Past recolection recorded
- Present memory refreshed
- Prior testimony
- Anonymous scorces
- Public record
- Business record
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Past recollection recorded
Officer can use his report to remember incident
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Present memory refreshed
Use his report to remember all details of incident
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Prior testimony
Information given under oath inan earlier court preceeding
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Anonymous sources
Informants who identity must be protected and therefore can't testify
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Public record
Public records are generaly admisable
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Business records
Admisable unless their records are part of the case
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Admissions and confessions
Held reliable if volentary and proceded by constitution rights
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Dying declarations
Personmust believe they are dying and then die
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Spontaneous statements
Statements must be made without time to reflect
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What is required for admission of eyewitness identification
The relative suggestiveness of the method used
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Line-ups
Used when the defendant is in physical custody
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Photo spreads
Defendant is known but not in custody
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Ono-on-one confrontations
Used when suspect and defendant are beingdetained
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2 requirements for one-on-one to be admisable
- Id should be done immediately after the crime
- No attempt to influence witness' id
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What court consider when taking into account the admisability of one-on-one confrontation after an extended time from crime
- Oppertunity of wit to view suspect
- Wit degree of attention during the crime
- Accuracy of prior description
- Certainty at time of id
- Length of time between crime and id
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2 situation where one-on-one is appropriate
- Wit is close to death
- Suspect demands immediate id
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Role of attorney in eyewitness id
- Before charging-w/o line-up or attorney
- After charging-attorney can observe, suspect can't refuse id procudure
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Restrictions on id w/o police involvement
May beused with normal testimonial restrictions
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Exclusionary rule of evidence
Evidence gathered illigaly will be excluded from trial
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Fruit of the poisonous tree
Evidence derived from evidence gathered illegaly will also be excluded from trial
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Intended purpose of exclusionary rule
- Punish officers who violate a persons rights
- It actualy harms public not police officers
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What makes the exclusionary rule still necessary
Exclusionary rule is the remody to the violation of a person rights
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4 exceptions to the exclusionary rule
- Impeachment
- Independant source
- Inevitable discovery
- "good faith"
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ER impeachment
Illigaly gotten confession can be used to impeach a wit on the stand
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ER independant source
Evidence found by a source entirely untainted by origional illegal evidence
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ER inevitable discovery
Tainted evidence can be used if it would have inevitably discovered
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ER good faith
Allows evidence obtained by officers acting in good faith
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Limitations of the exclutionary rule
- Only evidence obtained by LE and brought to court
- Dosn't apply to private citizens
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