Chapter 2

Produced by direct contact between a person and an object or between two objects (like lip prints)

Produced by a specific event or action, important in crime scene reconstruction (lip prints, etc)

Produced by contact between person(s) or object(s) or between person(s) or …

Items that may associate a victim of suspect with a scene of each other (ex personal belongings)

Tangible items that tend to prove some material fact (real evidence)

What is said in court by a competent witness

What is said in court by a competent witness

What is said in court by a competent witness. (Testimonial and direct evidence)

Evidence providing only a basis for inference about the disputed fact

Evidence based on suggestion rather than personal knowledge or observation

Material that can be related to a single source; individualizations always involves a comparison

Material that can be associated only with a group of items that share properties or characteristics

The ability of evidence to prove something that is material to a crime

Material that has been collected from a known location but is of unknown origin

Material that comes from a proven or known source

• may prove that a crime has been committed • establish key elements of a crime • link a suspect with • establish the identity • corroborate verbal witness • exonerate the innocent • give detectives leads • can be any material or object • if can take on almost any form

How eye witness isn’t always reliable (where he went to jail for 11 years said he was innocent and the dna testing happened and they found out it was Bobby Poole)

Something that tends to establish or disapprove a fact

Mistaken eye-witness identification

• type of crime and how the witness saw it • victims of serious crime relieve the event in their mind (more accurate) • some witness are better at remembering than others (age, etc) • interviewing techniques • crime scene was too dark, encounter was too brief, presence of a weapon as a distraction • the stress & fear involved in witnessing a crime may sharper some peoples focus and confused others • time between the crime and questioning • new information (reviewing mug shots or being asked leading questions)

Temporary, easily changed or lost; usually observed by the first officer at the scene

Circumstantial evidence

Commonly called the general acceptance test, scientific evidence is admissible at trial only if the methodology on which the opinion is based have gained general acceptance in the particular field

An updated revision of the frye standard that applies only in federal courts. The trial judge must assume responsibility for admissibility and validity of evidence presented in his or her court.