ipl-logo

Why Evidence Is Important

441 Words2 Pages

“Evidence is information that people base decisions on. In a legal sense, evidence is the information Presented in court during a trial that enables a judge and jury to decide a particular case” (Garland, 1979, p. 475). Evidence is the key to solving any criminal case. Some evidence is easier to collect than others, but there are trained professionals who know what to look for and where to find it. Anything that is used in the commission a crime can be used as evidence. Evidence can range from blood drops to any tool that was used during the crime.
The rule of evidence authorizes how to collect present and apply evidence in the court of law. Once evidence has been found at a crime scene, it must be properly preserved, tagged, and photographed. Numerous photos are taken of every piece of evidence that has been found. Officer must also make a complete description of the evidence and describe the location and the characteristics of the item. In order for evidence to be submitted in court a chain of custody must be obtained. “Chain of custody is a method of authenticating evidence that is presented …show more content…

Without evidence there would be no way to prosecute an offender in court. Evidence helps to prove guilt or innocents of an individual. Although specific evidence may be relevant to a case, not all evidence can be admitted at trial. Certain pieces of evidence are left out at trial in order to prevent prejudice toward the defendant. In a murder case, although there may be thousands of pictures of the victim that are relevant, only a few photos are admitted by the judge. Moreover evidence must be collected legally, because if not it can be thrown out and it is of no use. Attorneys must decide what evidence is relevant and helpful to prove their case, because the judge will not allow all evidence to be presented. Even though an attorney may see a piece of evidence as crucial to their case a judge can deny the evidence from being

Show More
Related

  • Appeal Of The Queen V. Danny Lalumiere Case

    1100 Words  | 5 Pages

    There is a wide range of ways to interpret a case before arriving at the final verdict. In most situations, the best way is to prove the guilt of an accused. The facts presented before the court are vital to prove that a criminal act occurred. A determination should be made in a case to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. At times it is the full discretion of the judge to make a decision, which can deviate from the facts of the case.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Supreme Court Case Of Brady V. Bobti

    596 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introduction: The United States Supreme Court cases of Brady v. Maryland, Giglio v. United States, and United States v. Agurs all deal with the prosecution's obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense. These cases establish that prosecutors have a constitutional duty to disclose all evidence favorable to the accused. Failure to disclose this information violates due process and can result in a new trial or acquittal.

    Read More

  • Court Case Of Harold James Blackburn

    1230 Words  | 5 Pages

    The reliability and admissibility of evidence becomes a foundation to this truth as any evidence presented cannot contain elements which can provide doubt towards the validity of the prosecution. This can be shown through guideline 14 of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions agreement to provide advice for the NSW police towards the legal limitations or consequences of evidence obtained during the course of an investigation (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions n.d). Identification evidence in particular has a lower weight and strength for admission to a court due to the fallibility and circumstantial nature of witnesses. The admissibility of identification evidence was previously determined by judges based on its quality with case law such as R v. Christie providing principles for discretionary powers for admissibility and Alexander v. R providing methods satisfactory to the court for identification such as identification parades under common law. (R v. Christie 1914; Alexander v. R 1981).

    Read More

  • Outline For Ernie The Process Of Jury Defense

    1167 Words  | 5 Pages

    Presentation of Evidence: In order to try to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the prosecution will first present its case. This evidence may include witnesses, records, and forensic data. After then, the defence will get a chance to question the witnesses for the prosecution. Defense's Case:

    Read More

  • Comparing The Salem Witch Trials And The Red Scare

    749 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1692 The Salem Witch Trials started, it was a time when the Puritans, people who were strict to the bible, believed that there were witches living among them trying to taint their society. This ended quickly because the court concluded that the Witch Trials were a mistake after 200 people had been accused of witchcraft while 20 were executed. A long period of time after this, shortly after the end of WW2, in 1947, The Second Red Scare occured in America during the Cold War. This was a fear the Americans had for communists from Russia. The Americans feared communism because it did not allow private owned businesses or practicing religious acts.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Ethos Pathos Logos

    752 Words  | 4 Pages

    Without facts and evidence to prove someone's guilt it's impossible to convict them of the

    Read More

  • Defense Attorney Discussion Paper

    362 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1963, Brady v. Maryland was established by the Supreme Court, which required the prosecutor to hand over to the defense exculpatory evidence. This allowed for the defense to gain evidence which pointed towards the innocence of the defendant. According to Brady v. Maryland 373 U.S. 83 the primary holding stated that, “withholding of evidence that is

    Read More

  • Evidence Based Prosecution In Domestic Violence Cases

    228 Words  | 1 Pages

    Evidence based prosecution is when offenders can be held accountable for their actions even without a victim's testimony or cooperation. The evidence of the prosecution is based on medical records, medical examinations, photographs, the 911 tape and things that are found on the victim's and offender's body. Evidence based prosecution is extremely important in domestic violence cases because it serves justice without having them testify against the offender face to face. The victim in this type of setting my be too afraid of the offender to speak up in fear of any further attacks, taking legal custody of their children, economic control, etc. Many victims of domestic violence do not make a report or if they do at the time they chose

    Read More

  • James Richardson's Innocence

    927 Words  | 4 Pages

    This shows that evidence is an important role in pleading someone guilty. When you convict someone of a crime, make sure you know the evidence and information on the case before sentencing

    Read More

  • Criminally Responsible Law

    1035 Words  | 5 Pages

    (Miladinovic, Z., & Lukassen, J., 2015, February 25) The outcome of a just trial and its verdict, is based on proof of evidence, which ensures what 's best for the

    Read More

  • Comparing The Salem Witch Trials And The American Criminal Justice System

    478 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today, modern standards require the burden of proof be brought forth by the plaintiff, or prosecution in criminal cases. This means that the accused no longer has to prove they did not commit the crime, but the prosecution has to prove that all the evidence proves the accused did in fact commit the crime in question. Circumstantial evidence is not enough, but physical evidence, or forensic evidence is now required in modern courts for a conviction. Additionally, the modern standard when considering evidence, and for conviction is “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

    Read More

  • Roxane Gay's Essay 'A Tale Of Three Coming Out Stories'

    738 Words  | 3 Pages

    Evidence can be anything that proves or backs up what your argument is about. It helps the reader better understand your argument. In Gay’s essay, she talks about three famous people who come out and announce that they are gay. She proves that famous people cannot have privacy, everything about them will come out to the public even though they want to keep it to themselves.

    Read More

  • Evidence At The Temporary Residence Of John Evander Couey

    1804 Words  | 8 Pages

    When the evidence is ready to be collected each item will go into its own separate bag. Each bag will be sealed shut and the seal has to be signed. Next each bag will be labeled with the date and time of collection, what the item is, where it was found, the name and identification number of the person who bagged it, what type of crime scene it was found at, the incident number, and evidence number. (Tina Young, 2011) Next would be the search of fingerprints.

    Read More

  • Police Operational Strategies

    1267 Words  | 6 Pages

    Doing this, helpws protect the evidence and prevent cross contamination. The crime scene is the physical area where a crime is thought to of occurred and where the evidence of the said crime is thought to reside. Vital evidence to a case, can be found at a crime scene. This includes, fingerprints, DNA, foot prints, bullets, bullet casings, fibers, etc. It is important to determine if a crime has in fact been committed, if so, the officer must initiate enforcement action, by arresting or pursuing the offender or dispatching apprehension information.

    Read More

  • Cardinal Principles Essay

    1076 Words  | 5 Pages

    The prosecution bears the legal burden to prove the guilt of defendant beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases whereby the defendant bears the evidential burden

    Read More

More about Why Evidence Is Important

Open Document