Criminal Law Assignment (Solved)

Running head: CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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CRIMINAL LAW
Table of Contents
Answer 1..........................................................................................................................................2
Answer 2..........................................................................................................................................2
Answer 3..........................................................................................................................................3
Answer 4..........................................................................................................................................4
Answer 5..........................................................................................................................................5
Answer 6..........................................................................................................................................6
Answer 7..........................................................................................................................................6
Answer 8..........................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Answer 1
The police officers and first responders with respect to the crime scene posses the risk of
unintentionally tempering valuable evidence. The problem of contamination is very serious
through which a criminal case can be Jeopardize through the distraction of evidence. The first
responders or the police officers may not have the knowledge that which aspect of the crime
scene can be a very valuable evidence and may be contaminated if due care is not take (Ide &
Lindholm, 2016). Therefore it is not possible to comprehensively prevent the people at the crime
scene from contamination g the evidence. However, the contamination can be limited if proper
measures are taken by the crime scene officers. Merely wearing gloves and masks to investigate
the crime scene is not enough to prevent the contamination of evidence. The elimination of
evidence contamination from the crime scene can make or break a case. The way in which the
evidence has been collected and the state which it has been collected is the primary accusation
which the defendant attorney relies upon in court to prove that the defendant is innocent. The
concerns related to contamination also affect the evidence review process in a negative way. The
reviewer would always have in made the concern related to the authenticity of the evidence. In
addition if evidence has actually being contaminated at the crime scene it would be difficult for
the reviewer to attain an appropriate conclusion required to address the criminal case. Therefore
it is necessary to ensure that contamination is eliminated from the crime scenes (Girard, 2013).
Answer 2
This section of the paper would provide details in relation to the obvious clues and pieces of
evidence that could be used for a subsequent prosecution. The obvious clues and evidence which
have been identified in relation to the present crime scene are as follows:

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1. 9mm Shell casing- The case would be helpful for the purpose of identifying the type of
weapon which has been used to commit the crime. The case has to be collected wearing
gloves and have to be kept in a clean plastic bag for further forensic review.
2. Telephone cable- The telephone cable which has been cut through the use of a blunt knife
may have finger prints of the person who has cut it. The cable has to be collected and
stored in the same way as the bullet case.
3. 4 door late model dark blue Chevrolet Caprice Classic long black tire track- The model
of the car and the tire marks can be used to identify the car which had been used by the
accused and subsequently identify the accuse through the car. The tire tracks can be
collected via taking their impression on paper and clicking photographs.
4. Finger prints from chairs and table- These furniture have finger prints which can be
collected through the use of finger print collection tools and would help identify the
accused.
5. Latent fingerprints on the knob of the box- The finger prints can be collected in the same
way as from the furniture to identify the accused.
6. Prominent dirty boot print on the door- the boot print can also assist the officer in
identifying the accused. The impression of the boot print can be taken on impression
paper and digital photographs should also be clicked.
Answer 3
This section of the paper discusses about the unobvious pieces of evidence that need to be looked
for and how could they be collected and preserved. The evidences are as follows:

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1. Black ski mask with saliva around the mouth of the mask- The split found in the mask
can be used to extract the DNA sample of the owner. This has to done by following a
three step procedure. The first of the step is the preparation stage where preparation for
the collection has to be done by using personal protective equipment, evidence collection
kits such as forceps, distilled water and sterile swabs. It is necessary to select a product
which has been specifically designed to collect saliva. Swabbing for cells should be used
in the second step and the last step should be preserving the cells through proper transport
and storage such as providing the optimum temperature required to keep the cells safe.
This in an unobvious evidence because the mask was found outside the apartment and
may belong to anyone in the building.
2. Semen samples- Semen samples have to be collected from to the apartment in order to
find more evidence in relation to the DNA of the person who had indulged in sexual
activity with the victim. The sample needs to be collected in the same way as discussed
above.
Answer 4
Proper documentation is the one of the most important aspect of the crime scene investigation.
The record of evidence which is discovered at the crime scene is provided through
documentation along with the observation made at the scene (Fish et al., 2013). The complete
and accurate documentation of the evidence collected from the crime scene is required for
properly presenting it in the court. The first officer has the most important role to play in the
process of documentation. If proper documentation is not kept the offers would not be able to
keep a track of evidence which have been collected from the scene as they include various
evidence which can be difficult to be tracked without documentation (Saferstein, 2015). The

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crime officer must record the crime scene through the use of photographs and videos such as
ransacked rooms, missing items, open doors and windows so that the jury can be presented with
an overview of how the crime scene looked like. The documentation can also help the officers to
develop a general theory of the scene (Dutelle, 2016). This also helps the officers to get
knowledge about what kind of tools would be required for further inquiry. In the given case all
the evidence which have been collected discussed above have to be documented in a list of
evidence. The evidence collected from witness also has to be recorded electronically to be
presented in the court (Robinson, 2016).
Answer 5
The establishment of chain of custody is defined as the process of documenting, collecting, and
protecting evidence. The creation and maintenance of chain of custody denotes keeping a
detailed log of where the evidence was present and all details in relation to what happed to the
evidence before the court trial. Firstly the officer has to document where the evidence was
collected through notes and photographs (Baxter, 2015). Thus all the evidence which has been
collected has to be documented in relation to from where such evidence has been collected. For
instance it is to be recorded that the bullet case was found near the bed. The role of the defense
attorney is to find out loopholes so that he is able to provide before the court that the evidence
has not been collected in a proper manner and has been manipulated by the officers to be used
against the defendants (Horswell, 2016). Any contamination of evidence which may be identified
by the defense attorney would be utilized by him to decrease the credibility of the evidence
collected. It is the role of the prosecution to provide beyond reasonable doubts that the crime has
been committed by the plaintiff. In case the defendant attorney is able to create any doubt in the
mind of the judge due to the lack of a proper chain of custody it would be difficult for the

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prosecution to establish their case before the court and it would be ruled in favor of the defendant
(Lee & Pagliaro, 2013).
Answer 6
The evidence collected from the crime scene prima facie depicts that the case is related to theft
rape and murder. The person committing the crime must have come with the intention of theft
and they forced the victim to strip and take a shower in her underwear in gun point. There must
have been some struggle between the victim and the offender in the shower as hair were found
blocking the water passage way (Butler, Thompson & Bel, 2013). The victim must have been
forced to enter into sexual activity with the offender. When the offender tried to take away the
valuables of the victim the victim must have retaliated which can been concluded through the
position of the chair and table. The victim must have been shot during such struggle by the
offender. The tire tracks and pop sound denotes that as soon as the victim was shot and the theft
was committed the offender left the apartment. However there may when be more than one
offender in relation to the crime which me be discovered upon analyzing the finger prints found
in the apartment. The offender must have been unknown to the victim as they had to ransack the
house of the victim to find out the valuables. In addition the offenders may have been wearing a
mask which was found outside the apartment. If there is more than one offender found then
there may be possibilities of gang involvement in the crime as well (Baber, 2017).
Answer 7
Forensic science is necessary to solve any criminal case where sexual act has been committee
and the accused cannot be easily identified or is absconding. Through the implement of forensic
principles little details about the person committing the crime can be derived which is very

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useful for identifying such criminals. Through the help of such principles a scientific
examination of evidence can be conducted leaving no room for error towards distinguishing the
innocent from the guilty. In the given case the finger prints the car mark and the DNA collected
from the semen if matched through the application of forensic principles it would be clear that
the person present at that time must have committed the crime of theft and murder. Any person
upon whom the doubt can be extended may be analyzed based on the samples and evidences
collected from the scene (Lyman, 2015). In addition this type of evidence is available only for a
limited time because of their perishable nature and thus forensic science principles helps in the
proper collection and storage of such evidence. It is important for forensics to solve this kind of
crime as those who plan a criminal act cannot get away merely because they have made a good
plan as the principles of forensics usually identifies the wrongdoer. There are various kinds of
crime in which forensics can play a major role. These include murder, theft, robbery, rape and
sexual assault. Forensic science can analyze the evidence in such crime and provide accurate
results to identify the criminal (Schlesinger et al., 2014).
Answer 8
Various forensic science tools
Tools Use
Autopsy Table The table is used for the purpose of dissecting
the corpse.
Carbon di oxide For the purpose of preserving the corpse
Arterial & jugular tubes Drawing and draining out blood before
replacement with embalming materials such as

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formaldehyde for structure preservation.
Dissection scissors used to holding or moving structures
Restraint holding the corpse in place so that it position
does not change
Head rest For elevating the head.
Rubber gloves protection against infection, and preventing
evidence from contaminating
Blood collection kit Collecting the blood samples from the crime
scene
Trace evidence collection kit. To collect trace evidences such as the boot
print and the car tire tracks
Note book For the purpose of documenting the evidence
which has been collected from the crime scene
to maintain its credibility.

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References
Baber, C. (2017). Distributed cognition at the crime scene. In Cognition beyond the brain (pp.
43-59). Springer, Cham.
Baxter Jr, E. (2015). Complete crime scene investigation handbook. CRC press.
Butler, M., Thompson, T. J. U., & Bel, E. (2013). Exploring the implementation of head
mounted camera technology in Volume Crime Scene Investigation. CRC Press.
Dutelle, A. W. (2016). An introduction to crime scene investigation. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Fish, J. T., Miller, L. S., Braswell, M. C., & Wallace, E. W. (2013). Crime scene investigation.
Routledge.
FOUR, D., & SIX, D. (2015). Crime scene investigation and reconstruction.
Girard, J. E. (2013). Criminalistics: Forensic science, crime, and terrorism. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Horswell, J. (2016). Crime scene investigation and examination: major incident scene
management.
Ide, W., & Lindholm, T. (2016). CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION.
Lee, H. C., & Pagliaro, E. M. (2013). Forensic evidence and crime scene investigation. Journal
of Forensic Investigation, 1(1), 1-5.
Lyman, M. D. (2015). Criminal investigation. Prentice Hall.
Robinson, E. M. (2016). Crime scene photography. Academic Press.

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Saferstein, R. (2015). Forensic science: from the crime scene to the crime lab. Pearson.
Schlesinger, L. B., Gardenier, A., Jarvis, J., & Sheehan-Cook, J. (2014). Crime scene staging in
homicide. Journal of police and criminal psychology, 29(1), 44-51.