Criminal Law: Conflict of Evidence Law and Constitutional Rights

This article discusses the conflict between evidence law and constitutional rights in criminal investigations. It covers the steps involved in gathering evidence and the constitutional conflicts that may arise in each of these situations.

Running head: CRIMINAL LAW
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Introduction
In criminal investigations the primary focus is on establishing the guilt of the accused.
Thus gathering evidence that ratify such accusations is of utmost importance. The authorities
tasked with gathering evidence on the crime would ideally need various distinct pieces of
evidence to establish mens rea and actus reas. However in such investigations the rights of the
defendant guaranteed under the constitution cannot be forfeited or infringed in any way. The
constitution is the Grundnorm and all other laws find legislative force through the provisions of
the Constitution and thus its provisions cannot be eclipsed by the provisions of any other law.
The question is what are the repercussions when a constitutional right conflicts with evidentiary
rule, which otherwise allows the court to either allow or reject any piece of evidence at the trial.
The debate is over the supremacy of the constitutional right over the evidentiary rule and
whether it should be allowed to be a “trump”. From the mere understanding that the Constitution
of the United States is the Supreme Law of the land, the constitutional rights shall apply (Garrett,
2015). This has seen a deviance from the norm that constitutional rights shall apply to the laws
which might change the result at the civil or criminal trial because the trial courts and the
Supreme Court have not interpreted the Constitution to not apply rules of evidence.
Conflict of Evidence law and Constitutional Rights
It has been held in the case of Michelson v. United States 335 U.S. 469, 486 (1948)
identified conflicts in evidence gathering which may arise in light of Constitutional rights. This
case also reiterated the evidentiary value of a defendant’s good character as evidence. The
challenges in gathering forensic evidence while adhering to the Constitutional rights of the

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defendant can be identified by first identifying the steps in gathering such evidence. These are
listed below (AR, 2014):
 Arrival at scene and preliminary investigation.
 Preliminary evaluation and documentation in the scene.
 Processing of the Crime scene.
 Completing the recording of the scene of the crime.
 Crime scene equipment.
In case of the crime of murder observance of protocol in each of these steps is especially
essential as a procedural defect could lead to the acquittal of a person accused of such a heinous
crime (Coulthard, Johnson & Wright, 2016). The constitutional conflict that may arise in each of
these situations is set out in seriatim below:
1. Arriving at the crime scene
The first most important step of preserving a crime scene is to ensure that there is
minimum contamination and the physical evidence should not be disturbed. The initial
responding officer after entering the crime scene has to first assess the scene and then
after proper evaluation shall treat the incident as a crime scene. It is the duty of the initial
responding officer to note or log any dispatch related to the crime of murder, like the
telephonic calls that have been made, the parties who were involve (Robertson, Roux &
Wiggins, 2017). In cases of murder, it is important to look for weapons or evidence and
tread cautiously to make sure that the evidences are not damaged. The officer has to keep
a keen eye on any dangerous weapon or person in the crime scene which might be of
immediate threat to the officers accompanying the initial responding officer. In cases of

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murder, it is imperative for the officer to take adequate care of any person who has been
injured or harmed in the crime and who needs medical attention (Robinson, 2016).
Therefore, the responding officer has to take effective steps to not contaminate or alter
the murder scene.
2. Documentation and Evaluation of Crime Scene
In cases of murder, the investigators have to first secure the scene for the purpose of staging
of equipment and consultation (Balkin, 2013). The murder scene needs proper implementation of
integrity, that is, the documentation needs to be ready which explicitly show the entry/exit of
authorized personnel and also prevent entry of any unauthorized person to the murder scene
(Four, Five & Six, 2015). Therefore, the evaluation of a crimes scene is done in two steps- first
the assessment and second comes collection and preservation of those collected evidences that is
an useful legal tool in evidence collection. Documentation includes photographs of the crime
scene, any information that can incriminate any person who has been present in the murder
scene, their details. Any written or photographic evidence shall carry more weight in walk-
through investigation.
3. Processing the Scene
In cases of murder scene, there is a need for additional personnel which the investigator in
charge is responsible to decide. Murder scenes with multiple victims and varied witnesses
require additional help. The scene has to be preserve from cross contamination s that will impede
the evidence collection process hampering the integrity of evidence. There is also a need for
recording transient evidence, like the smell of the murder scene or conditions like the
temperature, which help in proper understanding of the crime scene (Doleac, 2017). In cases of

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murder, sketching can help in leading the investigation but that has to be certified with the help
of any traceable ruler which is an authentic evidence collection and certification tool. All the
information collected during the investigation and evidence collection has to be documented with
proper entry of date and time to make the evidence tenable in court.
4. Completion of recording of the crime scene
This step provides the option to law enforcement authorities to disclose materials facts
about the crime scene to the public. This is the final step involved in evidence gathering before
the crime scene is deemed to have investigated. This release of information would ideally
contain a summary of all the important findings in a particular case. However in doing so the
police must adhere to the fourth amendment rights guaranteed to the individuals whose property
the crime scene is located. Additionally if the crime scene is in a public place and there are
witnesses their rights under the fourth amendment must also be considered. Under the fourth
amendment to the constitution citizens have a right to privacy which is guaranteed as a
fundamental right (Lienesch, 2014). This right guarantees that personal information relating to a
person cannot be disclosed in the public domain without explicit consent as the same would be a
conspicuous violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
5. Crime scene equipment
Various recommended police documentation equipment which law enforcement
authorities must bring in along with them when investigating a murder scene are prescribed in
protocol. Several of these are absolutely necessary while others are optional. Consent forms and
police barricade tapes are absolutely necessary and must be available during any investigation
relating to the crime of murder. Consent forms which are absolutely necessary for obtaining
cooperating witnesses and for obtaining consent for disclosures mentioned in the previous step.

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The consent form would eliminate the possibility of a challenge under the fourth amendment
which could be viable opposition to the investigations process. The right to freedom of
movement which is embodied in the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the constitution can
also bring about a challenge to the investigation process however the use of police barricade
tapes would eliminate the possibility of such a challenge based on restriction of movement
(Dicey, 2013).

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Reference list
AR, N. M. (2014). Forensic evidence collection by reconstruction of artifacts in portable web
browser. International Journal of Computer Applications, 91(4).
Balkin, J. M. (2013). The American Constitution as Our Law. Yale JL & Human., 25, 113.
Coulthard, M., Johnson, A., & Wright, D. (2016). An introduction to forensic linguistics:
Language in evidence. Routledge.
Dicey, A. V. (2013). The law of the constitution (Vol. 1). OUP Oxford.
Doleac, J. L. (2017). The effects of DNA databases on crime. American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics, 9(1), 165-201.
FOUR, D., FIVE, D., & SIX, D. (2015). Crime scene investigation and reconstruction.
Garrett, B. L. (2015). Constitutional Law and the Law of Evidence. Cornell L. Rev., 101, 57.
Lienesch, M. (2014). New Order of the Ages: Time, the Constitution, and the Making of Modern
American Political Thought. Princeton University Press.
Robertson, J., Roux, C., & Wiggins, K. G. (2017). Forensic examination of fibres. CRC press.
Robinson, E. M. (2016). Crime scene photography. Academic Press.