Preview

Essay On Tempering Evidence

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
725 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Tempering Evidence
Collecting evidence is an essential factor to the world of criminology. The evidence can determine whether the person is guilty or not guilty. The matter of handling evidence correctly becomes a priority to anyone who is working in the case.
Throughout the years civil and criminal cases have impacted our world. They have determine whether the suspects of cases and have narrowed down to the offender. But the process that it takes to establish a final conclusion to present to a court is a long and delicate process. A process in which the integrity of the evidence is to be maintained untampered. Unfortunately this has not been simple for criminal investigators. As a society we have witnessed several cases that have had an unjust outcome because of tampered evidence or evidence that was gathered without a warrant.
Some cases that were affected by tampered evidence where the OJ Simpson Murder Trial, The Ex-Massachusetts chemist gets three to five years in tampering case, the mishandling of DNA evidence in Rape Cases, and many more. Each of these cases were different but they all dealt with inadmissible evidence. They all have a different idea of what can happen when criminal investigators collect evidence incorrectly but they are great cases to reflect upon.
…show more content…
As she proceeded onto doing her job someone had discovered that she would altered the results so she would try to change the substance levels. She had conducted substance identification for more than 40,000 cases, according to CNN (Ex-Massachusetts chemists gets 3 to 5 years in tampering case, Retrieved September 17, 2015). Due to the fact that Dookhan had tampered the substances levels for previous cases, the integrity of the cases were put in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The CSI Effect

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The CSI Effect is a recent phenomenon that can be attributed to the influence of mass media. The term started appearing in legal lexicon in 2003; roughly 3 years after the show and its spin-offs became wildly popular options for the American public” (Heinrick 59). This so called “CSI Effect”, is creating major controversy in the courtroom. There is such a large different between what the media depicts and real forensic science that jurors now believe that they are more educated than prosecutors themselves. It is becoming extremely important that attorneys, judges, and anyone else involved in a case to be aware that jurors are expecting great things in regards to forensic evidence. If the “CSI Effect” is ignored within the courtroom, there is no telling what will happen. The guilty may be let free or the innocent could be wrongfully accused of something they didn’t do. In addition to the “CSI Effect”, another similar effect that has been formed because of CSI-type shows is the “Tech Effect”. The “Tech Effect” is very similar to the “CSI Effect” and is defined as a mentality in which jurors “hold higher expectations for forensic evidence because of the actual development in forensic technology” (Cole & Dioso-Villa 1345). Both the “CSI Effect” and the “Tech Effect” affirm that reality crime shows are changing the minds of its viewers, while some forensic accomplishments have been…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Forensic Science 1

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I think that it is important to use proper methods when collection evidence from a crime scene because if you don’t you risk contaminating the evidence and then it will not be able to be used in court.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    PACE

    • 2022 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This essay will discuss problems within the investigative process prior to The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). It will then go into detail as to when and why the Police and Criminal Evidence act was introduced and the codes entailed in it. Furthermore, it shall explain the advantages of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act being introduced and how it may have helped the investigative process including cases, as well as any disadvantages it may have caused, ending up with a clear conclusion of what the Police and Criminal Evidence Act is and whether or not it has helped or hindered the investigative process.…

    • 2022 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Evidence is crucial in forensic science because it can help solve crimes and clues in mysteries. We can find out who killed people in order to establish safety or solve crimes such as burglaries. All the evidence we had found played an important role in…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Forensic evidence has been used since the beginning of investigating. It could be anything from ammunition, to a handprint on the door, to the drops of blood on the crime scene. As seen in “Forensic Evidence” by Andrea Campbell, the indisputable forensic evidence is the best kind to use in a trial.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evidence is a type of proof. It is usually used to prove someone innocent or guilty. There are many different types of evidence, such as: testimony, direct, circumstantial, and physical evidence. However, according to the article “Forensic: Evidence, Clues, and Investigation” by Andrea Campbell, forensic evidence is the best evidence to present at a court case or trial.…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eyewitness testimony accounted for a majority of the convicted while others contained forensic evidence such as fingerprints, blood evidence, and hair comparison. A small percentage accounted for informant testimony which were found to be inaccurate. When pertaining to the court of appeals results showed that defective evidenced was not reviewed effectively. Consequently the convictions that were reversed only accounted for 14% with almost half consisting of actual inaccuracy. When reviewing the case at the appellate level justifying guilt or innocence is at the highest regard. Unfortunately this can often be difficult when having to make such a ruling while also deciding if an error exists. Defendants that pursued the appellate process were seldom successful challenging innocent claims. Due to the expense and difficulty of challenging the evidence. Convictions that did go to appeal for eyewitness identification were not reversed. Cases pertaining to federal claims did not proceed to appeal, even if they were innocent. Also defendants that gave false confessions only half actually raised a challenged, but none acknowledged a…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Crime scenes present many possibilities and evidence that may aid investigators in the apprehension and possibly conviction of a known or unknown offender. While this evidence are present at a scene of a crime, it requires specialized training on the part of law enforcement officials to effectively, efficiently and accurately, collect, record and preserve these evidence. Chain of command is especially vital at each stage of the evidence collection, as evidence can easily be lost and even tampered with. Sex crimes are especially sensitive, as trained professionals have to exercise empathy to what or who may be perceived as the main evidence; the victim. The victim may hold the key to a lot of information that will help investigators capture the perpetrator.…

    • 2602 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Forensic science has various influences on crime, investigation and the people that are involved. Forensic science has a connection with the courts to ensure crimes are getting solved and justice is being served to those that commit crimes. With the help of forensic science, crimes are being solved from a human and technological aspect. This paper highlights numerous discussions on how forensic science plays a role in criminal justices system, security, media and the law.…

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the criminal justice investigation process forensic science and the scientific method are used. The collecting of the evidence is a very important procedure and should be done with…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Federal Rule of Evidence 403 says, “The court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence” (2015). A defense attorney could utilize Motion in limine to request that the judge rule that certain testimony be excluded. The motion is always discussed outside the presence of the jury and is always decided by a judge. For example, after examining police reports and other documents it is detected that the crime scene was contaminated which could be argued that any DNA evidence taken from the scene is compromised and therefore any scientific evidence or expert opinions relating to this would be prejudicial. Another example could be that law enforcement did not procure proper search warrants before a search and seizure; therefore, all evidence gathered resulted in an improper discovery and should be excluded since it violates…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Evidence is any information gathered at the scene of a crime that may be relevant to a criminal investigation. There are different types of evidence that varies from Paperwork, Photographs, DNA, Finger prints; etc... These different kinds of evidence also require different types of opinions and explanations. Analyzing DNA is the best way to get your evidence. Every effort must be made to ensure that evidence is not lost, damaged, or contaminated. Evidence has many different roles in the investigation of a crime. It can link…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evidence must be viewed with the following question in mind. Is there enough evidence to get a conviction? Cases must also be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Is it more likely than not that the accused committed the crimes they are being charged with?…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is criminal evidence? Criminal evidence is any exhibit or testimony that will identify guilt, blame, or fault in a criminal case. In many cases, it is questioned upon what actually constitutes “acceptable” evidence (Ellis, 2008). From time to time there have been many cases which have been thrown out, and criminals who have gone free, because the evidence was “corrupt” so to say. To be sure of whether the evidence presented is admissible, one must adhere to but not limited to one of the following: the exclusionary rule, and the fruit of the poisonous tree.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mass Crime Lab Case

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Former Massachusetts State Crime Lab chemist, Annie Dookhan, has been indicted on twenty-seven counts of tampering with evidence, perjury, and obstruction of justice after a legal fallout that has jeopardized thousands of drug cases (Smith). Dookhan admitted to “dry-labbing” (distinguishing a sample is a narcotic based on appearance instead of actually testing), altering test results, and “deliberately turned a negative sample into a positive for narcotics a few times”. Another way in which she tampered with the testing samples was by exaggerating the weight of seized drugs in order to cause the accused party to receive harsher penalties. As a result of the chemist’s actions, many innocent people have served jail time, while deserving criminals were let off the hook. Even though her coworkers and supervisors were suspicious on several occasions throughout the course of several years, she was not caught until 2011 when she admitted to forging a colleague’s signature on paperwork. It was not until this action, that she was finally suspended from her duties (The Living Case).…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays