Essays on Admissibility

Emmanuel Kant describes enlightenment as a situation of self-awareness where an individual emerges from self-imposed immaturity. Thus, this state marks a transition from darkness to awareness, and it comes with freedom. Moreover, Kant regards immaturity as a complete inability of an individual to use his conscience or understanding without the intervening guidance of another person (Deligiorgi, 2005). A clear lack of resolve and courage precipitates to the denial of personal freedom, but an affliction on others for sole guidance. Principally, Kant’s assertion about enlightenment is entrenched on having the courage to use personal understanding and courage to dispense ...

Paper Outline

Introduction Thesis Statement: The use of DNA in a criminal prosecution has helped advance justice for both victims and suspects by, among other things, eliminating the possibility of wrongful conviction due to inaccurate identification. This way, it has also tremendously helped the law enforcement agencies in the criminal justice system in fighting and solving crime through effective investigation of offenses. However, there are also legal -particularly human rights- and ethical challenges regarding DNA application in criminal prosecution (Naughton & Gabe 245).

Sub-Points

-Improved the functionality of the criminal Justice system The use of DNA in a criminal prosecution has enhanced the ...

Introduction and Background

Abortion is a term that is used to define the premature termination of pregnancy. According to James E White, abortion refers to the intentional termination of the pregnancy before its conception (James 82). However, a pregnancy may fail to reach its conception stage due to natural causes. Thus the woman is termed as having a miscarriage. Miscarriages are acts of nature and beyond the human control. Due to advancement in medical technology cases of miscarriages have significantly reduced. Correspondingly, abortion does not necessarily cause the death of the fetus, but detaches it from its life support hence reducing the ...

Criminal justice system has undergone tremendous changes. The advancement of technology has enhanced forensic investigation. Frye is one of the debated and cryptic decision in the United States jurisprudence. James Frye was tried in court for second-degree murder. James based his defense on systolic blood pressure test, but the court did not allow his testimony. The District of Columbia Court of Appeal put into consideration Frye’s testimony and argument. Frye test refers to the test that is streamlined towards determining the admissibility of various scientific evidence. It entails admitting scientific evidence at a trial process. The test was ...

The use of biometric evidence in executing criminal justice has gained reputation throughout the world as a result of rapid advancement in technology. In essence, biometric recognition entails the use of biometric equipment to recognize individuals through their biological characteristics (Sanders et al., 2010). Bio information of a person is captured and analyzed for use in identification. Some examples of bio information include fingerprint and signatures. A biometric evidence is the most popular and convincing method of confirming the identity of a person (Reedman, 2015). The criminal justice system uses different biometric characteristics to identify criminals depending on the ...

In the case of Giesecke & Devrient v Minister of Safety and Security (Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa) the main issue was admissibility of hearsay as evidence as per s 3(1)(c) of the Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988. Giesecke & Devrient was the appellant while Minister of Safety and Security was the respondent. In the case, it was ruled that hearsay could not be admitted as evidence. The appellant was involved in the provision of cash processing as well as security services for a number of clients including banks and casinos. One of its ...

Study

Abstract Forensic photography is one of the four popular methods of documenting a crime scene. Together with videotaping, sketching and note taking, it constitutes an important part of the investigative and judicial process. Today’s court practice reveals that the photos taken by the forensic expert are often the only reliable, yet sufficient evidence to make the triumph of justice possible. In addition, not only the role of forensic photographers is critical in the context of recording and preserving lopus delicti evidence, but also these professionals are frequently summoned to a courtroom to give their professional opinion regarding authenticity ...

Abstract

This paper seeks to compare American and Australian Criminal Justice Systems by providing information regarding the way the two criminal justice systems operate. Some of the various aspects that the paper will be seeking to evaluate within the two systems include the legal traditions; law enforcement; measure of crime; criminal procedure; corrections; terrorism and organized crime; courts and legal profession; and juvenile Justice. The paper starts with an introduction, which provides a general overview of the paper. Consequently, the paper will provide insight regarding the legal traditions that are practiced within the two countries.

Introduction

Comparative studies of criminal justice ...

Identification Procedures Line ups and Show ups

The Lineup is a technique that is used in criminal investigations and is an act where the police shows an individual who has witnessed a crime, nevertheless the person is a victim or not, a line of people and require that the witness recognizes the perpetrator among them or not. Why lineup and not only showing the suspect to the witness? Science (cognitive psychology) and practice have proved that mental processes like attention and memory are quite relative and uncertain phenomena. Imagine that the witness saw a woman with blond short hair and green skirt quickly going out from ...

The History of Data Models

The history of database development is a history of the development of data management systems in the external memory of a computer. On the first electronic computers, there were 2 types of external devices - magnetic tapes and magnetic drums. Magnetic tape had a large enough capacity, but their main drawback was that you could not assess the required information easily. For example, it was necessary to read all the previous section before reading information stored in the middle or end of the tape. Magnetic drums were allowed random memory access, but the amount of information stored on them ...

The case involved Fremont Weeks and the police on December 21st of 1911. In what seems to have set the stage for future legal battles, the police officers had invaded the house of the suspect over an alleged sale of lottery tickets. In doing so, the police had acted without the search warrant but went ahead to take several materials from Weeks’ house which they presented to the District Attorney. In their illegal searches, the officers seized anything considered a paper material including letters, books, money, and any other property considered Weeks’. In addition to the unwarranted searches, they ...

Abstract

The legal business environment, including laws and regulations formulated to control the conduct of business activities is one of the most important external factors that affect major commercial decisions by business organizations (Pathak, 2013, p. 96). This legal framework influences decision making by businesses right from registration, workplace safety of employees, decisions on employment or dismissals, product safety, business agreements, to financing and marketing decisions (Campbell, 2009, p. 154). Businesses enterprises, according to Miller and Jentz (2011) must always operate within the purview of this legal framework as they make decisions on the various commercial activities, processes and operations ...

The scenario as set out in the question is one that has to be looked into keenly, critically identifying and isolating the various relevant events that directly or indirectly impact on the relevance and admissibility of evidence discovered and/or obtained at a crime scene. This paper intends to identify the relevant events with regards to the collection and/or obtaining of evidence relevant to the scenario and state whether each piece of evidence obtained is admissible or inadmissible; and backing up the various arguments with the relevant provisions of the United States Constitution, case law and statutory positions on the subject ...

The best evidence rule is codified in the Federal Rules of Evidence. Rule 1002 provides that, unless otherwise provided by the federal statutes, an original recording is required in order to prove its contents. At the same time, Rule 1003 states that the duplicate of the original recording is equally admissible unless there are genuine doubts as to the authenticity of the original piece of evidence. Rule 1004 allows not to require the original evidence if it is impossible to obtain the original by any available judicial process. The court may also admit the summary of the original evidence, ...

1. What key needs in local law enforcement agencies must be met to improve response to computer crimes? How is the issue of computer crime currently addressed, and how do you feel that law enforcement responses could improve? Explain.

The of the key needs in local law enforcement agencies in improving the response to computer crime is keeping pace with the Tech-savvy criminals. There are has been tremendous changes in the computer field. The computing environment is becoming more and more complex. As such, the computer criminals are also coming up with sophisticated ways of overcoming the security mechanism ...

Different types of evidence, their importance and how an investigator would collect them

Evidently, there exist different types of evidences that should be collected by crime scene investigators across different crime scenes. Speaking of evidence, this connotes to either testimonials from witnesses or victims as well as physical evidence.

- Hair

Human hair occurs as one of the most crucial evidences that should be collected for use as evidence across different crime scenes. This type of evidence is noteworthy because it offers a viable platform that can disclose the possible identity of the person who committed a given crime (Klamberg, 2013). On a similar note, a comparison of human hair sampled derived from a crime scene can be carried ...

Procedure and Facts

The two plaintiffs, who were minors, and their parents, commenced liability proceedings against the defendant, which was a pharmaceutical company. The plaintiffs were born with limb defects which they contended was not natural but rather by their mother’s use of Benedictin, a drug manufactured by the defendants. The claim was lodged at the Ninth Circuit court. The arguments from the opposing parties in the case elucidated differing opinions as to the more just, appropriate and reliable criteria for the admissibility of scientific evidence available. There existed an earlier common law rule, the Frye rule, which held scientific evidence must be ...

Forensic evidence and testing relates to the analysis of evidence obtained from the crime scene through a vastly technical or scientific process (Buckles, 2007). Such as so, it requires a highly trained or skilled person to do the analysis; such persons for evidentiary purposes are referred to as expert witnesses. Expert witnesses are very critical in the criminal justice as without their expertise a lot of crimes would remain unresolved (Saferstein, 2011). However, due to the technical nature of the evidence, it is difficult to ascertain the authenticity and admissibility of such evidence.

Accordingly, there are basic standards set to guide the ...

Claim

My position as per the application of FISA and the Fourth Amendment is that the FISA violates the fourth amendment requirement. This is in line with the fact that the Fourth Amendment Act operates on the basis of the exclusionary rule and revolves around the search and seizure whereas the FISA is seen to violate the exclusionary rule.

Background

The Fourth Amendment Act was put in place following the dissenting argument at the time of arrest by the police officers. This is pegged on the basis that the exclusionary rule which is applied where admissibility of the unlawfully acquired evidence ...

Charges against Gorski

According to the case at hand, Gorski has a lot of federal charges against him. As the U.S. Attorney responsible for the case, the federal charges that one is most likely to levy on Gorski are as follows: - Using encryption in aid of a crime: The scenario poses a situation whereby Gorski refused to provide the authorities with the encryption key. As such, he appears to hinder the investigation process. Any instances whereby an individual knowingly refuses to comply with authorities in the investigation are likely to attract charges of non-compliance. The particular instance may have such charges levied on ...

1. How does a Federal court decide on the admissibility of scientific testimony? Federal courts follow a set of universal guidelines termed as the Federal Rules of Evidence, governing the admissibility of scientific testimony . Although all federal courts abide by the Frye standard, they may not necessarily interpret the meaning in the same way. The federal courts follow the Daubert’s standard, which contains two components . The first element is the fact that to be regarded relevant, a scientific testimony should ‘’logically advance the material component of the case”. The second element of the Daubert’s analysis targets the reliability of ...

Charges against Gorski

According to the case at hand, Gorski has a lot of federal charges against him. As the U.S. Attorney responsible for the case, the federal charges that one is most likely to levy on Gorski are as follows: - Refusal to cooperate with authorities: The scenario poses a situation whereby Gorski refused to provide the authorities with the encryption key. As such, he appears to hinder the investigation process. Any instances whereby an individual knowingly refuses to comply with authorities in the investigation are likely to attract charges of non-compliance. The particular instance may have such charges levied on Gorski ...

Arunabha Banerjee

Senior Associate, Corporate & Compliance Solutions, Thomson Reuters Abstract With the changing needs of time, forensic analysis of fingerprint in administering criminal justice has undergone a sea change. The process has experience intense digitalization of late with the inception of Automated Fingerprint Information System in an attempt to facilitate speed, efficiency and convenience. However, the automation has been hampered by numerous setbacks, as evident in some recent high profile cases. This article seeks to delve into the nuances of use of digital methods in evidentiary analysis of fingerprints and suggest an effective way forward, which suits the interests of ...

Forensic Evidence 1: Kumho Tire Co. V. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999)Facts Patrick Carmichael was driving his minivan on July 6, 1993 when its right rare tire burst was causing the van to turn over. As a result, one passenger died, and several others sustained injuries. Carmichael, enjoined by the survivors and the deceased’s representatives, instituted an action against the tire manufacturer and distributor. They claimed that the accident was caused by a fault in the tire. The claimant’s case by and large relied on the expert opinion of a tire failure analyst. According to the expert opinion, ...

Peremptory challenge

In law, there is a provision for a peremptory challenge. Under this provision, attorneys have the discretion to select a jury or reject them even without stating the reasons as to why they do so. Presiding judges have the duty of deciding whether the peremptory challenge is accepted or not. In most cases, such challenges are as a result of a party to a case having a reason to think that engaging some jurors would result in an unfair verdict. When both parties to a case have an agreement as to the composition of the jury, there are high chances that they will accept the verdict. This ...

When we consider such topics as abortion vs. euthanasia, it is necessary to look into the concept of bioethics – a complex cultural phenomenon that has arisen as a response to the threat of moral and physical well-being of a person arising from the rapid progress in biomedical science and practice. The term was proposed in 1970 by an American oncologist Van Rensselaer Potter. He called for uniting representatives of the humanities and natural scientists (especially biologists and physicians) to provide decent living conditions for people. According to Potter, science of survival should not be just a science, but rather new wisdom, which would ...

Question one: Procedural stages of a civil case

In the United States of America, the Constitution does not donate civil suits to the Federal Government. Under the doctrine of residual powers, it is the states that have the authority and mandate over civil cases. It is on that premise that civil procedure in the United States may be different from state to state. However, there has been a general approach applied by all the fifty states. In this section, the paper shall discuss the procedural stages in a civil suit. A civil suit begins formally with the institution of the suit. Often, the suit can only be instituted ...

Abstract

The submission introduces the topic it intends to cover by defining what a crime scene is and the importance of crime scenes in the criminal justice system. It then outlines the categories of crime scenes then gives the types of crime scenes under each category while briefly describing how each type of crime scene is and stating some of the aspects to appreciate under each type of crime scene. The submission then goes to discuss the law relating to admissibility of illegally collected materials and in doing that the locus classicus in the subject matter and other cases are subsequently ...

Introduction

The quest for justice for victims of crimes has and continues to generate an immense debate across various settings all around the world. On a similar note, the quest to administer adequate judgment for criminals suspected for perpetuating different crimes remains a prime objective for judicial systems all over the globe. Overall, the process of administering justice is a delicate process that calls for somber minds and adequate strategies that facilitate administration of justice that is beyond any reasonable doubt. DNA evidence and testing occurs as one of the major strategies that have been adopted by criminal investigations departments all over the ...

Factual Background

The Respondent in this matter, Abel and his friends were indicted with bank robbery in the District Court, with his cohorts pleading guilty to the charge as framed. The respondent however, denied the offence and the matter went for trial whereby one of the cohorts named Ehle agreed to testify against him. The respondent then made known to the court of his intention to discredit the testimony by Ehle by calling a witness named Mills who would testify to the effect that Ehle had admitted to him that he intended to implicate the respondent so as to obtain favorable treatment ...

In the present day society, cases of racism being expressed openly have reduced, but there are chances that it is still perpetrated in subtle and non overt ways that are not clearly discernable. This is known as “modern racism.” Over the years, there have been fears that the justice system is not impervious to racism, and this has become a subject of interest for many scholars. A good example is Johnson et al (1995) who carried out a study to determine whether race affects decision making during criminal trials. Although the research was an eye-opener in several ways, a gap still exists ...

Admissibility of the statement made by Martin to Justice

One of the rights protected under the Fifth Amendment is the right against self incrimination or the right to remain silent (Fireside, 1998). Essentially, the right protects a person from either being compelled to make an incriminating statement, or the same statement being used against the person. Accordingly, a statement obtained from a suspect in violation of this right is not admissible in court, and may be suppressed. However, a statement made voluntarily without any coercion is not protected under the amendment, regardless of how incriminating or ruinous it may be. This was established in United States v. Washington. The court further ...

Latent Fingerprinting and its Reliability as Forensic Evidence

Introduction The discovery and subsequent improvement in forensic science has been a road marred with many challenges. However, despite these challenges, its acceptance as a rudimentary source of evidence in the judicial system is fascinating. Nonetheless, there are copious number of skeptics who argue that the science is based on probability; thus does not fit to be termed as an actual science. (1) Among the source of their skepticism is in evidence collection. In this work, there is an exploration of fingerprint collection on diverse surfaces.

Ways of Collecting Fingerprint Evidence from different Surfaces

Fingerprints can be identified from several surfaces, which include the porous, non-porous, and semi-porous ...

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines science as “a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method.” On the other hand Forensics is defined as “suitable to courts of judicature.” As such, Forensic Science is the use of a knowledge system covering general truths, tested through scientific method that is suitable to judicature or to public discussion and debate. Comparing and contrasting “normal” science with forensic science is a quixotic task. The contrast is absurd on its face because forensic science is appropriately a part of the normal sciences – were it not ...

Executive summary

The construction of a computer forensic laboratory is a complicated task. There are many requirements that will be needed so that accurate processes are undertaken. This is something that companies take with utmost care in order to have the latest technologies and current trends in the design and configuration. This paper will focus on the requirements that are needed in order to construct a forensic laboratory. The requirements involve such issues as the environmental concerns, security of evidence, management and the process of preservation of evidence. These are the issues and processes that should be protected. There will also be concerns of ...

Hypnosis. When many people think of it, they imagine it as a fun and entertaining activity for a party along with magicians, comedians, and karaoke. They think of it as a tool that unscrupulous characters employ, like the antique dealer in the 1991 movie Dead Again who used it to regress people to remember past lives so he could locate and steal heirlooms. In spite of hypnosis’s popular reputation as entertainment or as a tool of quacks and dodgy characters, in reality it is a valuable therapeutic method employed to help with a variety of problems such as ending harmful personal habits like smoking ...

Introduction

Forensics refers to the use of scientific knowledge for the collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to the courts (Guo, Jin & Hang, 2011).More specifically, forensic science refers to “the application of scientific techniques and principles to provide evidence to legal or related investigations and determinations” (Guo et al., 2011, p. 225). Although forensic science has been employed in crime investigations since the early twentieth century (Palmer, 2002) through the use of traditional forensic techniques, the emergence of computers and other forms of technology has led to crimes that are being committed either in the cyber world or ...

Jimmy V Regina (2010)

- Facts of the Case The defendant was charged of money laundering under section 400.41(1) of the Criminal Code Act of 1995 and under section 4AAA of the crimes Act of 1914. The defendant, on occasions numbering twenty seven between the dates 26th November 2003 to 11th February 2004, took a sum of cash to a bank and arranged that it be transferred to a bank account in Hong Kong. On all these occasions, the amount deposited to the bank was less than $ 10000, an act to deliberately keep the deposits below the threshold that is required for a reportable cash ...

Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks) p. 131-137 Bernhard Grzimek

Synopsis of the Article

According to the article, Mackerel sharks belong to class Chondrichthyes and order Lamniformes. As the surviving members of the larger lamniforme sharks that have long become extinct, mackerel sharks are characterized with over 15 surviving species which do not compare directly with the countless number of shark fossils that have been discovered. It is worth noting that most of the fossils obtained encompass isolate teeth with most of lamniforme teeth being widespread in a plethora of marine localities in almost all the continents of the world. However, there is a paucity of ...

This paper highlights the purposes of carrying out credit reporting by business owners. Basically, the main objective of the paper is to give an insight into the influence of credit reporting and the effect it has when applying for a mortgage. The paper explores the underlying benefits of credit reporting and how it determines the admissibility of mortgage acquisition. For ease of understanding, presentation begins with illustrating the meaning of credit reporting. Credit reporting is understood simply as a detailed report of an organization’s credit history. It is a summary of an organization’s financial history usually prepared by established ...

Introduction

The American criminal justice system relies on the knowledge and equipment of many sciences and skills. Forensic evidence has become one of the strongest weapons for the successful prosecution of the criminal offenders. Some scientific theories and tests are so widely accepted and verified that they are virtually beyond criticism. The theory that each person’s fingerprints are unique, for example, has universal acceptance. Historians believe that the Chinese used thumbnails to sign important documents before the birth of Christ. But it was not until 1870s that a British civil servant in India used fingerprints to record persons on ...

1. The admissibility of scientific evidence and expert testimony in court has been the subject of recent debate in both UK and USA. Briefly discuss the background and compare and contrast how courts in both Britain and America make sure admitted evidence is relevant and reliable.

Introduction

The courtroom, never an isolated corner of the societal landscape, has felt science’s impact. Over the years, courts have tried various methods to respond to the increasing influx of science. However, the problem of defining standards for admitting scientific expert testimony is one with a venerable history and in all likelihood, an enduring ...