Lesson 5 Investigation Assignment

Lesson 5 Investigation Assignment

Isai Hosana Ake

Alvernia University

CJ 302: Judicial Process and Procedures

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Abstract

The paper presents summary and answers to the objectives listed at the beginning of chapter nine

in the textbook: Procedures in the Justice System (11th ed.) by Robertson, C., Wallace, H. &

Stuckey, G. (2016).
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The Rules for Presenting Evidence During a Trial

The Federal Rules of Evidence state that all relevant evidence is admissible in a trial

unless it is specifically excluded by another rule. Relevant evidence is defined as evidence that

has a tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of

the action more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. All evidence must be

presented in a manner that is fair, impartial, and free from undue influence. Relevant evidence is

defined as evidence that has a tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence

to the determination of the action more or less probable than it would be without the evidence

(Roberts & Zuckerman, 2022; Schroeder, 2019). All evidence must be presented in a manner that

is fair, impartial, and free from undue influence.

The court may exclude evidence if its probationary value is outweighed by the danger of

unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. Evidence that is not relevant is

not admissible. Evidence that is not material is also not admissible. Evidence that is cumulative

is generally not admissible. The court has discretion to admit or exclude evidence if it believes

that the evidence is more probational than prejudicial, or if it believes that the probationary value

of the evidence is outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or

misleading the jury.

What Constitutes Hearsay Testimony

Hearsay testimony is testimony that is given about something that the witness has not

directly observed. The few different types of hearsay testimony include; when the witness

testifies about something that they heard someone else say, when the witness testifies about

something that they heard someone else say, but the statement is not being used to prove the

truth of what was said, and when the witness testifies about something that they heard someone
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else say, and that someone else heard from someone else, which constitutes a double hearsay.

Hearsay testimony can be admissible in court if it meets one of the many exceptions to the

hearsay rule. The hearsay rule is a rule that says that hearsay testimony is not allowed in court

unless it meets an exception (Anyebe, 2019). There are many different exceptions to the hearsay

rule, including the business records exception, the excited utterance exception, the present sense

impression exception, and the dying declaration exception.

The Purposes of The Rules of Evidence

The aim of the Rules of Evidence is to give a structure and framework on how evidence

should be presented in court. They provide advice to attorneys and judges on what forms of

evidence are admissible, presentation of evidence, and how to handle issues that may arise

during trial (Mueller et al., 2023). The rules were created in order to safeguard the rights of

suspects, render justice justly and expediently in courts. This is important because it protects the

rights of those accused (Keane & McKeown, 2022). These rules ensure admissibility of only

relevant facts that can be trusted by all citizens as coming from a just source. Another thing is

that these rules save innocent people who might be framed with wrong evidences. The reason

why they are also important is that they make court processes efficient. They offer details on

what should be done while presenting evidence thereby avoiding any delays or mix-ups in

courts. Additionally, all the necessary materials are used while irrelevant stuffs fail to pass

through these rules.

The Various Rulings on Evidence

There are various rulings on evidence. They include;

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i. The best evidence rule: The best of the evidences requires that if possible present the best

direct documentary testimony, recording evidence or photographic evidence. Normally,

the original document, tape or picture is preferred to be presented in a court case.

ii. The hearsay rule: This prohibits hearsay from being used as an indication of what was

said. Hearsay is broadly defined as an out-of-court statement tendered for the truth of its

assertion.

iii. The business records exception: Such a provision enables corporate entities to admit their

records as exceptions to hearsay. These documents should have been created at a period

during normal operations and must be reliable enough.

iv. The authentication requirement: A witness must satisfy this particular aspect by

confirming the identity of a given document or another item claiming that he is what he

claims to be. With circumstantial evidence or direct testimony this can be done.

The chain of custody requirement: You may also find yourself needing to fulfil this

demand during admission of one type of proof personally known as Chain of Custody

itself. Additionally, it has to indicate clearly that there was no tampering with it and it has

remained in its original state ever since then while in transit.

The Concept of Judicial Notice

Judicial notice is when a court agrees that certain facts as true without the need for

evidence to be presented. Most times judicial notice is given for facts that are very well-known

or established that it would be a waste of time and resources to require evidence to be presented.

How Documents are Introduced into Evidence

There are several; ways that a document could be introduced into evidence. One way is,

having the document shown to a witness, and then presented to the judge (Nikolakis et al, 2018).
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The lawyer then asks the defendant to identify the document, and the lawyer urges the jury to ask

the judge if it can be admitted. Anther way of introducing a document into evidence is by

bringing it before the jury and having it authenticated by a witness. In principle, this is done

when document in particularly is very important or when its authenticity is questionable. Once a

document has been formally introduced into evidence, it constitutes part of the official record of

the case and hence may be used by either party to plead their case.

What Constitutes Relevant Evidence

For evidence to be relevant, it must be material to the issue in question and tend to make

more or less likely any fact upon which the outcome of an action depends. Evidence is material

to an issue if it has the capacity to affect how a case is decided (Wexler, 2018). In other words,

non-material evidence is not relevant. For instance, if the issue was whether a defendant was

guilty of a crime, then evidence that this person had previous criminal records would be relevant

while proof that he/she is good would not be relevant.

The second requirement for relevance is that the evidence must have a tendency to make

the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more or less

probable than it would be without the evidence. That is why they say that the evidence must be

probative. When deciding whether or not someone has committed a crime (the main point),

therefore, evidence indicating that they were seen near/around/at/on top of/of/within/close

by/nearby/in proximity to/adjacent from/beside/in close proximity/to/during/etc., scene of

offense could possibly help you; on contrary, however, proof that accused wore red dress would

not give anything against him/her as well.

The Concept of Fairness as it Relates to the Admissibility of Evidence

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The idea of fairness in admitting evidence means it cannot unfairly harm the defendant

(Vapniarchuk et al, 2018). This idea exists because trials aim to find truth, and admitting unfair

evidence goes against that goal. Unfair evidence can prejudice the defendant or suggest guilt

without proper basis. It comes down to keeping the trial impartial through rulings on evidence

admissibility.

Difference Between Lay and Expert Witnesses

A regular person without special training is called a lay witness. They talk about what

they saw, heard or experienced. Though not experts, lay witnesses provide testimony based on

personal knowledge. On the other hand, expert witnesses use specialized know-how to offer

professional opinions. Qualified by training, experience, or education, these professionals get

called to court for input on specific issues. So, lay witnesses describe real-life situations while e-

xpert witnesses analyze complex matters using expertise.

Purposes of Rape Shield Laws

Rape shield rules protect victims. These laws differ across states. But they usually stop

lawyers for the defense from bringing up a victim’s past intimate life (Cavallaro, 2019). Or from

using details about the victim's sexual history as evidence.

The Rules Regarding Witness Testimony

Witness testimony is crucial evidence in a courtroom. But the rule states that it must re-

late to the case at hand. The witness, too, has seen the events first-hand. Also, the judge or jury

must deem the testimony trustworthy to be regarded as a witness testimony. The testimony's

relevance and credibility are very important in the case.

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References

Anyebe, P. A. (2019). Exclusionary Rules of Evidence: Hearsay Rule and Its Exceptions in

Nigeria. The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies.

Cavallaro, R. (2019). Rape Shield Evidence and the Hierarchy of Impeachment. Am. Crim. L.

Rev., 56, 295. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/

ukalr68&section=20

Keane, A., & McKeown, P. (2022). The modern law of evidence. Oxford University Press.

Mueller, C. B., Kirkpatrick, L. C., & Richter, L. L. (2023). Evidence Under the Rules: Text,

Cases, and Problems [Connected EBook with Study Center]. Aspen Publishing.

Nikolakis, W., John, L., & Krishnan, H. (2018). How blockchain can shape sustainable global

value chains: an evidence, verifiability, and enforceability (EVE)

framework. Sustainability, 10(11), 3926.

Roberts, P., & Zuckerman, A. (2022). Roberts & Zuckerman's Criminal Evidence. Oxford

University Press.

Schroeder, T. D. (2019). Toward a More Apparent Approach to Considering the Admission of

Expert Testimony. Notre Dame L. Rev., 95, 2039.

Vapniarchuk, V. V., Trofymenko, V. M., Shylo, O. G., & Maryniv, V. I. (2018). Standards of

criminal procedure evidence. Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, 9(7

(37)), 2462-2470.

Wexler, R. (2018). Life, liberty, and trade secrets: Intellectual property in the criminal justice

system. Stan. L. Rev., 70, 1343.