Chain of Custody of the children
Abstract
In almost any given court situation which involves an accusation of any sort, a variety of people participate while collecting, moving, examining and confirming on particular samples and knowledge that could be necessary to aid in the proceedings from the situation. Such samples and knowledge behave as evidence that has to, in the onset, be handled scrupulously carefully enough in order to keep up with the integrity from the evidence. This therefore suggests that in almost any given procedure for lawsuit where concrete evidences should be laid up for grabs, there has to be a obvious and well recorded record to keep an eye on the possession, handling as well as the position of the samples and knowledge from the first points of collection right through to the ultimate stages of confirming and presentation of these samples and knowledge. This paper is aimed at talking about the significance of the chain of custody of the children in maintaining the integrity of evidence. It is dependant on a example, usual for any court proceeding.
Key phrases: Chain of Custody of the children, Evidence and Analysis
CHAIN OF Custody of the children
Chain of custody of the children is really a legal term for &ldquothe chronological listing of individuals in continuous procession of the specific physical object&rdquo (Hall, 2008). It’s the proper documentation of all of the steps and hands that the evidence went through from the moment it had been collected in the crime scene towards the time its really presented within the court docket. To put it simply, one should really have the ability to convince a legal court the evidence is not transformed throughout the stages of analysis and it is the sample which was collected in the crime scene. One of many conditions in which the chain of custody of the children might be very necessary, a series of custody of the children might be needed to authenticate an item of physical evidence which has no unique determining qualities (Beitman, 2005).
Maintaining your records serves an essential purpose. For example whenever a sample is exposed to a number of tests, it may finish up altering its condition and therefore using the accessibility to a series of custody of the children (COC) form, the alterations could be tracked which will help in showing the evidence is definitely the particular evidence collected in the crime scene. Such changes could be lose of color, withering when the evidence is leaf or any type of plant life, and perishable evidences like fruits amongst others. Again, some evidences aren’t any easily identifiable and can’t be marked whatsoever (Lubet, 2004). Such evidences as fluids can’t be easily marked and then the chain of custody of the children form is needed to allow identify such evidences. Usually, whenever a chain of custody of the children for the whole period an evidence has been around custody of the children can’t be proven, the validity from the evidence becomes doubtful, something which can render an court situation useless.
An evidence is generally a essential element of any court proceeding out of the box it is among the major determinants of whether one is guilty or otherwise. The result is therefore that it’s super easy for many one t be charged when the evidence acquired in the court is &lsquoa grown&rsquo evidence targeted at making the individual look guilty. For ,this reason it’s imperative that the obvious documentation of each and every.
Example
Within the example below, we’re thinking about an effort that involved a auto technician along with a manufacturer of tires. Everything begins whenever a tire skyrocketed and seriously injures the auto technician as he tries mounting it. The tire manufacturer &ndash the defendant is prosecuted and needs to response to such charges as with manufacturing a defective tire. The tire is provided exclusively because the primary evidence in the very condition of harm. The very first witness may be the garage manager who purports to testify. This is actually the excerpt from the situation hearing.
Q. Would you say where had you been once the complaintant was hurt?
Ans. I had been really standing about twenty metres away after i heard the noise of the noisy explosion.
Q. have you do anything whatsoever?
Ans. Used to do run to in which the complaintant was laying on the floor. He was engrossed in bloodstream and there is a rugged tire laying alongside him.
Q. Have there been every other tires nearby?
Ans. No, which was the only person.
Q. have you so something with the tire?
Ans. Yes. I selected up and set it within my office.
Q. Have there been every other tires inside your office at that time?
Ans. No.
Q. Have you do other things using the tire that you simply found near the complaintant?
Ans. Yes. About not much later, a business superintendent found investigate injuries. He requested to accept tire and that i gave it to him.
Q. Had the tire experienced your workplace the whole time between your injuries towards the complaintant and also the time that you simply gave it to the organization superintendent?
Ans. Yes.
Q. Have there been every other tire inside your office throughout that point?
Ans. No.
As much as this extent the manager handles to clearly condition everything and for that reason completes part one from the chain of custody of the children. Also observe that the tire is not yet been created in the courtroom ( Lubet,2004). The following witness who testifies is the organization superintendent, and also the extract goes
Q. Have you have the tire throughout your analysis from the injuries?
Ans. Yes. About two days following the incident, i’d attended the manager to speak with him concerning the incident and that he did produce some tire he taken off his office.
Q. Then have you so something with the tire?
Ans. Used to do bring the tire beside me to our headquarters and really placed it within my office.
Q. Are you able to say whether there is every other tire inside your office from that point till today?
Ans. No.
Q. Now, have you have the tire you had acquired in the garage manager leave your workplace under any conditions?
Ans. No other day aside from today which i have introduced it here beside me towards the court.
Source: Lubet, S. (2004). Modern Trial Advocacy: Analysis And Exercise. Page 349-350
The organization superintendent winds together with his testimony and also the court will get the chance to look at the tire. The tire here continues to be presented because the physical evidence. Its significance goes a lengthy means by attempting to really determine the maker from the tire by creating the physical features or marks of origin. This is essential in showing the tire was indeed made by the defendant and therefore supplying the procedure having a stable basis to put any claim as might be searched for through the complaintant.
You can observe that the Chain of Custody of the children as provided will authenticate the identity from the tire. Evidence thus remains enough to determine the continuity of possession. This demonstrates the chain of custody of the children adopted was secure and may ‘t be interfered with. Actually during this situation evidence were stored in guaranteed areas (tires within the offices of either the garage manager or even the superintendent) making use of them be restricted simply to approved personnel only.
In checking if the legal integrity from the evidence was upheld through proper possession, handling and storage, what wil attract towards the idol judges is often the need to prove the evidence as collected throughout the entire span of analysis and also the evidence as finally posted in the courtroom are the same. To do this, usually, individuals active in the analysis must set up a secure chain of custody of the children otherwise known to because the chain of evidence (Dutelle &lifier LeFevre, 2010). Within this example, it was accomplished as shown by the 2 witnesses the evidence never steered clear of their particular custody of the children. Since within this situation the tire was acquired in the court to simply assist in determining the maker, it may be stated the legal integrity from the evidence was sufficient. It is because a legal court wasn’t thinking about any chemical changes that may have happened towards the evidence which could have been really harmful with this situation been with them been essential since within this example there is no record showing the condition of tire from the moment it had been obtained from the crime scene towards the time that it had been acquired in the court. The truth that the tire was recognized through the auto technician in the courtroom seemed to be sufficient enough to demonstrate the credibility from the tire (evidence). It is because the tire had been acquired in the court t only assist in the identification from it manufacturer.
You will find two kinds of evidences. They are Visible and Latent Evidences. An Obvious evidence is any evidence that may be seen through the human eye alone. Good examples of the visible evidences include a bit of knife got from the crime scene, damaged glasses, broken tools or a bit of clothing in the crime scene amongst others.
Latent evidence however may be the evidence in a crime scene that can’t be seen using the eyes. Good examples of these an evidence is really a bloodstream stain on a bit of clothing that’s been cleaned clean or perhaps a fingerprint on the rugged surface, finger marks and DNA in the crime scene. Such evidence usually require scrutiny of forensic experts to look for the bearer in order to have the ability to trace the sources and arrive at the roots of and unearth any culpable people. However our example demonstrates a obvious show of visible evidence and for that reason could be classified underneath the same .
Evidence succumbed the example could be stated to become a visible or physical evidence as possible seen by naked eyes . The tire being an evidence could be appear while using human eye alone. This is correct because of the truth that visible evidence is the fact that kind of evidence that includes physical objects available at the scene of crime.
The result is therefore that the way evidences are handled is extremely imperative if justice will be worked out accordingly. Evidences aren’t designed to handle by anybody directly or not directly active in the situation. Every evidence, whether it is latent or visible, ought to be treated extra carefully because the credibility of almost all decisions succumbed just about all cases entirely is dependent around the evidence available and therefore are attached to the situation. Keeping a obvious record from the handlers and also the physical character from the evidence whenever could it be altering possession is generally done on the Chain of Custody of the children (COC) Form that is always readily available for scrutiny throughout the entire process of lawsuit and court ruling.
References
Beitman, R. S. (2005). Getting hold of evidence. Philadelphia: ALI-ABA.
Dutelle, A. W., &lifier LeFevre, J. (Paperback -Jan 11, 2010). Introducing Crime Scene Analysis. Sudbury: Johnson &lifier Bartlett Marketers.
Hall, D. E. (2008). Criminal Law and Procedure. Florence: Cengage Learning, Corporation.
Lubet, S. (2004). Modern trial advocacy: analysis and practice. Louisville: National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
Mueller, C. B., Kirkpatrick, L. C. (1999). Evidence: practice underneath the rules. New You are able to: Aspen Marketers Online.
