Criminal Law

We have all watched film scenes in which a crime victim attempts to identify the perpetrator from a police lineup or by viewing mugshots. This kind of identification is still useful, but while...

Court records and evidence used in trials and hearings can be useful long after a legal case has ended. Some people may have their livelihood rest on having proof a court hearing has taken place,...

A burglary is defined as an unlawful entry with the intent to commit a felony. Unfortunately, burglary is not an uncommon crime. According to the U.S Department of Justice, burglary does not just...

A search warrant is an instrument issued by a magistrate that authorizes law enforcement officials to search your person, vehicle, or property for the purpose of gathering evidence. Search...

Prosecutors' actions carry the full weight of the government. They have broad discretion in determining when to bring criminal charges against a suspect. Accordingly, prosecutors have a great...

The prevalence of popular forensics TV shows like CSI have given the public a taste for forensic identification. Can someone really be identified by just their DNA? While the field of forensic...

This is legalese for evidence or information obtained illegally. These materials are not admissible in court. Typically, such cases are accompanied by arguments of "infringement," meaning that...

It is any evidence, information, leads, etc, that investigators receive after an illegal confession or an illegal search. The fruit of the poisoned tree is also the name of the legal doctrine that...

Digital research is research conducted on any digital recording, whether it is audio, video or a photograph. Digital research technologies are the tools used to conduct this research. These...

Forensic identification refers to the use of scientific methods to individualize trace evidence--that is, to tie a particular scratch, bullet hole or drop of blood back to one specific knife, gun...

The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine is a law that details which evidence can and cannot be used in a court of law. It comes from a Biblical phrase and means any evidence obtained illegally is...

Real-life police evidence procedures bear little resemblance to those shown on the network crime shows. Because so many criminal cases depend on the validity of evidence, police procedures...

DNA can be found at a crime scene in a number of different ways. DNA can be found in human blood, bone, hair and tissues. If any of these substances are found at a crime scene, it can be used for...

Forensic science encompasses a set of processes that criminal investigators and evidence analysts use to collect, examine and compare clues from a crime scene and to prove or disprove theories...

Forensic evidence is anything that can be used in court to prove or disprove some aspect of a crime. A great deal of the forensic evidence collected at crime scenes is called trace evidence, the...

Admissions and stipulations by the defendant are types of evidence that may be used in a criminal trial. Rules of evidence and rules of criminal procedure provide guidelines for how admissions and...

Science used in court to provide evidence in a criminal case is called forensic science. Crime investigators use the findings from forensic science methods to prove whether a suspect is...

The term "forensic" originates from the Latin word "forensis", derived from "forum," which is where the Romans conducted trials and public announcements. Forensics deals with science used to...

The U.S. Constitution provides numerous safeguards to protect individual rights, even when it comes to police investigations and arrests. The key principle underlying all of these safeguards is...

With the increase in computer crimes and the increasing role computers play as evidence, computer forensic investigators have become important players in criminal investigations, making it...

In order to make a lawful arrest, a law enforcement police officer must have "probable cause" to believe that a crime has been committed by the person being arrested. This generally requires an...

Forensic science or technology means evidence---including models, testing and demonstrations as well as analysis and testimony---that is admissible in court and pertains to a legal matter such as...

Many crimes result in the criminal leaving behind trace evidence---such as clothing fibers, hair samples, or other physical evidence---at the scene of the crime. Forensic scientists can perform a...

Crime scene investigators are an essential part of any criminal investigation. Responsible for collecting, storing and maintaining evidence, crime scene investigators are typically highly trained...

DNA fingerprinting is a scientific process in which samples of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are collected and either compared to DNA evidence collected at a crime scene or stored away for possible...

Those who employ forensic science solve crimes by using all of the available information about, and evidence from, a crime scene in order to determine who committed it. Forensic scientists from...

Domestic violence prosecutions are often a difficult task for law enforcement agencies. Victims often refuse to testify, either out of fear or a belief that the offender has changed. This places...

Crime is prevalent all over the world. Police and other crime fighting agencies battle this menace each day. One of the most common crimes police are confronted with is burglary. Breaking and...

The Crime Scene Investigation, or CSI unit, is the group of individuals within a law enforcement agency that is responsible for processing crime scenes and collecting evidence. It is the...

A forensic team is a group of trained investigators and technicians who examine a crime scene for evidence. Popular television shows such as "CSI," "Law and Order"and "NCIS" have greatly...

One of the most important jobs when there is a crime is that of the crime scene investigator. This person's job is to use certain scientific techniques to provide physical evidence to the court...

Evidence plays a major role in criminal cases. Without sufficient evidence, a criminal case can get dismissed. In a criminal case, the prosecutor (plaintiff) serves the public and represents the...

Evidence photography can also be called crime scene or forensic photography. The purpose of evidence photography is to record the crime or accident scene as accurately as possible so that such...

The rules of evidence are a complicated and lengthy set of rules drafted by the courts to govern how civil and criminal trials proceed. While these are complex and somewhat arcane, below are...

Forensics includes a number of sciences used to find facts and answer questions regarding certain events of a criminal or civil action. Since forensics is used for legal purposes, there are...

Crime scene investigators, or alternatively crime scene technicians, are law enforcement personnel who document and process evidence from crime scenes. They are responsible for identifying and...

The Fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against illegal searches and seizures.

DNA testing has only been around for about 24 years, but it can mean the difference between life and death for many people charged with---or convicted of---crimes.

The average viewer of crime dramas on television or film, as well as the interested fiction and non-fiction reader, will undoubtedly be aware of the benefits of using DNA testing as part of a...

A criminal attorney has many options for handling a criminal case, including the plea bargain, making pretrial motions and pursuing an appeal. At the initial meeting, the lawyer will take down all...

The key to any successful criminal investigation and prosecution is the quality of evidence obtained at the crime scene. The more evidence collected, the greater the likelihood of a conviction....

Crime labs are run by forensic scientists who are charged with the task of comparing evidence found at the scene of a crime to evidence brought in off suspects in the crime. There are certain...

Forensic science is the application of science in analyzing evidence from a crime scene. Within the field of forensics, there are many specialties that involve applying skills to specific types of...

Forensic evidence is physical evidence that is taken from the scene of a crime and analyzed using scientific methods to aid investigators in solving a case. Such evidence is collected at a crime...

On TV, it looks easy--even glamorous. Model-perfect investigators sweep over crime scenes, hair flowing in the wind, designer jeans bending over the victims. And there's never a shortage of...

Rules of Evidence 608 refers to the "Evidence of Character and Conduct of Witness." It helps protect your client from having a witness being used against him. If a witness is to be used to either...

Trial by jury is the climax of a long and often complex journey through the criminal justice process. It is not the beginning of the journey, nor is it the end of the journey towards resolution of...

According to the United States Fire Administration, arson is the number one cause of fires in the United States. Proper arson investigation techniques are vital to investigating this violent crime.

The most important aspect in a crime investigation is to secure the crime scene to protect physical evidence from further contamination and disturbance. The first officer to arrive on the scene...

Evidence in a criminal trial is anything that tends to prove or disprove a material fact at issue in the case. It is what the jury hears during the trial to help it make its decision about guilt...