Criminal Evidence
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
This course provides a comprehensive examination of the rules and principles governing the admissibility, relevancy, and weight of evidence in criminal trials. Students will explore the sources and types of evidence, including physical, documentary, testimonial, and digital evidence, along with concepts such as burden of proof, presumptions, privileges, and the exclusionary rule. The course emphasizes both constitutional foundations and statutory frameworks, with case studies and hypothetical scenarios used to develop practical skills in evaluating, presenting, and challenging evidence in real-world criminal proceedings.
Recommended Textbook
Criminal Investigation 1st Edition by Michael D. Lyman
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16 Chapters
866 Verified Questions
866 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Foundations of Criminal Investigations
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Sample Questions
Q1) A police force that adopts the recommendations of the PERF study would direct officers to make greater efforts to canvass the neighborhood in locating witnesses to a crime.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) In 1924,J.Edgar Hoover,the FBI's newly named director announced that he would strive to:
A)decrease the agency's responsibilities.
B)eliminate corruption and get the agency out of politics.
C)fulfill the motto,"we never sleep."
D)focus the agency's attention on enforcing Prohibition.
Answer: B
Q3) Critical thinking is the use of rational skills,worldviews,and values to get as close as possible to the truth.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Critical thinking deliberately evaluates the __________ of thinking.
Answer: quality
Page 3
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Chapter 2: The Crime Scene: Field Notes, documenting, and Reporting
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Q1) When first encountering a witness or a victim,it is important for the investigator to allow the person to state in his or her own words what occurred.This is best accomplished by asking the simple question,"_____ _____?"
Answer: what happened?
Q2) A rough sketch is one drawn by the police officer at the crime scene and is not generally drawn to scale.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) A _______ sketch is one drawn by the police officer at the crime scene and is not generally drawn to scale.
Answer: rough
Q4) Which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of the "best evidence rule"?
A)Videotapes are usually better than photos.
B)Testimony is better than physical evidence.
C)Original notes are usually better than photocopies.
D)Authenticated photocopies are admissible in court.
Answer: C
4
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Chapter 3: Processing the Crime Scene
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Sample Questions
Q1) A _____ crime scene search pattern involves dividing a room in half and different investigators searching each half.
Answer: quadrant (or zone)
Q2) The information furnished to the responding units by the dispatcher or by other officers will normally not provide sufficient "reasonable suspicion" to justify the detention of persons or vehicles.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Being able to account for an item of evidence from the time of its finding to its presentation in court is known as:
A)contingency processing.
B)chain of custody.
C)possession accountability.
D)chain of accountability.
Answer: B
Q4) A search for persons who are unaware that they may be a witness to a crime or its circumstances is known as a _____ canvass.
Answer: neighborhood
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Chapter 4: Identification of Criminal Suspects
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Sample Questions
Q1) During sequential lineups,witnesses use ________ judgment.
Q2) Sources of DNA do not include bone,hair,or urine.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Degraded,contaminated,and small quantities of DNA can be successfully analyzed in the crime laboratory due to which laboratory process?
A)Loci development
B)Alleles reagent
C)Genome splicing
D)Polymerase chain reaction
Q4) The ______ lineup is the most preferred method for identification purposes.
Q5) Facial composites are an important part of the identification process and are very valuable for police officers.Identify the four ways in which facial composites can assist law enforcement.
Q6) A "latent" fingerprint results when a finger presses against plastic material and leaves a negative impression of friction ridges.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Identify the types and patterns of fingerprints.
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Chapter 5: Legal Issues in Investigations
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Q1) In emergency situations an investigator can obtain a search warrant by telephone.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which piece of information will NOT be included on the search warrant affidavit?
A)Reasons to request the search
B) Who owns the searched for item
C)What is being searched for
D)Where the search will occur
Q3) The _____ _____ exception permits investigators to seize evidence without a warrant if the officer is lawfully in a position to plainly see an incriminating object of evidence.
Q4) What is the minimum amount of information necessary to warrant a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been committed?
A)Reasonable suspicion
B)Witnessing the crime
C)Probable cause
D)Contingent cause
Q5) A person can voluntarily _____ to the police to search their person,home,and property.
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Chapter 6: Interviews and Interrogations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Once a suspect has been informed of his rights involving self-incrimination and counsel,what must the suspect do before police may begin questioning?
A)Confess
B)Be evaluated by a psychiatrist
C)Eat food and drink water
D)Waive those rights freely and voluntarily
Q2) A(n)_____ is direct acknowledgment by the suspect of his or her guilt in the commission of a specific crime or as being an integral part of a specific crime.
Q3) Sandy Reynolds employs the face-saving approach when interrogating Sheila Minor.With this approach,Officer Reynolds makes several comments that downplay the suspect's own involvement in the crime.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In the case of Escobedo v.Illinois the Court held that a suspect had an absolute right to be warned of his or her rights to remain silent and of their right to _____.
Q5) _______ is the use,or threat of use of illegal physical methods to induce a suspect to make an admission or confession.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Criminal Intelligence and Surveillance Operations
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Sample Questions
Q1) The public rejection of electronic eavesdropping most likely originates in:
A)a fear of disclosure of hidden crimes.
B)aversion to an invasion of privacy.
C)a lack of knowledge of electronics.
D)the opinion that it is a "dirty business."
Q2) How are criminal and intelligence functions different?
A)Intelligence personnel tend to use deductive logic while criminal personnel tend to use inductive logic.
B)Criminal investigations tend to be proactive in nature while intelligence ones are reactive.
C) Intelligence files generally are closed while criminal files generally are open.
D)Criminal personnel are staff functions while intelligence personnel are line functions.
Q3) To make sense out of the multitudes of information,a process known as data description and integration is used.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Intelligence files are ______ files.
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Chapter 8: Management of Informants and Undercover Operations
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Q1) Which of the following persons has been "flipped"?
A)Dante,who has agreed to provide information about an associate in exchange for his own charges being dropped
B)Bruno,an associate of a crime family,who is currently in the WITSEC program after testifying in court
C)Martin,a police officer who has accepted bribes from crime figures in exchange for not filing charges
D)Nancy,an undercover informant who seeks to entrap a high level crime figure
Q2) ______ _______ is working undercover for extended periods of time.
Q3) Typically,undercover officers will be involved in a short period of "bobbing,weaving,and circling."
A)True
B)False
Q4) A long-term undercover investigation is typically called a "deep cover" operation. A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss the four common types of people who become informants.
Page 10
Q6) _____ ____ is money required to initiate an undercover drug transaction.
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Chapter 9: Death Investigations
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Q1) The fourth stage of the decomposition process where the body dries out is considered the ________ ________ stage.
Q2) After the body goes through the bloating stage,it begins the purple putrefaction stage.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is the most accurate statistic regarding wrongful deaths in the United States?
A)Around one-third of murder victims are females,and two-thirds are males.
B)Ninety percent of all murders are committed with firearms.
C)An estimated 85 percent of people murdered knew their assailant.
D)Half of all female victims in recent years were killed by husbands or boyfriends.
Q4) The second stage of the decomposition process where marbelization of the skin begins is considered the ________ stage.
Q5) A persons clothing does not have an effect during the decomposition process.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Identify and define the four general modes of death categories.
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Chapter 10: Robbery
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Sample Questions
Q1) The difference between robbery and extortion is the element of consent resulting from force or fear.In extortion,the victim consents more willingly.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When responding to a robbery in progress at a local gas convenience store,what should the first officer at the scene do if the robbery is still in progress with the suspect inside?
A)Enter cautiously and eliminate the deadly threat using whatever force is reasonable.
B)Announce your presence to the suspect and demand that he or she surrender.
C)Do not enter the store until the robbery suspect has exited.
D)None of the above tactics is correct.
Q3) Witnesses to a robbery should confer with each other as they describe their observations to police so as to prompt and reinforce details some may have forgotten. A)True
B)False
Q4) When responding to a robbery call,the first officer should emphasize _____over ______.
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Chapter 11: Assault and Related Offenses
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Q1) Assaults in which the victim suffers serious,permanent disfigurement are classified as aggravated assaults.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What is the typical weapon used in aggravated assault cases?
A)Firearm
B)Hands,fist,feet
C)Knife
D)Illegal drug
Q3) Police investigators at the scene of an assault should photograph the victim's injuries.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Currently more two-thirds of states have laws mandating that police make an arrest in domestic violence situations.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The assault victim's injuries should be documented and _____.
Q6) For domestic violence situations,protective orders are a(n)________.
Q7) The profiles of abusive men have been fairly _______.
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Chapter 12: Missing and Abducted Persons
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Q1) What is considered by many to be the most comprehensive legislation ever designed to ensure the safety of children?
A)Jessica's Law
B)Blue Code
C)Code Adam
D)The PROTECT Act
Q2) Which one of the following is NOT one of the criteria that law enforcement agencies should use in deciding whether to broadcast a missing child?
A)They reasonably believe that an abduction has occurred.
B)They believe that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.
C)They know that the child is age 10 or younger.
D)They have the child's name and other critical data elements.
Q3) Obtaining a brief,recent history of family dynamics will help the investigator hypothesize about various possibilities involving the disappearance of the child.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Code _____ is an internationally-recognized "missing child" safety program in the U.S.and Canada,originally created by Wal-Mart.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Crimes Against Children: Child Abuse and Child
Fatalities
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Q1) You are a crimes against children detective and have just been called to the scene of a crime which appears to be a battered child.The child is alert,alive and has already been seen my medical staff.Identify and discuss the steps you will take in the investigation.
Q2) SIDS stands for sudden infant ______ ________.
Q3) Child abuse investigations often begin with the information provided by the ______.
Q4) Battered child syndrome can be difficult for a child to have his or her abuse either be identified or:
A)Recognized
B)Stopped
C)Investigated
D)Hidden
Q5) It is stated that child abuse investigations begin with information provided by the:
A)Mother
B)Father
C)Child
D)Teacher
Q6) The goal of a forensic interview is to obtain a _______.
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Chapter 14: Theft-Related Offenses
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Q1) Check kiting is drawing cash on accounts made up of uncollected funds.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Evidence found at the burglary scene is likely to identify a burglar by name.
A)True
B)False
Q3) To gain a conviction in a court of law,prosecutors must prove that a fence had knowledge that property he or she received was stolen.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A car thief opens the door of an unlocked vehicle,removes the lock cap,and attaches a device that when turned removes the lock.He then starts the engine with a screwdriver.Which device has he used?
A)Slim Jim
B)Slam-puller
C) Ignition extractor
D)Slide hammer
Q5) Identify and discuss the ways in which a house can be an attractive target for a burglar.
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Chapter 15: Arson and Bombings
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Q1) Sean Larson is an arson investigator.Which of the following should be his first step when investigating a possible arson?
A)Question witnesses for possible suspects.
B)Interview the owner's insurance representative.
C)Locate the point of origin for the fire.
D)Uncover possible motives of likely suspects.
Q2) The fire triangle consists of three main components.Which of the following is not considered part of the fire triangle?
A)Heat
B)Oxygen
C)Combustion
D)Fuel
Q3) The color of the smoke and flames is important in arson cases because they may indicate the:
A)use of accelerants.
B)inverted conical shape of a fire.
C)use of mechanical fire-setting devices.
D)use of "trailers."
Q4) The _______ of the fire often ends up being the perpetrator of the crime.
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Chapter 16: Terrorism and National Security Crimes
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Q1) The USA PATRIOT Act assists in defining the term domestic terrorism.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Acts of terrorism are designed to shock and _____ as well as being outside war conventions.
Q3) Criminal terrorism involves the use of terror for physical and psychological gain.
A)True
B)False
Q4) There are how many elements of terrorism as defined by the Foreign Relations Authorization Act:
A)1
B)2
C)3 D)4
Q5) The typical profile of a terrorist would be to say that they appear:
A)Abnormal
B)Normal
C)Confused
D)Vicious
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