#1 Flashcards
Who was the first agency to use mugshots?
Paris Police Department
Who created the standard outline rules for document photos?
Alphonse Bertillon
What were the outlined rules for standard photo documenting?
Well lit, face/profile, ears visible
Who used phreneology and what is it?
Alphonse Bertillon, Belief that criminality could be deduced through shape of their head (brain)
Who argued for uniformity in mugshots in US
J. Edgar Hoover
Luco v. United States
US Supreme Court rules on admissibility of photos used as evidence
Which Supreme Court cases created photography as a forensic tool
Luco v. United States
When did crime scene photography start?
1859
What happened in the 1860s and 1870s?
People ushered in fake photos used to commit fraud
Blair v. Inhabitants of Pelham
Photos may be used to assist jury in understanding case if its a “true representation”
Alfred Nobel
Takes first successful aerial photo with rocket mounted camera
Commonwealth v. Best
Supreme Court upheld admissibility of firearms identification photo
People v. Jennings
Photos of fingerprints used for comparison were admitted on death penalty case
State v. Thorp
Ultraviolet photo used to show footwear in blood
Green v. County of Denver
Color photos admissible in court
Kauffman v. Meyberg
Admissibility of infrared photo of erased writing upheld
What precedence must be set so that crime scene photos can be admissible?
- Relevant and material to the case
- Presented in court by witness with first-hand knowledge of what was depicted in photo
- True/fair and accurate representation
- Probative value (shock value) must not be outweighed by the prejudicial effect
- Must be submitted to opposing party
- Must have documented chain of custody
What is the Chain of Custody?
Documentation of sequence of possession, secure storage, and/or shipping of an item of physical evidence
Is the record of processing an image part of the chain of custody?
Yes
What is in metadata?
File type, camera used, settings, time/data
Does everyone have authority to chain of custody?
No
What are some uses of photography in law enforcement?
Injuries, and fingerprints
What do crime scene photos do?
Present logical stories as told by scene in visual form
What kind of approach do crime scene photos take?
Methodical approach
What do crime scene photos document?
Crime/accident scenes, including evidence and people involved
What is the purpose of crime scene photos?
- Provide investigative leads
- Refresh memory, substantiate testimony, and clarify understanding
- Focus on location of crime
- Concentrate on nature of crime
- Center on results of crime
- Show physical evidence existing at scene
- Focus on follow-up activity not directly occurring at immediate scene
