Chapter 2 Flashcards
Any object that can establish that a crime has or has not been committed or can link a crime and its victim or perpetrator
Physical evidence
A draft representation of all essential information and measurements at a crime scene; this sketch is done at the crime scene
Rough sketch
A precise rendering of the crime scene, usually drawn to scale
Finished sketch
A method employing one or two people at the edge of a scene and walk straight to the other side before moving along and repeating
Strip or line search
A method employing two people performing line searches in adjacent corners to form perpendicular lines
Grid search
A method employing one person either moving inward in a spiral or outward in a spiral
Spiral search
A method employing several people moving inward or outward in straight lines
Wheel or ray search
A method where the scene is divided into zones and team members are assigned a zone
Quadrant or zone search
A list of all people who came into possession or an item of evidence
Chain of custody
Physical evidence whose origin is known, such as fibers or hair from a suspect, that can be compared to crime scene evidence
Standard/reference sample
A swab of the inner portion of the cheek; cheek cells are usually collected to determine the DNA profile of an individual
Buccal swab
Uncontaminated surface material close to an area where physical evidence has been deposited; this sample is to be used to ensure that the surface on which a sample has been deposited doesn’t interfere with laboratory tests
Substrate control
Mincey was suspected of selling drugs. An undercover cop forced entry into Mincey’s home and was killed in a scuffle. Cops searched his home for 4 days and compiled evidence against him which led to Mincey being convicted. In an appeal, Mincey claimed the evidence was gathered without a warrant or his consent. Mincey’s conviction got overturned
Mincey v. Arizona
Tyler and a business partner’s building caught fire in the early morning. Since it was still dark, and smoke and steam hampered an investigation, the building was left unattended until 8 am. Officials came back and conducted an investigation, and proceeded to return to the scene three separate times after that. Enough evidence was collected to convict, but the conviction was overturned because the evidence collected with no warrant or consent
Michigan v. Tyler
