SAU Investigation Flashcards
Can sexual assault conviction be based on victims testimony alone
Yes
After telling offices on scene that everything was OK, a female got into the ambulance and told an EMT that she was raped. This is an example of
Excited utterance
After being raped, a female victim sent a message through Facebook to a friend. These texts were an excited utterance. The court noted that texting reflects:
How people her age communicate
The first complaint rule allows one witness to testify about what the victim said concerning _____ sexual assault
Any
What does the first complaint doctrine provide the jury?
A complete account of how the accusation of sexual assault arose
What is the time limitation for a first complaint witness?
No requirement of promptness, even a nine year delay
A first complaint witness may testify about the ____________ of the disclosure
Details and context
What type of communication between the victim and another qualifies for first complaint witness (3)
Written, texted, and oral statements
Disclosures of sexual abuse can be made in stages to first complaint witness if:
No meaningful gap in time
If a victim discloses to her mother in eighth grade about her father touching her, and then later discloses to a college advisor about further abuse by her father, can both witnesses testify?
Yes
Can there be multiple first complaint witnesses if there’s multiple crimes
Yes
If a defendant doesn’t remember telling someone about sexual abuse, can that person still testify as first complaint?
Yes
Can a defendant/suspect have a first complaint witness as well
Yes
Does asking a victim who else she told violate the first complaint rule
Yes
Who has the discretion to modify the first complaint rule in the interest of justice?
Trial judge
If the first complaint witness is bias and becomes hostile towards the victim, can the victim substitute with a different first complaint?
Yes
Another witness can be used if the first complaint witness is _______ or _______
Unavailable or incompetent
The first person to receive a report, whether by ______or _______is the first complaint
Phone or in person
If a victim tells the 911 dispatcher about a sexual assault, then tells the first responding officer about it, who testifies as the first complaint
The 911 dispatcher
Dispatchers and officers should perform a _______ and ______interview
Basic and compassionate
After a dispatcher or officer performs a basic interview, they should:
Turn the case over to investigators
Sexual assault victims are sensitive to the reaction they receive from:
Dispatcher or officer they initially contact
________ may be enough to cause the victim to hang up the phone or walk away from the scene
Prematurely cutting off a victim
During a basic interview, what may scare the victim
Asking too many biographical questions
The first complaint rule does not limit (3):
Eyewitness reports
Rape kit protocol
Rebuttalof defense case
The victims brother saw his sister being assaulted, then cried when she denied it. Can he be an eyewitness and a first complaint witness
Yes
A sexual assault nurse performed a rape kit, including form 2 which contains detailed statements by the victim about specifics of the rape. Form 2 was admissible as a:
Medical record
-It was designed to determine the extent of injuries and not to simply corroborate allegations
Can there be testimony that a victim was reluctant to talk to Police?
Yes
Testimony about police or prosecutor meetings is typically
Inadmissible
A victims father was the legitimate first complaint witness, can there be testimony that the victim also spoke with his mother and DCF after
No
Testimony about the sexual abuse intervention network process is permitted to:
Rebut an allegation of police incompetence
Written school or organizational policies, pertaining to inappropriate sexual relations are admissible as:
Business records
Written school or organizational policies about inappropriate sexual relations are admissible if they were created and distributed:
Before the incident took place
The rape shield law prevents a victims:
Prior sexual history from being exposed in court
What law prevents a victims prior sexual history from being exposed in court
Rape shield law
What is the purpose of the rape shield law?
To prevent a general attack of a victims credibility based on past promiscuity
Can testimony of a victims past sexual history, be admitted before a grand jury?
No
A victims social media profile displaying past engagement in homosexual behavior was protected by the
Rape shield law
What are the three exceptions to the rape shield law?
- Evidence about the victims bias or motive to fabricate
- Evidence of the victims sexual conduct with the defendant.
- Evidence that the victims recent sexual conduct caused her injuries or physical condition.
In any SAU case, the _____ must decide whether the proposed evidence is relevant
Judge
Is victims past prostitution history admissible to show that she had a motive to lie?
No
Hospitals must notify local police within _______ of processing a sexual assault kit
24 hours
Police must take possession of the kit within ____ of notification by hospital
3 days
Police must submit a rape kit to the Crime Lab within 7 business days of
Taking possession
Kids associated with victims who have not yet filed a report with police are not subject to the seven day requirement they must be safely preserved by _____ for _______
Police
The entire statute of limitations for the applicable sexual assault charges
The Crime Lab must test the kit within ____ of ______
30 days
Of receiving it
What must the Crime Lab do with each kit?
Enter it into the statewide tracking system, and enter DNA profiles into CODIS and state database
Is the electronic recording of SAIN interviews legally required
No, but it is good practice
Repressed memory is a legitimate explanation for why a victim of sexual abuse might:
Come forward later
Requested memory or _________ in response to trauma is a recognized diagnosis and may be the subject of expert testimony
Disassociative amnesia
The law mandates that courts and police not publish a victims name relating to arrests, investigations, or complaints of (4 crimes)
- Any type of rape
- Assault with intent to rape
- Indecent A&B on child under 14
- Human sexual trafficking
Officials who violate the release of victims name rule are subject to:
Fine $2500-$10000
The law requires that Police keep all reports of rape and sexual assault ______
Confidential
The venue rule for all forms of indecent A&B, rape, and assault with intent to rape, says that offenses may be prosecuted in:
County from which the victim was taken or county where the offense occurred
