The Big Stage

Week 10 Assignment 3: The Big Stage

CRJ 320

Professor

08-May-18

The United States has two major entities that can indict criminal activity; the federal government and the states within. Each body has their own particular laws, law enforcement officials, prosecution, and overall court system. In spite of these differences, the bodies mentioned share the basic standards of a criminal investigation and the formulation of the all-important final report for the prosecutorial process. To accomplish this, the criminal investigators must compile processed information into a single report and assist the prosecutor through the trial. This paper will discuss the final report mentioned before, the role of the criminal investigator in the trial process, and the possible changes that may take place in the future with regard to criminal investigations.

Many times whether or not a case can be prosecuted depends greatly on how well a final report from a criminal investigation is put together. The quality of a final report may very well dictate the credibility of the parties involved in the investigation. A well prepared report covers all bases of the criminal investigation and is not be questioned by other parties involved in the trial process, while those that are ill-prepared can cause a case to fall completely apart. At the very least the prosecutor could end up offering a plea bargain to the defendant if charges are not completely dismissed. The guilty parties may be set free, when justice could have been served. Disparities may also be casted upon not only the investigator but also the prosecutor and his/her office (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

The final report from a criminal investigation is a compilation of the essential facts of the case. Criminal investigators should arrange the pertinent material into a logical sequence of events and be convenient reading format. For best results, the final report would be filed in a labeled and divided binder. This lets the prosecutor easily access the information contained within (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

A final report will show the “criminal history of the person charged, the types of evidence available and the names of those who can support such evidence by testimony in court, names of people the prosecutor can talk to for further information and a chronological account of the crime and subsequent investigation.” (Criminal Investigation Tenth Edition, 2012, p. 654) This report will also have the following pertinent information to assist the prosecution (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

The first relevant part would be the original complaint received by law enforcement containing the date, time, and location along with a brief description of the incident. The names of the officers on the scene should be included, as well. Next, would be the preliminary investigation report which indicates the time the officers arrived on the scene, the conditions there, and any observations and reactions made. The follow-up report will show any information gathered during the investigation in chronological order. It also shows any leads that were followed up on, and how they lead to identifying a suspect (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

After a suspect is identified and apprehended, the next part of the final report would be the statements, admissions, and confessions. These would include statements taken from witnesses, as well. To prevent any confusion these should be separated from those given by suspects. A written report should be accomplished if these statements were given orally and placed in the final report too. In addition, any extenuating reports that coincide with the case such as a polygraph need to be placed in this part (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

Any significant laboratory reports along with photographs, sketches, and drawings should be included in the final report, as well. This will reflect the gathering of any biological evidence such as suspect fingerprints, or DNA that was acquired during the duration of the criminal investigation. Photographs, sketches, and drawings done are just as valuable to the prosecution in the trial process. They can assist them in learning about the scene, and the crime itself (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

Lastly, a summary of negative evidence should be included in the final report. This basically allows the prosecutor to confront any counter evidence that may be presented by the defense. Such evidence might include if a witness account stating that the suspect was elsewhere when the offense was committed or if the suspect committed a crime in self-defense. This part of the report should also be written clearly and concisely to prevent any confusion (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

The overall criminal justice process may aid or hinder the prosecution in building a successful litigation action. The investigative stage is the first stage and it consists of the criminal investigation of a particular incident. By ensuring that every aspect of the investigation is carried out, the investigator can almost assuredly apprehend a suspect or suspects (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

This then leads to the charging stage. Once suspects are apprehended by law enforcement, either a grand jury or the prosecution determines whether or not charges should be filed against these suspects. With the utilization of the final report the prosecution can file the most appropriate charges or dismiss the case altogether. If charges are indeed filed the next stage, the discovery and motion stage, then takes place (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

The discovery and motion stage occurs after an indictment or complaint has been issued. At this phase the suspect’s defense also makes an appearance for the first time. After indictment or complaint, they might seek a complete dismissal. If dismissal is not requested a discovery or suppression of evidence may be filed instead. This helps to confirm the solidity of the case as a whole (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

Once all motions have been heard and decided, the trial stage may take place. This can entail one of a few types of trials. The first trial would be that of the jury trial in which a jury decides the verdict of the case. The next trial is the bench trial. In a bench trial the judge passes the verdict of a case instead of a jury. At any time during these trials, the defendant can make a plea bargain or even change his or her plea to that of guilty. If one of these pleas are initiated the prosecution has without a doubt had a successful litigation action (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

Although the criminal investigator provides the prosecutor a final report, there are other ways he or she assists with the trial process. Prior to presenting a case for trial, the prosecution might not agree with the investigators initial findings and may require further probing and evidence discovery. This takes understanding and cooperation to allow for the sturdiest case for prosecution. Along with this the investigator may also be asked to “tie up” any loose ends or other issues that may arise at the pre-trial (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

Once this is done, the prosecutor will present the potential case for charging. Yet, the investigator’s assistance is still required because he or she is often times also a witness, as they can provide pertinent information in the trial itself. For this reason, the investigator should review the final report in its entirety to make sure that they know every aspect of the case at hand. This makes certain that there are no uncertainties with regard to questioning of the defense. A good relationship between the investigator and prosecutor must be maintained to ensure the strongest trial (Criminal Investigation, 2012).

For a prosecutor, a plea or verdict of guilty, or even a plea bargain means that they have gotten decision they were hoping for. However, sometimes even if all of the bases are covered and the submitted final report was concrete there is still the chance of a not guilty verdict or acquittal. The two are synonymous for the most part, but there are some differences. When a defendant is found not guilty there are grounds for acquittal. It occurs when the jury or judge concludes the prosecution has not proven that the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (Verdict?, 2016).

Conversely, if there are multiple charges, the jury can find the defendant not guilty of some but not all charges. Inthis case, there is only a partial acquittal. Another way that an acquittal may come about is if trial judges or appeals courts find that there was not enough evidence showing guilt. Even if the prosecution cannot appeal a not guilty verdict, it can sometimes appeal the judgment of a court’s acquittal (Verdict?, 2016).

In no way, though, does a not guilty verdict or acquittal constitute a failure for the investigator if they made every attempt to ensure a solid case was presented. Many times people have preconceptions to certain issues. This is no different when they are a presiding judge or a member of a jury. No matter what evidence they might be presented, these people have already made a decision with regard to guilt. Personal feelings have played a part in trials in the past and will continue to well into the future, even if they have been instructed otherwise a told to follow the word of the law.

There is no doubt that criminal investigations have evolved and improved. This is thanks greatly to technological advancements. Scientific research into using DNA to fight crime along with fingerprinting has assisted investigators in finding suspects and solving crimes. In the same sense community surveillance has become quite prevelant in fighting crime. Investigators can identify and track down suspects quickly.

It is safe to say that research and utilizing these in criminal investigations will advance even moreso in the future. Eventually DNA tracking will increase as more of the population will be recorded. Deciphering DNA will improve, as well, allowing investigators to use less of a sample and “lift” said sample from evidence in ways not currently possible. Identifying suspects via fingerprinting will improve, as more of the population’s fingerprints will be recorded just like their DNA. Partial fingerprint technology will also improve making it easier to find suspects.

Many larger urban areas in various parts of the world already utilize cameras to surveil the community. This was initiated greatly in part because of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Since then, there have been multiple crimes that have been stopped in progress or solved shortly thereafter. Because of these outcomes, it can be expected that such surveillance systems will be installed in a more widespread capacity. The advancements mentioned above will only improve criminal investigations, making suspect apprehension more firm, providing more solid cases to prosecutors, and allowing for higher convictions.

References

Orthmann, Christine Hess; KärenM. Hess. Criminal Investigation, Tenth Edition. Cengage Textbook. 2012. Pp. 654-657.

Schwartzbach, Micah. What’s the difference between an acquittal and a “not guilty” verdict?.NOLO. 2016. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-s-the-difference-between-acquittal-guilty-verdict.html

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