*** The choice of the cases is deferred to the student, but must be pre-approved by your instructor as appropriate for this assignment.***
No directly quoted material may be used in this project paper.
Resources should be summarized or paraphrased with appropriate in-text and Resource page citations.
Legal Case Analysis
Background
Nearly every legal constraint on the collection and presentation of forensic or testimonial evidence in a federal criminal proceeding emanates from the 4th and 5th Amendments, and is applied to state-level cases by the 14th Amendment. Case law has not only affirmed the applicability of these constitutional rights; it has provided and continues to provide definitions, exceptions, and direction. Most importantly, the courts have shaped the “exclusionary rule” as the consequence for violation of these protections. The criminal investigator must have a comprehensive knowledge of these court decisions, the principles in which they are grounded, and their application to the investigation at hand.
Criteria:
1. The case must be criminal and the defendant must have been found guilty
2. The case must have been appealed…..you are looking for an appeal based on either a forensic issue or testimonial evidence.
3. The case must have occurred in the US
So, try searching “criminal appeal forensic evidence” or “appeal testimonial evidence”. You can also go to the Supreme Court website.
Project Assignment
You shall submit a total of four case law reviews describing two pivotal cases allowing or disallowing the handling (search, seizure, collection, procession, court presentation, etc.) of forensic evidence, and two pivotal cases allowing or disallowing the handling (capturing, recording, soliciting, etc.) of testimonial evidence. The second case for each category may not be merely the application of a federal ruling to state-level cases under the provisions of the 14th Amendment. The choice of the cases is left to you, but must be pre-approved by your instructor as appropriate for this assignment.
**APPROVED CASES FOR THIS PROJECT**
Forensic Evidence 1: People v. Barney, 8 Cal. App. 4th 798, 817 (1992)
Forensic Evidence 2: People v. Marx, No. 26579. Court of Appeals of California, Second Appellate District, Division Five. December 29, 1975.
Testimonial Evidence 1: Williams v. Illinois, __ U.S. __, 132 S. Ct. 2221 (2012)
Testimonial Evidence 2: Miller v. State, 717 S.E.2d 179 (Ga. 2011)
Example:
Will RAWLINGS v. KENTUCKY, (1980) No. 79-5146 as a Forensic evidence case.
The instructor will respond with a message indicating approval or other direction.
After receiving instructor approval, you will submit the four legal case reviews. For each case, you will
- provide a brief overview of the facts of the case
- provide the determination of the court
- describe the legal reasoning or rationale used by the court to reach its decision
- describe the implications of the ruling on the conduct of criminal investigations
Note: This is not an opportunity for you to express your personal opinion on whether the court was right or wrong in its decision. However, you may include authoritative commentary from creditable sources with appropriate citation.
Grading for this project will be based on
- the comprehensiveness of the constitutional/legal principles applicable to the decision
- your understanding of the ramifications of the court’s decision for criminal investigations
- the clarity and efficiency of your writing
Review of this project will help the instructor assess your ability to
- communicate effectively across a wide variety of stakeholders
- identify constitutional and statutory parameters for conducting criminal investigations
