Criminal Justice NOCTI, Criminal Justice
NOCTI
Subpoena - ANSa legal document ordering a person to testify in a court of law as a witness
Actus Reus - ANSThe actual criminal act
Mens Rea - ANSlegal phrase used to describe the mental state a person must have been in
while committing a crime for it to be intentional
Loops - ANSthe most common fingerprint
Chain of Custody - ANSa process used to maintain and document the chronological history of
evidence
Nolo Contedere - ANSa plea of "no contest" that one could use in court. It means that you are
not admitting guilt but you're not denying it either.
Use of Force Continuum - ANS1. Officer Presence, Verbalization, Empty- Hand Control,
Less-Lethal, Lethal force
Verbalization - ANSNot physical. Officers issue calm, nonthreatening commands.
Empty Hand Control - ANSOfficers use bodily force. Soft/Hard techniques
Less-Lethal - ANSOfficers use different technologies to gain control
pepper spray, baton, taser
Lethal - ANSOfficers use gun/weapons to gain control of a situation.
1st Amendment - ANSFreedom of Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly (peaceful), and Petition
2nd Amendment - ANSKeep and bear arms
4th Amendment - ANSIllegal search and seizure
5th Admendment - ANSDue process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and just compensation
(eminent domain)
6th Amendment - ANSSpeedy and public trial by impartial jury, informed of nature and cause of
accusation, confront the witnesses against him, right to an attorney, impartial jury
,7th Amendment - ANSCivil Jury Trial
8th Amendment - ANSCruel and unusual punishment
Plain View Doctrine - ANSOfficer can visually see contraband, therefore no warrant is needed.
Terry v. Ohio - ANSTerry Frisk- weapons only
Mapp v. Ohio - ANSPlain view- fruits of the poisonous tree
Carroll v. US - ANSMobility Doctrine
Katz v. US - ANSwiretap
Miranda v. Arizona - ANSMiranda Rights- 5th amendment
Gideon v. Wainwright - ANS6th amendment- right to counsel
How should liquid blood stains be collected and stored? - ANSBlood that is in liquid pools
should be picked up on a gauze pad or other clean sterile cotton cloth and allowed to air dry
thoroughly, at room temperature. It should be refrigerated or frozen as soon as possible and
brought to the Laboratory as quickly as possible. Delays beyond 48 hours may make the
samples useless.
How should dried blood stains be collected and stored? - ANS• On clothing, if possible, wrap the
item in clean paper, place the article in a brown paper bag or box and seal and label container.
Do not attempt to remove stains from the cloth.
• On small solid objects, send the whole stained object to the Laboratory, after labeling and
packaging.
• On large solid objects, cover the stained area with clean paper and seal the edges down with
tape to prevent loss or contamination. If impractical to deliver the whole object to the Laboratory,
scrape the stain onto a clean piece of paper, which can be folded and placed in an envelope. Do
not scrape directly into evidence envelope. Scrape blood from objects using a freshly washed
and dried knife or similar tool. Wash and dry the tool before each stain is scraped off. Seal and
mark the envelope.
• Do not mix dried stains. Place each stain in a separate envelope.
• Never attempt to wipe dried stains from an object using a moistened cloth or paper.
How are autopsy blood samples collected? - ANSRequest that pathologist obtain the sample
directly from the heart into a yellow (ACD) or purple stoppered vacutainer (some labs request
both). In rare cases when no liquid blood is available, ask pathologist to collect a section of liver,
bone, and/or deep muscle tissue and freeze for typing. In such cases, proceed also with
collection of a secondary standard as described below.
,How do you collect blood samples from a live victim? - ANSFor typing purposes, have sample
drawn into yellow and purple stoppered vacutainers. Note these are distinguished from the BA
tubes which have grey stoppers.
If the victim is injured to the extent that a transfusion is necessary, make an effort to obtain or
begin necessary procedures to obtain the pre-transfusion sample collected by the hospital.
These samples are not retained for long periods by the hospital, so it is important to act
promptly. Also, make sure that some bloodstained garment worn by the individual has been air
dried and frozen to serve as a secondary standard.
What is the steps in handling and storage of physiological fluid evidence? - ANSStains and
Controls
1. Air dry
2. Package in paper
3. Freeze
Consider special handling of non-absorbent items on (metal or plastic). Any condensation from
thawing could disturb or destroy such evidence. Such items should be kept at room temperature
and submitted to the lab as soon as possible.
Basic rules of blood storage - ANS• Refrigerate, do not freeze standards collected in yellow
stoppered vacutainers.
• Submit to the lab as soon as possible.
What are the basic rules of saliva collection and storage? - ANS• Collect on a sterile gauze pad
or swabs, allow to air dry and package in paper. Do not use plastic containers.
Where are seminal stains usually found and what is the proper packaging of them? - ANS•
Seminal stains are often, but not always, found on clothing, blankets, sheets. Allow any stains to
air dry, wrap in paper, and package evidence in paper bags. Do not use plastic bags.
How do you handle evidence collection in a sex offense case. - ANSthe victim should always be
examined by a physician. A Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit is used to collect evidence
from the victim. It is very important that the instructions on the kit be followed with care in order
to gain the greatest benefit from the collected evidence.
• Label all garments such as undershorts, panties, or other exhibits and package each garment
separately.
• If damp, allow fabric to dry completely before packaging.
• Handle fabrics as little as possible.
Hair collected at a crime scene is collected and packaged, how? - ANS• An examination of
human hair can occasionally reveal the possible race of the individual from whom it came and
the part of the body from which it originated.
, • Human hair can be compared to determine whether or not two samples could have had a
common origin. The value of the Laboratory examinations of such specimens will depend upon
the amount of hair recovered and the characteristics found in the examinations.
• Recover all hair present. If possible, use the fingers or tweezers to pick up hair, place in paper
bindles or coin envelopes which should then be folded and sealed in larger envelopes. Label the
outer sealed envelope.
• If hair is attached, such as in dry blood, or caught in metal or a crack of glass, do not attempt
to remove it but rather leave hair intact on the object. If the object is small, mark it, wrap it, and
seal it in an envelope. If the object is large, wrap the area containing the hair in paper to prevent
loss of hairs during shipment.
• How is hair In rape cases best collected from the suspect, victim, and crime scene? How many
samples do you need for comparision (head and pubic), do you cut or pluck them? - ANSthe
victim's pubic region should be combed prior to collecting standards. Obtain known hair samples
from the victim, suspect, or any other possible sources for comparison with unknown
specimens. The recommended method for collecting head hairs is to start by having the person
from whom they are being collected bend over a large sheet of clean paper, rubbing or
massaging their hands through the hair so that loose hair will fall out on the paper. More should
then be gathered by plucking them from representative areas all over the head. A total or
50-100 hairs is desired. Do not cut the hair. This same method may be used to collect hairs from
other parts of the body. 30-60 pubic hairs are required. When the person is a suspect, hair
should be gathered from all parts of the body even though there may only be an interest in hair
from the head at that particular time.
Where is fibers and threads, normally found? - ANS• Such evidence is often found in fabric
abrasions or caught in torn materials or other areas on hit-and-run vehicles. In some burglary
cases, it may be found caught in torn screens, broken glass, or other locations .
If threads or large fibers are found, they can often be picked up how? - ANSwith the fingers and
placed in a paper bindle, then in a coin envelope, which can be sealed and marked. Never place
loose fibers directly into a mailing envelope since they can be lost from this type of envelope.
What do you do If the fibers are short or few in number? - ANSif it is possible to do so, wrap the
area or the entire item containing the fibers in paper and send the whole exhibit to the
Laboratory.
Pick up fibers on tape only if ??? - ANSthe laboratory in your jurisdiction allows it and gives you
its requirements. When fibers or threads are recovered, always send all clothing of persons from
which they might have originated to the Laboratory for comparison purposes.
In sex offenses, assaults, and some other cases, it may be possible to indicate or demonstrate
contact between two individuals or between one other individual and some other object, such as
a car seat, by comparing - ANSfibers. Such examinations are only of value when it is known no
contact occurred between the two individuals or an individual and some other object prior to, or