Deck 3: The Role and Documentation of Evidence in Criminal Investigations

Question 1

Probable cause is a set of facts that ______.

A) establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
B) forms clear proof of guilt
C) convinces a reasonable person that particular circumstances exist
D) supports reasonable suspicion about a person's involvement in a criminal act

Answer 1

convinces a reasonable person that particular circumstances exist

Question 2

Reasonable suspicion applies to ______.

A) civil law cases
B) stop-and-frisk searches
C) arrest situations
D) obtaining convictions in court

Answer 2

stop-and-frisk searches

Question 3

The legal question what would a reasonable person have thought or done under these circumstances relates to ______.

A) civil cases
B) common sense
C) associate evidence
D) probable cause

Answer 3

probable cause

Question 4

With regard to circumstantial evidence, which of the following is/are TRUE?

A) It is also known as hearsay evidence.
B) Is it also known as indirect evidence.
C) It is seldom of use in criminal investigations.
D) No one can ever be convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence alone.

Question 5

Jake previously threatened to kill Amy. This threat represents ______ evidence that Jake killed Amy.

A) direct
B) indirect
C) demonstrative
D) motivational

Question 6

An eyewitness saw the defendant put poison in the victim's food. The eyewitness statement about this observation is ______ that the defendant put poison in the victim's food.

A) real evidence
B) unreal evidence
C) direct evidence
D) indirect evidence

Question 7

Facts concerning the defendant's attempts to avoid apprehension, possession of the fruits of the crime, and ability and motive to commit the crime ______.

A) can act as direct evidence
B) are seldom admitted into court
C) can NOT be used to infer the guilt of the accused
D) are examples of circumstantial evidence

Question 8

Hearsay is a form of ______.

A) testimonial evidence
B) real evidence
C) demonstrative evidence
D) documentary evidence

Question 9

Dental evidence and fingerprints are often used as ______.

A) corpus delicti evidence
B) cumulative evidence
C) behavioral evidence
D) identification evidence

Question 10

______ is evidence that is admissible in court, and it meets the rules of evidence.

A) Judicial evidence
B) Extrajudicial evidence
C) Valid evidence
D) Invalid evidence

Question 11

Evidence that tends to exclude or eliminate someone from consideration as a suspect is ______.

A) judicial evidence
B) extrajudicial evidence
C) exculpatory evidence
D) inculpatory evidence

Question 12

The standard of proof needed in trial in order to conclude that a defendant is guilty of a crime is ______.

A) probable cause
B) beyond a reasonable doubt
C) reasonable suspicion
D) preponderance of evidence

Question 13

Crime-related information in which inferences and probabilities are needed in order to draw an associated conclusion is ______.

A) direct evidence
B) indirect evidence
C) exculpatory evidence
D) inculpatory evidence

Question 14

The fact that a defendant had a motive for committing the crime is ______ evidence of his/her guilt.

A) direct
B) indirect
C) reliable
D) unreliable

Question 15

Evidence that is presented in court through witnesses speaking under oath is ______.

A) testimonial evidence
B) real evidence
C) demonstrative evidence
D) documentary evidence

Question 16

Hearsay is most often excluded from court proceedings because it is considered ______.

A) exculpatory
B) inculpatory
C) reliable
D) unreliable

Question 17

Diagrams of a crime scene are best considered ______.

A) testimonial evidence
B) real evidence
C) demonstrative evidence
D) documentary evidence

Question 18

Evidence that establishes that a crime actually occurred is ______.

A) corpus delicti evidence
B) cumulative evidence
C) identification evidence
D) associative evidence

Question 19

What type of evidence is used to construct a psychological profile?

A) cumulative evidence
B) identification evidence
C) associative evidence
D) behavioral evidence

Question 20

The knife used in a homicide is best considered ______.

A) testimonial evidence
B) real evidence
C) demonstrative evidence
D) documentary evidence

Question 21

A statement of a fifth witness that provides the same details as four other witnesses is an example of ______.

A) corpus delicti evidence
B) cumulative evidence
C) identification evidence
D) associative evidence

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT an exception to the hearsay rule?

A) recorded testimony not provided under oath
B) dying declarations
C) previous admission and confession of the defendant
D) statements regarding one's physical condition

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT an example of indirect (circumstantial) evidence?

A) eyewitness testimony identifying the suspect as the one who committed the crime
B) the physical ability of a perpetrator to commit the crime
C) the presence of a motive
D) possession of the fruits of the crime

Question 24

Which was NOT inculpatory evidence which led to Amy Van Wagner as the killer of her husband?

A) She withdrew money from her husband's bank account between the day of the murder and the day the body was found.
B) She possessed a gun with the same caliber as the murder weapon.
C) Amy searched rental carpet cleaner with the in-private browser function.
D) She went to work and acted very normal the day Stanley was killed.

Question 25

What supports the medical examiner's statement that Stanley was most likely killed on May 15 or May 16 and not on May 17 when the body was found?

A) On May 16 Amy posted on Facebook that anyone who sees Stanley should tell him to come home.
B) Medical examiners are never wrong/
C) The bullet which struck Stanley's computer made its clock stop at 5:30 a.m. on May 15.
D) A witness reported that she saw Stanley on Saturday.

Question 26

Investigator perceptions and interpretations of body language may not be admissible in court; therefore, they are basically worthless as evidence.

Question 27

Fingerprints are always circumstantial evidence.

Question 28

A defendant can be convicted of a crime with circumstantial evidence alone.

Question 29

Circumstantial evidence is not necessarily less valuable than direct evidence in establishing proof.

Question 30

A defendant's previous admission or confession may be admitted into court as hearsay.

Question 31

All circumstantial evidence is real evidence.

Question 32

All direct evidence is in the form of eyewitness testimony.

Question 33

A dead body is always corpus delicti evidence that a murder occurred.

Question 34

A lay witness provides special knowledge about a fact of the case that needs examination.

Question 35

Physicians, therapists, and forensic science technicians can all be possible expert witnesses

Question 36

Compare inculpatory evidence with exculpatory evidence. Give an example of each.

Question 37

What is probable cause? Why and where is it important?

Question 38

Compare direct evidence with indirect evidence. Give an example of each.

Question 39

Define testimonial, real, demonstrative, and documentary evidence. Give an example of each.

Question 40

Define the following forms and functions of evidence: corpus delicti, corroborative, cumulative, associative, identification, and behavioral. Give an example of each.