Criminal Justice Process and Investigation Changes Case Study

The Importance of the Final Report to the Prosecution of a Case

In legal proceedings, most cases feature a number of intricate facts and use complex terminolory that can be ambiguous when it comes to interpretation. Thus, my primary objective as a prosecutor is to present the final report in such a way that all the elements of evidence are clearly organized, vague points are clarified, and all the terms are explained. A concise chronology of the events can also be attached if it helps me improve the structure of the report.

If I want to add value to my arguments in court, my final report should cover the following aspects (Worrall & Nugent-Borakove, 2014):

• An overview of the case. It must briefly present significant events and actions connected with the case and explain the essentials in a few sentences. This helps identify the pivotal issues and concentrate on them.
• Description of the parties involved. The section deals with the personal information of the sides, their criminal litigation history, etc. It is a significant part of the report as any relevant background data can affect the attitude of the court towards the participants.
• Summary of witnesses’ testimony supporting the accusation. This part is crucial for the success of the prosecution as it ensures that there exist no gaps in the proof. It can contain various charts, recordings, documents, and any other materials that clarify the case from the necessary perspective.
• The analysis of anticipated defense tactics. The part concerns rebuttal of possible counterarguments, which, being performed properly, allows me to sound more convincing in court than the defendant.
• Request for further sanctions. Being a prosecutor, I must clarify what sanctions I consider to be necessary in this or that case.

As it is evident from the description, each part contributes to the success of the prosecution of a case. Thus, each of them must be carefully prepared. The final report should logically and coherently combine all of them in order to form one inseparable whole.

In case some issues are overlooked, and the report is completed poorly, the consequences might be deplorable (Worrall & Nugent-Borakove, 2014):

• if the parties are identified incorrectly or incompletely, the key events could be omitted;
• in case the summary misses certain points, important evidence can be neglected by the court;
• unless witnesses’ testimony is credible, the truth could be distorted;
• the documents provided in the report must be genuine – forgeries or unattested copies not only undermine my reputation but also tell on the outcome of the case in a negative way;
• unless I prepare strategies of rebuttal and present them in the report, I can fail the case because of a better-prepared opponent.

The Way Each Stage of the Criminal Justice Process Helps to Build a Successfully Litigated Action

There are common stages the cases follow, though not each of them goes through all the steps. A successfully litigated action can be built provided that the evidence is properly collected and estimated in all the stages. This is proved by the following facts (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015):

1. If the crime occurs, the investigation begins only when the evidence is provided by witnesses.
2. Arrest (if it did not happen at the moment when the crime was committed) can be made only when the investigator decides that there is enough evidence for legal charges.
3. Initial appearance before the judge is aimed to prove that the person was charged properly (which means that there are substantial grounds for taking him/her into custody).
4. Preliminary hearing determines if the evidence is sufficient for further legal proceedings based on the assumption that the person could have commited the crime.
5. Arraignment is the formal accusation based on witnesses’ testimony. In case the defendant pleads not guilty, the collected evidence is provided to him/her for performing the defense.
6. The trial takes place if plea negotiations fail. Witnesses from defense and prosecution are heard.
7. Sentencing hearing. All the evidence is summarized, and the decision is made.

A Criminal Investigator’s Role in Preparing a Case for Court

The criminal investigator is the one who is involved in the case at the beginning of the investigation. Criminal investigators explore the scene of the crime, trying to find clues that could give hints to important details and prove someone’s guilt. Their task is to collect testimony that would help the prosecutor in court. However, they must also research the evidence provided by the defense and find out which facts disprove it. Basically, criminal investigators try to solve cases using intelligent means (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015).

The same has to be performed if there are some gaps or inconsistencies in the accusations. The prosecutor and the investigator assist each other in order to achieve the immaculate case presentation in court. The investigator can go over the testimony with the prosecutor, identify which way is the best to present the facts, and suggest the proper arrangement for calling the witnesses in order to win the judge’s approval (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015).

The Difference between Not Quilty and Acquitted

Some people believe that if the person is proved to be not quilty, it equals being acquitted. Despite this common opiniton, these notions are different. The suspect is found not guilty if it is proved by evidence that someone esle committed the crime. However, a defendant can be found not guilty of some of the charges, not all of them. An acquittal is possible not only through issuing a not-guilty verdict. The suspect can be acquitted in case the evidence is not sufficient to prove the guilt. If the person is found not guilty, he/she cannot be charged with the same offense. The prosecutor has no chance to reappeal the trial in this case. However, he/she can appeal the judgement of aquittal (Givelber & Farrell, 2012).

To some extent, it means that the investigator failed with evidence. His/her initial task is to provide enough materials, analyzing which the prosecutor can make a perfectly convincing performance at court that would not leave space for any doubts. Despite his/her evident failure, it is not exclusively the investigator’s fault as in certain cases the prosecutor may have missed important points from the evidence while preparing for the trial.

Changes that will Take Place in Criminal Investigation in the Next 20 Years

Probably the greatest change in criminal investigation will be connected with the figerprint technology. It can be assumed that in future palmprints will also be introduced to AFIS systems as they are often found at crime scenes. They could be captured and analyzed using the system in order to get the criminals credentials immediately (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015).

The DNA technology is also among the most promising ones. Forensic investigations are moving in the direction of creating a world-wide database of DNA samples. DNA banks of all the countries will be interconnected in a global network. In this way, foreign criminals can be detected. Exting DNA hand-held analyzers can be improved in order to perform the necessary analysis at the crime scene without going to a lab.

The full potential of criminal investigation is unlimited with the development of modern technologies.

References

Givelber, D., & Farrell, A. (2012). Not guilty: are the acquitted innocent? New York, NY: NYU Press.

Neubauer, D. W., & Fradella, H. F. (2015). America’s courts and the criminal justice system. London, UK: Cengage Learning.

Worrall, J., & Nugent-Borakove, M. E. (Eds.). (2014). Changing role of the American prosecutor. Albany, NY: Suny Press.