Introduction to the Law of Evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Introduction to the Law of Evidence - Essay Example However, in case the police arrive at a crime scene and there is no suspect within the site, then the police officers have to conduct a thorough investigation of the crime scene and look for any possible links that could lead to the identification of the real suspect. In most occasions, the police dust for fingerprints at the crime scene in order to discover who was at the scene of crime and perhaps try to identify the key suspect(s). Additionally, in the recent past, police officers have been dusting the crime scene for ear prints even thou there has been heated debate on the reliability or accuracy of ear prints as evidence to a similar extent as fingerprints. In this regard, the National Training Center for Scientific Support for Crime Investigation in the United Kingdom has been a compiling a database for ear prints in order to prove that ear prints are not similar and hence, they can be equally used as evidence (Dennis, 2013). This present essay aims at providing answers to prob lem questions that are based on a case study that revolves around the law of evidence. 1. Whether the prosecution can rely upon ear prints and fingerprints as evidence To begin with, Smith and Gordon (1997) described evidence as a piece of information that aims at proving or refuting facts that have been presented. In law, evidence provides a basis for understanding what happened at a particular time. In the writings by Dennis (2013), he wrote that law of evidence is â€Å"the body of rules that determine whether and even how a piece of evidence can be used as a means of proving a fact.† Moreover, the law of evidence regulates what can be legally admissible in the court of law for the purpose of proving or refuting facts that have been presented in a given case and even, on occasion, how the court should consider the evidence that has been presented. In normal police investigations, police officers always try to discover who was at the crime scene, before, during, and after a crime has occurred, which could range from murder, burglary, or even rape. In order to identify the presence of somebody in a particular crime scene police officers look for Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample. Calladine et al. (2003) described DNA as â€Å"a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions that are used in the functioning and development of all living organisms. Police investigations rely on DNA samples, which can be obtained from blood samples, hair, fingerprints and even ear prints, because they are purely identical or interlined to one single person. Berry and Watson (2003) clarified on this point by stating that it is only DNA samples of identical twins that may match to a greater extent but ordinarily DNA are restricted to one particular person. Based on this knowledge, prosecutors greatly rely on DNA samples to prove the presence of a particular person at a crime scene and hence, relate him or her with the crime committed. In the present case study, police off icers carrying out investigations into the death of Jeremy Spring dusted the deceased apartments for fingerprints and ear prints in order to identify the likely suspect, who murdered Jeremy Spring. Henry Wynther’s fingerprint and ear print sample were found within the apartment but the fingerprint sample had only six matching ridge characteristics while the ear print only showed gross features. With reference to the writings by Ramsland (2013), it can be stated that the prosecution