Relevant Evidence Research

1. Relevant evidence is that which has the tendency to make a material issue more or less probable when presented before the court. The general rule for the admissibility of relevant evidence is Federal Rule of Evidence 402, which states that relevant evidence is admissible unless any of the following says otherwise: US Constitution, federal statutes, Federal Rules of Evidence, or any other rules set by the Supreme Court. The judge is the one makes the decision on if the evidence offered is relevant.

Ingram, Jefferson. Criminal Evidence. 12th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015. Print.

4. Why might evidence of fleeing the scene or flight after the crime be indicative of guilt? Why is flight following a crime not always relevant evidence of
a consciousness of guilt?

Fleeing or flight after the crime is indicative of guilt as it infers that they behavior itself (fleeing) is indicative of guilt, as they do not want to be caught and face punishment for what thy did.
Staying at the scene of a crime shows conduct that is ambiguous at best. Suspects might not know that they are soon to be tried in court or that staying at the scene of the crime somehow proves indicative of innocence. There are also instances in which a person is afraid they will be arrested unjustly or are even just panicking.

Ingram, Jefferson. Criminal Evidence. 12th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015. Print.

6.
Documentary evidence is not admissible until it passes all competency tests and other various constitutional tests.

Ingram, Jefferson. Criminal Evidence. 12th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015. Print.

9. Chain of custody is the real evidence one offers that accounts for the custody of the evidence from the moment it is originally gathered until the moment it is offered as such in court. No, a perfect chain of custody is only obtainable in a perfect world. Any failure to make a chain custody objection at the time evidence is introduced waives any argument against the evidence. As long as the object is proven to be the actual one that is associated with the crime and not exposed to any tampering or other changes, it is accepted as authentic.

Ingram, Jefferson. Criminal Evidence. 12th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015. Print.

11. Under Rule 1006, Ingram states that “the proponent may use a summary, chart, or calculation to prove the content of voluminous writings, recordings, or photographs that cannot be conveniently examined in court” (p. 568). Summaries are allowed to be used as long as they assist the jury in understanding large quantities of information or to place the large amounts into perspective. They must be based upon and show fair representation of competent
evidence.

Ingram, Jefferson. Criminal Evidence. 12th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015. Print.