EOPA Review

Overview of the Amendments

• Amendments provide legal standards and protections
• Offer freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly and petition

First Amendment

• Protects freedom of speech without government interference
• Freedom of the press includes uncensored news and opinions
• Right to assemble peacefully allows group gatherings for protests and demonstrations
• Citizens can petition the government to make complaints/seek assistance

Second to Fourth Amendments

• Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms
• Third Amendment prohibits quartering of soldiers in private homes without consent
• Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches
• Fourth Amendment requires law enforcement to obtain warrants based on probable cause
• Terry v. Ohio established the 'stop and frisk' rule; Mapp v. Ohio incorporated the exclusionary rule to the states

Fifth to Tenth Amendments

• Fifth Amendment ensures due process, protects against double jeopardy, and prohibits self-incrimination
• Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a fair trial, including counsel and an impartial jury
• Seventh Amendment ensures the right to receive a jury trial in civil cases
• Eighth Amendment prohibits Excessive bail and cruel, inhumane punishment
• Ninth Amendment is affirming that rights that are not specifically named in the constitution are still protected
• Tenth Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states and people

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

• Mapp v. Ohio established the exclusionary rule; it prevents illegally obtained evidence from being used
• Katz v. United States says warrantless wiretapping violates 4th amendment
• Schenck v. United States established the 'clear and present danger' test for restricting free speech
• United States v. Nixon says no one is above the law, even regarding evidence in a trial

Additional Significant Cases

• Texas v. Johnson states flag burning is protected by the First Amendment
• Gideon v. Wainwright requires states to provide counsel to defendants who cannot afford an attorney
• Miranda v. Arizona requires police to inform suspects of their rights before interrogation
• Gregg v. Georgia upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty

Key Legal Concepts

• Probable cause means a reasonable belief that a person committed a crime; necessary to obtain a warrant/make an arrest
• Actus Reus refers to the physical act of committing a crim
• Mens Rea is the mental state/intent behind committing a crime and is crucial for establishing guilt
• Exigent circumstances justifies warrantless searches due to an immediate threat, such as evidence destruction

Law Enforcement procedures

• An arrest is a significant intrusion on civil liberties and means a person is not free to leave
• An interrogation is questioning a suspect post-arrest that must adhere to legal standards
• Warrantless arrests are permitted under certain conditions, such as witnessing a crime/having probable cause
• Field interrogations, or “Terry Stops,” are minimally intrusive stops based on reasonable suspicion

Key Legal Terms

• Beyond a reasonable doubt is the highest standard of proof in criminal law.
• Nolo Contendere: Latin for 'no contest,' the defendant does not admit guilt but accepts conviction

Criminal Law: Crime types

• Personal crimes include serious offences like rape, sexual assault, robbery directly harm individuals
• Property crimes encompass burglary, larceny/theft, and focus on property damage

Crime Classifications

• Part I crimes are major offenses like homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson
• Part II crimes are lesser offenses like simple assaults, forgery, fraud or drug abuse violations and typically carry lighter penalties

Criminal vs. Civil Law

• Criminal law addresses offenses against the state, while civil law addresses disputes between individuals
• Criminal cases require proof 'beyond a reasonable doubt', while civil cases use 'preponderance of the evidence'
• Criminal cases can result in jail time and civil usually result in monetary damages.

Violent Crimes

• The intentional killing of another person without legal justification, with or without commission of another crime is murder
• Aggravated assault: An attack with a weapon/attack resulting in injury, regardless of weapon use

Theft and Burglary: Descriptions

• Burglary comprises Unlawful entry into a building whether or not the subject meant to commit a crime
• Larceny is when property is taken without force, includes shoplifting/pickpocketing

Description: Related Offenses

• Assault comprises an unlawful physical attack or threat, classified based on severity
• Sexual assault encompasses a range of unwanted sexual contact, distinct from rape, which can include verbal threats

First Aid: CPR Steps

• Circulation: Begin proper chest compressions, with rate of 100 compressions each minute
• Airway: Apply the head-tilt, chin-lift maneuver to clear airway

Techniques: Rescue Breathing

• Mouth-to-Mouth involves two rescue breaths after clearing the airway and confirm chest rises
• The typical cycle of CPR: 30 chest compressions + 2 rescue breaths, continues until assistance arrives

Training: Importance of First Aid

• Life-saving skills: The knowledge of CPR/first aid improves survival rates when in emergency situations
• American Heart Association guidelines emphasize the CAB (Circulation, Airway, Breathing) method for effective CPR/first aid

Management, CPR Techniques and Airway

• Opening airway needs the head-tilt, chin-lift
• Nasal passage pinching prevents air from escaping effective mouth to mouth
• Each breath should take 1 second, look for chest to rise
• If chest does not rise, repeat the chin lift before the second breath

AED in cycles of CPR

• 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths should be done; repeat until they survive or somebody arrives
• Apply AED after 5 cycles of CPR to test for heart rhythm and deliver a shock if needed
• Use of pediatric pads is crucial for children in age from 1 to 8, don't use it on infants under 1 year of age
• If there are no defibrillators available, continue CPR

Emergency: Signs of Life

• Signs of life may include movement, coughing, and respiration for CPR to be stopped.
• Emergency personnel should take over patient care seamlessly
• One must always monitor a victim until help arrives, their condition can decline

Blood Stains Evidence

• Liquid blood stains could be collected via sterile pads and it needs to be refrigerated or frozen for storage
• Put dried blood stains to paper bag or something similar so the original stains do not fade out
• For small objects, the whole object is to be sent off; for large objects, stain is scraped off

Handling Samples

• In autopsies, blood comes from the heart inside special stoppered container to obtain accurate types
• Blood samples may come from timely victims, mostly in the correct vacutainers, and often ensure timely intervention
• Bloodstained garments should be collected and preserved

To Preserve Biological Evidence: Guidelines

• Saliva: Gauze pads should collect it or an air swab should collect it prior to packaging
• Put bedding in paper bags
• Hair should be gathered with forceps and seal them in bindles for proper analysis.

Forensic Procedures: Evidence

• Victims should be examined by a physician using a Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit.
• Put garments separately to ensure dried items are packaged to prevent degradation of it
• Victim and suspect hair samples need to be similar in quantity for comparison purposes.

Fibers and Threads: Procedure

• Usually, fibers are found caught in torn fabrics or near abrasions
• Fibers need to be put in a coin envelope for transport
• The fibers stay with the items containing them, especially when they are short

Best Practices: Analysis

• Collectors always use jurisdictional guidelines for fiber tape removal
• Submit clothing from sources to test individuals and the connections between them
• Evidence must be properly labeled for the integrity of it

Comparing Fibers : Overview

• Lab should get clothing to check fiber if assault happens to see connection between individuals
• Must wash garments and lay on clear paper after marking
• Clothing can ruin the value of clothes if not separated

Analysis for Fibers

• Fiber test shows connection exists between individuals or object
• Fibers should not have any contact prior to testing among these individuals
• Fiber testing is critical as evidence for violent crimes or forensics

Guidelines Collection

• Shoes with glass go in paper as evidence and submitted
• Debris need to collected from the hit and run, not just from the impacted regions
• Glass needs to be in separate cases.

Glass Fragment Sizes

• Paper bindles can carry smaller sizes and seal containers
• While cotton/tissue in boxes can separate large shards for security
• Send them through the window and get some samples in analyzed areas

Paints for Courts

• It is important since cases relating to hits and runs can relate to victim’s clothes
• Areas that have contact need to be examined
• If evidence is found, then that indicates wrap locations instead to be marked off

Paint Collection

• Paint is put into certain containers to avoid contamination
• A bindle can be taped to allow area to scrape to avoid damage

When handling paint stains

• Avoid envelope usage (unless large pieces involved), otherwise they do not have proper seal.

Procedure

• Fire has to be examined in case accelerants or other things occurred
• Traces may be found in materials and wood after certain events too
• These deodorized fluids also might have distinct odors

Safety Tips for accelerant situations

• If liquids are found and open, then switch these to glass vials
• Don’t use rubber lids since container won’t seal