Medical Whistleblower Canary Notes Newsletter 5 Investigation Techniques May 2006 Vol 1 Issue 5

Medical Whistleblower May 2006 Volume 1 Issue 5 Medical Whistleblower’s Canary Notes Inside this issue: Surveillance by Law Enforcement 2 The Art of Law Enforcement Investigation Techniques of Criminal 3 In a half hour television crime show the criminal is easily caught and properly punished. Investigation But that is not reality of law enforcement investigators. Although there is a science of in- 4 vestigation taught to all police officers at the Police Academy, the actual mastery of criminal Evidence investigation skills, is not learned from any book but instead by first-hand experience. It is Marking and Preserva- 4 also true that individual investigators have skills, abilities and proclivities in one area or an- tion of Evidence other, and each investigator has their own personal background of cases they have investi- gated. There is a great deal of tedious labor of the investigation of a crime including a crime scene search, interviews, tracing, identification, interrogation, assembling of proof, and the presentation of testimony. The criminals are also very ingenious and are constantly devising new patterns of crime. To this constantly changing landscape of criminal endeavor, the investigator applies time-proven principles and techniques to the endless assortment of situations that confront him. The field of criminal investigation is as broad and varied as is the medical field and law enforcement officers and agents become specialized in particular areas of crime, such as drug enforcement, governmental corruption, white collar crime, and civil rights enforcement. Just as the end result of a doctors’ diagnostic tests and clinical West Law Articles examination is a final definitive diagnosis and treatment plan, the end result of an investiga- What constitutes "newly tion is competent evidence that can be used in court and a plan for prosecuting the criminal discovered evidence" offender. The Prosecuting Attorney judges whether the police investigation has been thor- within meaning of Rule ough in all respects or whether further work remains to be done. The evidence provided to 33 of Federal Rules of the prosecuting attorney will only be as good as the investigators who gathered it. There is Criminal Procedure re- nothing that the Prosecuting Attorney can say or do that will retrieve that which has been lating to motion for new trial, 44 A.L.R. Fed. 13 overlooked, improperly obtained, or carelessly handled. Many a case has been lost at the crime scene rather than in the courtroom. There are many cases that have never reached prosecution simply because the investigator was unable to produce sufficient admissible “Homicide by heart at- evidence. To the Medical Whistleblower, the competent investigator who is well versed in tack” revisited, 49(3) J Forensic Sci 598 (2004) his professional skills and who searches for every shred of evidence, applies his training resourcefully, and handles his suspects with restraint is asset of incalculable value to the attainment of justice. Admissibility of psycho- logical deception tests, 23 A.L.R. 2d 1306

Medical Whistleblower’s Canary Notes Volume 1 Issue 5 Surveillance by Law Enforcement Surveillance is one of the most important tools of the investigation. Although the professional investigators have developed, through trial and error, certain principles and procedures, quick thinking and ingenuity are prime ingredients of success- ful surveillance. The competent shadower or prosecution investigator may obtain evidence to supply the basis for a search warrant, identify the suspects’ activities West Law Articles and contacts, and if lucky actually catch the criminals in the act. Surveillance can be “loose” or “tight” depending on how close the shadower stays to his/her target. Intercepted communications in state criminal trials The surveillance can be moving (on foot or by car) or stationary. There is also Schwartz v. Texas (1952) 344 US 199, 97 L Ed 231, 73 S Ct technical surveillance such as electronic eavesdropping and wiretapping which are 232, & Lee v. State (1966, Fla often undertaken in conjunction with a stationary surveillance. The activities ob- App) 191 So 2d 84 served during physical surveillance may later become the basis of testimony at a Police Misconduct Litiga- tion—Plaintiff's Remedies, 15 trial or be used as the basis for interrogation. Each investigator maintains a Am. Jur. Trials 555 chronological log, noting descriptions of unknown persons observed and the re- Digital evidence and the new sults of follow-up inquiries at places where the subject stopped. Sometimes if there criminal procedure, 105 will be a long term need for continued surveillance it is effective to establish a Colum. L. Rev. 279 (2005 WL 300302) business "front." Technical surveillance is conducted through the use of mechani- Surmounting Frye or Daubert cal and electronic devices. Contrary to popular belief, the presence of a tap is not standards for the admissibility always betrayed by clicking noises or abrupt changes in volume—these are actually of expert testimony, 17 Crim. Just. 6 (2003 WL 21433138) the mark of a crude installation. A wiretap skillfully installed by a trained technician The Complete Handbook of is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to detect. Serious questions have been Investigations & Privacy raised as to the admissibility in court of information obtained by these methods. Rights: Demystifying the Le- gal Parameters of Criminal, Evidence taken illegally (that is, in violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibi- Civil, and Private Investiga- tions, (Reviewed), 77(7) Wis. tion of unlawful searches and seizures) is inadmissible in both federal and state Law. 31 (2004 WL 3663984) courts. There can also be independent evidence discovered as the result of leads Representing The Grand Jury furnished by the use of electronic eavesdropping devices. The admissibility of the Target Witness, 38 Am. Jur. evidence so collected must be analyzed before following such investigative leads. Trials 651 Both investigators and prosecutors must be aware of the present status of the law Crime Scene: True Stories from the Life of a Forensic In- as it applies to the investigation, so that no time is wasted in securing evidence that vestigator, (Reviewed), 44(4) will ultimately be ruled inadmissible. Law Soc'y J. 82 (2006 WL 1432906)

Medical Whistleblower’s Canary Notes Volume 1 Issue 5 Page 3 Techniques of Criminal Investigation 1. The collection, preservation, processing, and presentation of physical evi- West Law Articles dence. The technical methods by which the investigation is advanced: fingerprint sys- Searches and seizures: tems, photography, plaster casting, and the field of criminology or forensic science — reasonable expectation medical autopsy, microscopy, spectrography, serology, chemical analysis, biology, and of privacy in contents of pathology. garbage or trash 2. Interviews with suspects, witnesses, and com- receptacle, 62 A.L.R. 5th 1 plainants. Utilizing the techniques of interrogation and interviewing strategies as well as the recording of state- Right of accused in state ments and admissions. courts to have expert inspect, examine, or test 3. The use of records. Employing records and sources physical evidence in of information (such as employment records, DEA possession of controlled substances logs, motor vehicle bureau re- prosecution—modern cord, telephone records and utility company records) as cases, 27 A.L.R. 4th 1188 a means of discovery and identification of suspects and Searches and seizures witnesses as well as a source of evidence and additional without warrant and leads. prior to arrest, 89 A.L.R. 2d 715 4. Surveillance and plants. Using physical surveillance, the use of undercover agents and confidential informants, and technical surveillance such as wiretapping and elec- Investigations and tronic eavesdropping. surveillance, shadowing and trailing, as violation of right of privacy, 13 To detect the motive behind the crime the competent investigator will use his experi- A.L.R. 3d 1025 ence, imagination ingenuity and intuition. Just like a medical doctor he can interpret Fingerprints as evidence, 28 A.L.R. 2d 1115 the many smaller details to identify the bigger picture . This is like using the details of Admissibility of Handwriting Expert's the diagnostic testing to come to a conclusion of the disease process. Deductive Testimony in Federal Reasoning is the use of the particular known facts to interpret events and evidence Criminal Case, 183 A.L.R. Fed. 333 to draw conclusions about the crime and who committed it. The other type of analy- Withholding identity of sis is Inductive Reasoning, in which the investigator tests the validity of his conclu- informer, 1 L. Ed. 2d 1998 sions in relationship to a general theory of the crime. This like analyzing the signs and Uses, Techniques, and Reliability of Polygraph symptoms with the suspected disease process to see if they are completely combatable Testing, 42 Am. Jur. with the suspected diagnosis. Trials 313

Medical Whistleblower Evidence 1. Corpus delicti evidence. Dr. Janet Parker This evidence serves to prove the crime itself. In a homicide it is P.O. Box C Lawrence, KS 66044 the victim's body; in a narcotics violation it is the drug itself; in a forgery it is the forced document. Phone: 360-809-3058 Fax: None E-mail: MedicalWhistleblower@gmail.com 2. Associative evidence. This evidence connects the accused with the crime or crime We are on the Web! scene. Fingerprints, handwriting analysis, or bloodstains of a MedicalWhistleblower.googlepages.com burglar. 3. Tracing evidence. Supporting the Emotional Health of all Whistleblowers This evidence aids in locating the suspect. Examples include and their Friends, Supporters and Families. DEA drug logs, telephone records, and Medicaid billing state- ments. Marking and Preservation of Evidence These steps establish the chain of custody. Precau- tions must be taken to preserve any article in- tended to be used as evidence. The article should A defendant's fingerprint on an be identified by initials of the person finding the object associated with a crime is evidence and the date found. The identification direct evidence that the defendant marking should be permanent and not susceptible touched the object at some time and to being rubbed off or obliterated. Evidence, is is circumstantial evidence that he put in pillboxes, envelopes, test tubes, cartons, glass jars, or some other container, touched it at the time of the and sealed. The investigator initials and dates the seal. The investigator will create a offense. State v. Millien, label with the case number, date, a brief description of the contents, the location 845 So. 2d 506 (La. Ct. App. 1st where found, and the signature of the finder is affixed to the container. If there are Cir. 2003). witnesses to the discovery, their names are also recorded.

Medical Whistleblower Canary Notes Newsletter 5 Investigation Techniques May 2006 Vol 1 Issue 5

by MedicalWhistleblower on Oct 07, 2009

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Medical Whistleblower Canary Notes Newsletter 5 Investigation Techniques May 2006 Vol 1 Issue 5 — Document Transcript