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

Page 2 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 princi-
ples 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.