Title: Chain of Custody and Why It Is Important in a Criminal Case — #LadyJustice Speaks
Headings: Chain of Custody and Why It Is Important in a Criminal Case
Chain of Custody and Why It Is Important in a Criminal Case
Why Is Chain of Custody Important in a Criminal Case?
What Is Included in an Evidence Log?
Challenging Chain of Custody in a Criminal Case
Just Criminal Law Protects Your One Shot at Justice

Content: When he has finished testing the evidence, he turns it over to an evidence clerk, who stores the evidence until it is needed for another test or to be presented at trial. What Is Included in an Evidence Log? To prove chain of custody at trial, law enforcement must be able to identify, at all times in the chain of custody, a particular person who is in control of a piece of evidence. This is done through an evidence log. A typical evidence log will include the date and time the evidence was collected, the name of the investigator, the location where the evidence was collected, the reason the evidence was collected, relevant serial numbers, a description of the evidence, and the method that was used to collect the evidence. A typical evidence log will include the date and time the evidence was collected, the name of the investigator, the location where the evidence was collected, the reason the evidence was collected, relevant serial numbers, a description of the evidence, and the method that was used to collect the evidence. The log should also include signatures of the people who were in possession of the evidence, the date and time the evidence was transferred, the manner in which the evidence was transferred, and the security conditions while the evidence was being handled or stored. Any time evidence is examined by a forensic technician, the examiner must list everyone who came in contact with the evidence and everything that was done to the evidence. Challenging Chain of Custody in a Criminal Case
A defendant can challenge the chain of custody of a piece of evidence by questioning whether the evidence presented at trial is the same evidence as what was collected at the scene of the crime. If there are any discrepancies in the chain of custody and law enforcement cannot prove who had the evidence at a particular time, the chain of custody is broken and the defendant can ask to have the evidence declared inadmissible so that it cannot be used to try to convict the defendant.