This assignment will help you explore the history of discovery laws in Colorado and how the discovery laws might have changed for the better or worse today. It is coupled with learning how to prepare a case to be turned over to the district attorney's (DA) office and prep a case for trial.
You are a deputy assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Roan County Sheriff's Office. You assisted in the Jenkins murder investigation and the Marshall attempted-murder investigation. You are in charge of preparing the case file (discovery) to be turned over to the DA's office. You are also in charge of working with the DA to prep the case for trial. Below is a list of tasks to complete to prep this case file to turn over to the DA's office. The last three points in the list help prep the case for trial.
Click here to download the learning resources folder.
Complete the following tasks:
- Research the discovery laws in your state. What is discoverable in a criminal felony case? For example, under North Carolina General Statute Section 15A-501, all materials, including photos, notes, phone messages, etc., must be turned over to the state for prosecution of each felony case. Each state is different.
In a 1- to 2-page APA-formatted paper:
- Part I: Compare and contrast any changes your state has made to the discovery laws within the past twenty-five years.
- Part II: Compare and contrast your state's discovery law to North Carolina General Statute Section 15A-501.
- To prep the case to turn over to the state, read the District 5 Discovery Policy, which applies to the Jenkins murder case file and the attempted-murder case file of Marshall (two different cases; the same crime scene).
- To prepare the case to turn over to the state, Bates stamp, using the District 5 Discovery Policy numbering system outlined in #2 of the policy, all the documents in the case file (i.e., witness statements, evidence log, sketch, and lab report). If you do not have a Bates stamp, please follow the instructions in the District 5 Discovery Policy for inserting numbers in documents in #3 of the policy.
- To prepare the case to turn over to the state, use the Case Summary instructions and template provided in the learning resources folder and complete a Case Summary Form for this case with only the relevant facts to this case. Not every instruction will be used to complete this form.
- To prepare the case to turn over to the state, complete the Law Enforcement Officer Certification Form template provided in the learning resources folder, leaving the Assistant District Attorney Section blank.
- In preparation for trial, use the Spreadsheet template provided in the learning resources folder and use the first spreadsheet tab labeled Witness List to complete the items listed for all witnesses—civilians and law enforcement in this case.
- In preparation for trial, use the Spreadsheet template provided in the learning resources folder and use the second spreadsheet tab labeled List of Involvement to complete the items listed for all witnesses—civilians and law enforcement in this case.
- In preparation for trial, use the Spreadsheet template provided in the learning resources folder and use the third spreadsheet tab labeled Evidence List to complete the items listed for all witnesses—civilians and law enforcement in this case.
Recommendation: Keep this assignment in a safe place as you build a portfolio of your work to show future employers what you can do!
Submission Details:
LASA 2 Grading Criteria and Rubric
This assignment is worth 300 points. Download this rubric and carefully read it to understand the expectations.
Assignment 1 Grading Criteria
|
Maximum Points
|
| Part I: Compared and contrasted any changes your state has made to the discovery laws within the past twenty-five years. |
28
|
| Part II: Compared and contrasted your state's discovery law to North Carolina General Statute Section 15A-501. |
28
|
| Prepared the case file by assigning a unique number to every page (i.e., see example) in a Microsoft Word or an Adobe document, hand-writing the numbers and scanning the documents, or using a Bates stamp for submission. |
28
|
| Prepared the Case Summary Form for this case with only the relevant facts of this case. |
28
|
| Prepared the Law Enforcement Officer Certification Form template, leaving the Assistant District Attorney Section blank. |
28
|
| Completed the witness list for all witnesses—civilians and law enforcement officers in this case. |
32
|
| Completed all items listed in the List of Involvement template for all witnesses—civilians and law enforcement officers in this case. |
32
|
| Completed the evidence list for all items of evidence and information for all categories listed for all witnesses—civilians and law enforcement officers in this case. |
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