Define chain of custody and explain why maintaining a proper chain of custody is important. What are the possible consequences of failing to maintain a proper chain of custody?

What will be an ideal response?


The chain of custody is a list of all people who came into possession of an item of evidence. Maintaining a proper chain of custody is the best guarantee that the evidence will withstand inquiries of what happened to it from the time of its finding to its presentation in court. Failure to substantiate the evidence’s chain of custody may lead to serious questions regarding the authenticity and integrity of the evidence and examinations of it.

Criminal Justice

You might also like to view...

Social scientific studies on sympathy have found that we are generally less willing to express sympathetic attitudes if we perceive a person's suffering to have been brought about by her or his own negligence or poor decision-making

a. True b. False

Criminal Justice

The burden of proof in a court of law for criminal cases is proof beyond a reasonable doubt

a. True b. False

Criminal Justice

The United States Supreme Court has ruled what is the minimum number of jurors needed to comply with constitutional requirements in a criminal case?

A) 3 B) 5 C) 6 D) 9 E) 12

Criminal Justice

After her arrest, a police psychologist diagnosed Samantha as being hyperactive, impulsive, and hedonistic. She has a(n) ________ personality.

A. oppositional B. antisocial C. superego D. bipolar

Criminal Justice