Unit 4: Selection and Crime Scene Process

The Law Enforcement Officer in Court

Pre-Trial

The most important thing for a law enforcement officer to remember when appearing in court as a witness is to refresh his memory about the facts. The time interval between arrest and trial in district court will be between a few weeks and three months. However, in felony cases and appealed misdemeanors, there may be a lapse of a year or more before the trial occurs. Naturally, a police officer cannot be expected to keep all the facts in every case fresh in his mind.

Therefore, when an officer is notified that a trial of one of the cases he is involved in is to take place, he should:

1. Re-read his notes and report thoroughly;

2. Examine any evidence about which he will testify;

3. Review any photographs and diagrams;

4. Revisit the crime scene if possible;

5. Review his deposition if one was taken; and

6. Talk with the prosecutor (who may be a fellow law enforcement officer, a county attorney, an assistant attorney general, or an assistant U.S. attorney).

The prosecutor should advise the officer what questions he plans to ask on direct examination. The officer should tell the prosecutor what information he can provide in response to the questions. If the officer is unable to answer a question, he should tell the prosecutor that he can’t. The prosecutor should not discover it at the trial. When an officer has no memory of a point and no notes or reports to refresh his memory, he should advise the prosecutor.

If time permits, a complete review of the case should be made by the officer and the prosecutor.

Frequently, a fact or piece of evidence that seems unimportant will become vital at the trial. If the prosecutor is not informed about it, it may not be placed into evidence. Therefore, the officer should not simply tell the prosecutor what he believes is relevant; rather, he should permit the prosecutor to pick out what is relevant. It is better to tell too much than too little.

If the prosecutor has not had the opportunity to review the scene of the crime, the officer should offer to take him there so that the prosecutor can better visualize the importance of each piece of testimony.