Evaluation of forensic evidence of bloodstain paterns in Slovene courts

bachelor thesis

Andreja Cavnik (Author), Darko Maver (Mentor), Katja Drobnič (Co-mentor)

Abstract

Modern science and technology are becoming an important part of our daily lives, and so is the world of criminal investigation. When investigating any crime, the evidence collected from the crime scene plays a crucial role in the attempt to put all the pieces together and solve the mystery. Our thesis will focus on the complexity in investigating crime scenes involving bloodshed and on the significance of bloodstain patterns resulting from violent actions. It is of great importance that crime scene technicians, when collecting and insuring physical or biological evidence, take extra precautions to ensure proper handling, storage, identification, and last but not least, the chain of custody. All these measures play a decisive role in later stages of the process when forensic practitioners perform different laboratory tests on the evidence collected, providing for clues leading to gathering more detailed information that would point to the persons present at the crime scene at the time of crime, and, finally, to obtaining such added-value evidence that would be admissible in the court of law. An answer to ''what actually happened'' usually lies in crime scene reconstruction that focuses on leads, visible and latent bloodstain patterns, and all other pointers that indicate what went on at the time of a struggle. It is unbelievable how much a blood trail can tell us about past events: from a few blood droplets or bloodstain patterns, it is possible to determine the exact movements of the victim, the spot and the direction a blood droplet has originated from, the area of origin, and the position of the victim. It is even possible to determine the number of blows received by a blunt object, etc. A combination of the information and the measures listed above may reveal a clear picture of past events, but the case does not end here. On the contrary, this is where it begins, for the most important part of the process is to present all the collected evidence in a criminal trial. Therefore, the evidence needs to be admissible, credible and irrefutable, which is not always easy to achieve. In Slovenian courts, judges are not under any obligation to pursue any formal standards of evaluation of forensic evidence; however, they are obligated to respect certain rules governing submission of the evidence. Actually, the entire procedure of submission and evaluation of the evidence is at the complete discretion of the court, which rules over which evidence submitted by prosecutor and the defense is or is not to be admitted. Further, we discuss standards of evidence and the importance of the forensic expert testimony, preparation of the evidence, and the dilemmas related to different interpretations thereof in criminal procedures, either by the prosecutor or the defense. Dr. Katja Drobnič, a forensic expert for DNA and biological traces, shares her opinion about this topic with us, discussing the difficulties encountered at all stages of the process of preparing an expert opinion, as well as the challenges faced with when testifying. What follows is a closer look at evaluation of forensic evidence of bloodstain patterns from a practical point of view. We discuss this topic with Andrej Baraga, judge for criminal offences at Ljubljana District Court, who shares his practical experiences with different interpretations and the dilemmas in evaluating such evidence. Last but not least, we talk to Dr. Darko Maver, professor of Criminalistics and PhD in law, who shares his findings and directions about Slovenian court proceedings and dilemmas in evaluation of forensic evidence of bloodstain patterns. Throughout the whole thesis we pursue the answers to the questions of whether or not are there any unwritten standards or guidelines for evaluation of such evidence, since there are no formal ones in our Criminal law, and if yes, whether or not, are they being taken into a consideration in practice. We also explore the former dilemma of forensic experts of the National Forensic Laboratory taking stand as expert witnesses in criminal tri

Keywords

kriminalistično preiskovanje;forenzika;krvne sledi;dokazi;vrednotenje;sodni izvedenci;sodišča;diplomske naloge;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2012
Source:	[Ljubljana
Typology:	2.11 - Undergraduate Thesis
Organization:	UM FVV - Faculty of Criminal Justice
Publisher:	A. Cavnik]
UDC:	343.98
COBISS:	2369514
Views:	1964
Downloads:	173
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary title:	Vrednotenje forenzičnih dokazov krnvih sledo na slovenskih sodiščih
Secondary abstract:	Moderna znanost in tehnologija vse bolj prevevata naš vsakdanjik in nič drugače ni tudi v svetu kriminalističnega preiskovanja. Vsi dokazi ter indici zbrani pri preiskovanju kraja zločina igrajo ključno vlogo, ne samo pri povezovanju delcev v celoto, temveč tudi pri samem procesu dokazovanja dogodkov ter krivde obdolžencev na sodišču. V tej diplomski nalogi se bomo tako osredotočili na kompleksnost preiskovanja krajev dejanja krvnih deliktov ter pomembnost krvnih sledi, ki nastanejo kot posledica nasilnih dejanj. Previdnost kriminalističnih tehnikov pri odvzemanju in zavarovanju fizičnih ali bioloških dokazov je izrednega pomena, ob tem morajo paziti na primerno rokovanje, hrambo, identifikacijo ter nenazadnje tudi na verigo nadzora nad dokazi (ang. chain of custody). Vsi ti ukrepi imajo odločilno vlogo v nadaljnjih postopkih, ko forenzični strokovnjaki opravijo različna laboratorijska testiranja na zbranih dokazih, vse to z namenom, da bi prišli do bolj podrobnih informacij, ki bi lahko povezale posameznika s krajem kaznivega dejanja. Tako torej pridobijo dokaze z dodano vrednostjo, ki so verodostojni na sodišču. Odgovor na ''kaj se je zgodilo'' navadno leži v rekonstrukciji kraja dejanja,ki je orientirana na preiskavo vidnih in nevidnih oblik krvnih sledi ter drugih indicov, ki nakazujejo potek preteklih dogodkov. Neverjetno je namreč, koliko nam lahko krvna sled izda. Na podlagi le nekaj krvnih kapelj je mogoče določiti gibanje žrtve/storilca, smer iz katere je kri priletela, območje izvora krvne sledi, premikanje ter položaj žrtve, pa tudi število udarcev in položaj storilca med posameznimi udarci, itd. Ukrepi in dejanja našteti zgoraj, skupaj tvorijo širšo, bolj jasno sliko o zločinu, toda primer s tem še ni zaključen, nasprotno, tukaj se šele dodobra prične. Najpomembnejši del, ki zaokroži ves trud preiskovanja je ravno predstavitev zbranih dokazov na sodišču, le-ti pa morajo biti kredibilni in neizpodbitni, česar pa ni vedno lahko doseči. Na slovenskih sodiščih, sodniki niso zavezani k nobenim formalnim standardom vrednotenja forenzičnih dokazov, so pa zavezani k določenim merilom izvajanja le-teh. Celoten postopek dokazovanja in vrednotenja dokazov tako leži na samem sodišču in le-to samo odloča, kateri dokazi predlagani s strani obeh strank – tožilca in obrambe- bodo izvedeni in predstavljeni ter kateri ne. Nadalje razpravljamo o dokaznih standardih ter o pomembnosti strokovnega mnenja forenzičnih izvedencev, o pripravi le-tega ter o dilemah in različnih interpretacijah s strani sodišča, tožilstva in pa obrambe. Forenzična izvedenka na področju DNK in bioloških sledi dr. Katja Drobnič, z nami deli svoje mnenje o tej problematiki ter razpravlja o zahtevnosti procesa priprave strokovnega mnenja in pa tudi o samem izzivu pričevanja na sodišču. Nato preidemo k praktičnemu vidiku vrednotenja forenzičnih dokazov krvnih sledi in se o tem pogovarjamo s kazenskim sodnikom Okrožnega sodišča v Ljubljani, Andrejem Barago, ki z nami deli svoje izkušnje skupaj z dilemami, različnimi interpretacijami in pa tudi smernicami o vrednotenju tovrstnih dokazov. Nenazadnje diskutiramo s profesorjem kriminalistike in doktorjem prava - Darkom Mavrom, ki nam predoči svoje mnenje ter predloge o slovenskih sodnih procesih in dilemah vrednotenja kompleksnih forenzičnih dokazov krvnih sledi. Skozi celotno nalogo torej iščemo odgovore na vprašanja ali mogoče obstajajo kakšna nenapisana pravila ali pa smernice vrednotenja tovrstnih dokazov, saj formalnih standardov v našem kazenskem pravu ni in če torej te smernice obstajajo, ali so upoštevane v praksi. Prav tako raziskujemo nekdanje dileme pričevanja forenzičnih strokovnjakov Nacionalnega forenzičnega laboratorija v kazenskih zadevah in tako nalogo zaključimo na podlagi vseh zbranih informacij, znanj ter izkušenj o tej problematiki, debato pa sklenemo s tehtnimi ugotovitvami ter odgovori na primarno zastavljena vprašanja.
Secondary keywords:	kriminalistično preiskovanje;forenzika;krvne sledi;dokazi;vrednotenje;sodni izvedenci;sodišča;diplomske naloge;
URN:	URN:SI:UM:
Type (COBISS):	Bachelor thesis/paper
Thesis comment:	Univ. v Mariboru, Fak. za varnostne vede, Ljubljana
Pages:	54 str.
Keywords (UDC):	social sciences;družbene vede;law;jurisprudence;pravo;pravoznanstvo;criminal law;penal offences;kazensko pravo;kazniva dejanja;criminology;criminal sciences;criminalistics;
ID:	14591