Tuesday, December 31, 2019

What Is Chain of Custody

In criminal and civil law, the term â€Å"chain of custody† refers to the order in which items of evidence have been handled during the investigation of a case. Proving that an item has been properly handled through an unbroken chain of custody is required for it to be legally considered as evidence in court. While often unnoticed outside the courthouse, proper chain of custody has been a crucial factor in high-profile cases, such as the 1994 murder trial of former professional football star O.J. Simpson. Key Takeaways Chain of custody is a legal term referring to the order and manner in which physical or electronic evidence in criminal and civil investigations has been handled.In criminal trials, the prosecution must typically prove that all evidence was handled according to a properly documented and unbroken chain of custody.Crime-related items found not to have followed a properly documented and unbroken chain of custody may not be allowed as evidence in trials. Chain of Custody Definition In practice, a chain of custody is a chronological paper trail documenting when, how, and by whom individual items of physical or electronic evidence—such as cell phone logs—were collected, handled, analyzed, or otherwise controlled during an investigation. Under the law, an item will not be accepted as evidence during the trial—will not be seen by the jury—unless the chain of custody is an unbroken and properly documented trail without gaps or discrepancies. In order to convict a defendant of a crime, the evidence against them must have been handled in a meticulously careful manner to prevent tampering or contamination. In court, the chain of custody documentation is presented by the prosecution in order to prove that the item of evidence is, in fact, related to the alleged crime, and that it had been in the possession of the defendant. In an effort to establish a reasonable doubt of guilt, the defense looks for holes or acts of mishandling in the chain of custody to show, for example, that the item may have been fraudulently â€Å"planted† to make the accused person appear guilty. In the O.J. Simpson trial, for example, Simpson’s defense showed that crime scene blood samples had been in the possession of multiple investigating officers for various lengths of time without being properly recorded on the Chain of Custody Form. This omission enabled the defense to create doubt in the minds of the jurors that blood evidence linking Simpson to the crime could have been planted or contaminated in order to frame him. From the time it is collected until it appears in court, an item of evidence must always be in the physical custody of an identifiable, legally-authorized person. Thus, a chain of custody in a criminal cased might be: A police officer collects a gun at the crime scene and places it in a sealed container.The police officer gives the gun to a police forensics technician.The forensics technician removes the gun from the container, collects fingerprints and other evidence present on the weapon, and places the gun along with the evidence collected from it back into the sealed container.The forensics technician gives the gun and related evidence to a police evidence technician.The evidence technician stores the gun and related evidence in a secure place and records everyone who accesses the evidence during the investigation until final disposition of the case. Items of evidence are typically moved in and out of storage and handled by different people. All changes in the possession, handling, and analysis of items of evidence must be recorded on a Chain of Custody Form. Chain of Custody Form The Chain of Custody Form (CCF or CoC) is used to record all changes in the seizure, custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of physical and electronic evidence. A typical Chain of Custody Form will describe the evidence and detail the location and conditions under which the evidence was collected. As the evidence proceeds through the investigation and trail, the CCF must be updated to show at a minimum: The identity and signature of each person who handled the evidence and their authority to do so.How long the evidence was in the possession of each person who handled it.How the evidence was transferred each time it changed hands. The Chain of Custody Form may be handled only by identifiable persons with authority to possess the evidence, such as police officers and detectives, forensic analysts, certain officers of the court, and evidence technicians. To the prosecution in criminal cases, a complete and properly completed Chain of Custody Form is essential in withstanding legal challenges to the authenticity of the evidence. Chain of Custody in Civil Cases While more commonly an issue in the criminal justice system, a chain of custody may also be required in civil cases, such as lawsuits arising from impaired driving incidents and acts of medical malpractice. For example, victims of traffic crashes caused by uninsured drunk drivers must often sue the offending driver for damages in civil court. In such cases, the injured plaintiff will need to show evidence of the defendant driver’s positive blood-alcohol test following the accident. To prove the validity of that evidence, the plaintiff will need to show that the defendant’s blood samples followed an unbroken chain of custody. Lack of a satisfactory chain of custody could prevent the blood test results from being considered as evidence in court. Similarly, in medical malpractice cases, medical and hospital records handled through an unbroken chain of custody must be introduced as evidence. Sources and Further Reference Bergman, Paul. Chain of Custody for Evidence. Nolo.Federal Rules of Evidence: Rule 901. Authenticating or Identifying Evidence. Cornell Law SchoolKolata, Gina. Simpson Trial Shows Need for Proper Use of Forensic Science, Experts Say. New York Times (1995).Chain of Custody Forms for Drug Testing. Mediplex United, Inc.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Guthrie Essay - 854 Words

Everyone thinks differently and W. K. C Guthrie explains in his book The Greek Philosophers that philosophers think in a simple equation format. That equation, temperament x experience x previous philosophers, explains how philosophers abstain from â€Å"thinking in a void.† According to Guthrie this equation is the reason that â€Å"answers to the ultimate questions of philosophy have been so widely different† (Guthrie 19). Looking at a specific philosopher, Plato for example, this equation may be further analyzed. The first variable, temperament, is shown by Plato’s personality and interests, such as his concern for politics depicted in Plato’s Republic. The next, experience, explains why Plato has fixations with the ideas he possesses and the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"He [Plato] maintained that the objects of knowledge, the things which could be defined, did exist, but were not to be identified with anything in the perceptible world. Their ex istence was in an ideal world outside space and time† (Guthrie 88) Guthrie goes on to explain that these two â€Å"worlds† would be known as the ‘’World of Forms’’ and the ‘’World of Becoming.’’ Plato’s experiences of the two worlds are illustrated by the â€Å"Allegory of the Cave,† a fictional narrate of the journey of a philosopher, more specifically Plato. The cave is used as a metaphor of the world of becoming. While the shackled only see what they believe is reality, digging deeper will reveal the shadows on the wall are a false sense of being. It takes the â€Å"philosopher† being unshackled to be enlightened by the outside world of the essences of ideas, which Plato describes as the â€Å"world of forms.† Plato’s experience in this â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† has led to the idea of the inequality of intelligence which explains that not everyone is so blessed to be the â€Å"Philosopher King.† The title also lays the foundation for the highest honor in Plato’s Republic. However, Plato’s teacher, Socrates, thought the opposite that there is an equality of intelligence. The two philosophers are each other’s influences and have a profound effect on philosophy as we know it. The final and arguably most important factor in Guthrie’sShow MoreRelatedHistory Of Accounting And Private Sector1534 Words   |  7 Pagesadoption of ‘accrual basis’ of accounting rather than ‘cash basis’ accounting by increasing number of countries (Guthrie and Ryan 1998). Meanwhile, public sectors refer specifically to organizations owned by government and private sectors refer to those organizations which are not government, owned and run by individuals and companies for profit-oriented (Investopedia 2014). 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This paper will demonstrate the knowledge that I possess over how students at the kindergarten level learn, develop and apply writing strategies to comprehend informational text. Throughout the following essay my unit topic of informational writing will be discussed. Next, I will talk about how this topic connects with balanced literacy and give an overview on what exactly it is. Then, I describe the literary stages that a typical kindergarten student wouldRead MoreWhy Students Must Learn a Foreign Langauge Essay524 Words   |  3 Pagesable to answer one question. The question is what helps you get a better job, fights Alzheimer’s, and helps you later in life? If you answered that question and the answer wasn’t being bilingual or close to that answer then you may need to read the essay over again. We have answered one several problems above with only one answer kids need to study a foreign language. So by what you have read being bilingual can not only help you but the world. 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Saturday, December 14, 2019

Choose college Free Essays

Why did you choose to enroll In college and pursue your particular program of study? I decided to return to college to pursue my career as a dental assistant and have an improvement in my education. It seemed to be a step closer to achieving my professional and personal goals. Another reason was that I wanted to have a better education than Just a high school diploma. We will write a custom essay sample on Choose college or any similar topic only for you Order Now My ultimate goal is to be a provider and role model for my daughter Isabella. My next goal is to be dependent and to help my family financially. I know that when I finish my career I will have many more Job opportunities that I have now. My main reason for wanting to go to college is that I wanted to have a better life. I wasted a lot of time without studying anything, it was time for a major change. Not only made the decision to return to college for myself but also for my daughter Isabella, she deserves a better life. I’m tired of living paycheck to paycheck, Just making the minimum. Not everyone can go to college to deter themselves, I am fortunate to have this opportunity to be a better person. Another reason why I decided to study in college is because my recent experience of finding a good Job, they only take seriously people, who have a college degree. I do not want to be working in restaurants as a waitress or other similar work, and barely having enough money to help my family financially. Getting my degree in Dental Assistant would greatly help to get a Job that I really like and have the desire to go every day. This decision to return to college was the best decision I have made in all time. I know it’s a hard worktop achieve my goal, but with dedication I’ll make it. So far, I like college. At the end of everything really will be worth it and I will become the person who I want to be. Choose college By Julia Why did you choose to enroll in college and pursue your particular program of study? But also for my daughter Isabella, she deserves a better life. I’m tired of living time. I know it’s a hard work to achieve my goal, but with dedication I’ll make it. So How to cite Choose college, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

IT and Accounting

Question: Discuss about theIT and Accounting. Answer: The need to document an Information system Below are the reasons as to why Information Systems in Accounting are documented: To create an environment of accountability among employees for designated tasks and responsibilities (GWI, 2012). To help enable the evaluation of the performance of the system personnel. To help identify and appreciate the validity and strengths of the existing system as well as to develop ways of eradicating its weaknesses (Lord, 2016). To provide reference information to auditors. To regulate the cost incurred in system development and maintenance. To exhibit how the system works. How storing the same fact in different computer files can potentially affect the integrity of data? Data integrity is critical because it defines the usability of that information in its lifecycle (Lord, 2016). Storing the same fact data in different computer files can affect data integrity in the following ways: It makes it difficult to know which data is updated since when one updates information on one file it will not update all the other in files automatically. It makes data accessibility harder. That is, only the data owner is authorised to make changes. Other users are prohibited from compromising the data (Lord, 2016). It poses a threat to data security: Storing same fact information in different computer files create a loophole to be used by unauthorized users to access data (Lord, 2016). What Function with the IT organization should be segregated? Indeed the segregation of duties (SoD) plays an important role in risk assessment and audit (Singleton, 2012). Therefore there should be segregation of: IT duties from user Department. Database Administrator from the rest of IT functions. Applications development from database and other IT operations New application developments from Applications maintenance Information security from other IT functions Approaches to implementing a new ERP System There are two approaches that can be used to implement a new ERP System Enterprise-wide Full Installation The approach was often used in the early days of installing ERP. One should ensure a smoother transition through stating the ways through which the new ERP software will differ from the existing software regarding improvements (Marchello, 2016). Employees should be adequately trained for them to be comfortable with the new ERP Software (Marchello, 2016). Unit by Unit It is common in large companies with few and simple processes across units. In this approach, the management identifies a liberal and flexible group and installs a pilot ERP installation in the department (Marchello, 2016). When the company feels satisfied with the pilot installation, it is used as a reference to selling other units on ERP (Marchello, 2016). Disaster Recovery Plan It is a documented process used to recover and protect an entity's business IT infrastructure in case of a disaster. The pal outlines the procedures an organization is to follow during a disaster (Kirvan, 2012). The features of DRP are: Secure data storage Regular data backups Offsite locations Service redundancy Success Planning Employee preparation Section 2 How does EDI improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the purchases/ cash disbursement cycle? Give an example. Electronic data interchange (EDI) refers to a computer-based exchange application that facilitates the exchange of business documents between companies. Many companies use EDI to improve the efficiency of providing services (Yacht, 2016). EDI has proved to be less costly that handling document between companies manually. It has also eliminated errors that used to occur when documents are handled manually. Lastly, there is a faster flow of transactions between two or more companies (Singleton, 2012). For instance, in the case of purchases and sales transactions, EDI has assured companies effective monitoring of stock levels, effective use of warehouses, lower freight and holding cost, and reduction of out-of-stock instances. Studies have shown that the application of EDI, has improved the speed and efficiency of handling transaction between companies by over 60% (Kirvan, 2012). Explain how a manager can lessen information overload? Give examples. Approximately 62% of managers have admitted that their work has also been compromised by poor management of information i.e. they are unable to sort relevant information when needed. Such managers can do simply their work by controlling information overload. Lessening information overload helps in creating space for important documents and better decision making (Hastie, 2008). There are three key ways of lessening information overload namely; Focusing important information only and ignoring the rest. For example, a communication manager receiving over 400 reports weekly can review the reports for a period then only focus on 30 reports considered to be vital in decision making and organizational operations ( Kimball Ross , 2013). Having a standardized method of data collection. For example, Electronic Medical Record system is used in the hospitals to save relevant information collected from customers. Use search tools to obtain the information needed. This the best way of reducing information overload. For example, when a manager wants to obtain information on inventory production in the last financial year, he/ she have to type keywords into the search tool and only the relevant information will be extracted (Ghasemi, Barvayeh, Aslani, 2011). Discuss the purpose of a data warehouse? The main reason why data warehouse is used in business or companies is to execute business needs that cannot be fulfilled using a transaction system. First, with data warehouse, a manager can separate the data obtained from production activities from the data obtained from non-production activities. Second, data warehouse allows integration of data by connecting segregated data into one pool. Third, a data warehouse is used as a fundamental tool to support decision making in an organization (Marchello, 2016). What are audit trials? Explain the three security objectives of audit trials? Audit trial is an accounting term that refers to sequences of paperwork meant to either validate or invalidate. Conversely, in computing, audit trial is defined as a paper or electronic log used in tracking computer activity. For example, an illegal attempt by an employee to log in a secured computer by typing a wrong password would be recorded in the audit trial. Both in accounting or computing, audit trial is used to enhance security (Ghasemi, Barvayeh, Aslani, 2011). Three security objectives of audit tests are; First, detecting any authorized attempt by intruders to access a given system. Detecting and denial to aces help to protect transactions involves millions executed by organizations Second, audit trial helps to facilitate reconstruction of events from different sources to establish any attempts made to either corrupt the system or execute a fraud. Third, audit trial promotes personal accountability. For example, if an employ comprises the system for personal gain, audit trial can be used to trace his actions and make him pay ( Kimball Ross , 2013). Explain what an ERP application is and why it is used? List the core applications of an ERP? Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a management software applied by business to manage/ coordinate their activities. ERP comprises of functions such as development, planning, sales, marketing, stock, management, and planning (Hollander, Denna, Cherrington, 2009). The primary goal of an ERP software is to facilitate data-driven decision making in an organization. ERP is applied in collecting and organizing data to provide an insightful analysis of the business' performance indicators (Hastie, 2008). The key areas where ERP is applied in the business context are; Supply chain Inventory Purchasing Finance department Product lifecycle Human resource And, project management Section 3 Revenue Cycle Fundamental tasks performed in a revenue cycle A revenue cycle involves a set of procedures that happen between the periods a business gets materials to make a sale and the period the transaction is completed (Hangland, 2016). Its primary tasks are; Invoicing and updating accounts receivable Collecting money from customers. Documenting customers order and shipping the required merchandise Take customers order, check credit, inventory and respond to customer inquiries. Sales return Risks associated with the tasks There may be a loss of audit trial causing complications in the computer- related functions of the business (Pallardy, 2015). It 's hard for users to stay up-to-date because of the complexity of the computer technology. Increased chances of collision between different tasks taking place simultaneously (Hangland, 2016). There is little or no human intervention hence it was difficult to troubleshoot if the cycle fails unless a professional is called (Pallardy, 2015). Controlling the risks Seek the services of auditors who to first assess the inherent risks associated with the revenue cycle and conduct tests to determine that the cycle is free of errors (Hangland, 2016). The organization should carry out substantive tests to help find any error in misstatements in the accounts or documentation in the revenue cycle (Pallardy, 2015). Involvement in testing a system in the revenue cycle Being involved in testing the system enables me to know my role in the Revenue Cycle hence I can openly participate in the communication between different departments in the business (Hangland, 2016). This ensures that I have done my job well adding to the general productivity of the company in general. As the manager of an accounts receivable department, I would test for the following areas: Billing Check audit Sales return Invoices Apart from being directly related to my job description, conducting an analysis in the areas as mentioned above will ensure that I am well equipped to monitor accounts, both debit, and credit, hence ensuring that the department is running effectively (Hangland, 2016). Discuss why you should be involved in testing the systems and what areas you would test and why? Before the department starts to use a new revenue cycle system it would be important to involve departmental employees and me (as the manager) in its testing to determine two issues (Hangland, 2016). First, if the system is error free. And second, establish the inherent risks associated with it. Therefore, an auditor should be involved in conducting both the tests of controls and substantive tests to ensure that the new system supports the departmental activities. The manager should be ensured that the new system will not misstate consignment sales, return rights, refunds, and costs of sales, expenses and gross sales among other items. The test of controls will ensure that the new system would observe the accounting principles and ethics when recording sales transactions. Conversely, the substantive tests will involve a trial period where the system is observed closely to ensure that its free from misstatement and errors in the documentation of the revenue cycle transactions (Ghasemi, Barvayeh, Aslani, 2011). References Kimball, R., Ross , M. (2013). The Data Warehouse Toolkit: The Definitive Guide to Dimensional Modeling. New Jersey: Wiley. Ghasemi, M., Barvayeh, E., Aslani, M. (2011). The impact of Information Technology (IT) on modern accounting systems. World Conference on Educational Technology Researches . GWI. (2012, April 5). Top 8 Components of a Disaster Recovery Plan for Business. Retrieved October 8, 2016, from GWI: https://www.gwi.net Hangland, M. (2016, October 6). Finance, Revenue Cycle. Retrieved October 8, 2016, from Healthcare informatics: https://www.healthcares-information.com Hastie, T. (2008). The Elements of Statistical Learning: Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction. New York: : Springer. Hollander, A., Denna, E., Cherrington, O. J. (2009). Accounting, Information Technology, and Business Solutions. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Kirvan, P. (2012, December 2). IT disaster recovery (DR) Plan . Retrieved October 8, 2016, from Dissater Recovery: https://www.e-janco.com Kroenke, D. M., Auer, D. J. (2014). Database Concepts. New Jersey: Pearson. Lord, N. (2016, October 6). What is Data Intergrity? Data Protection 101. Retrieved October 2016, 2016, from Digital Guardian: https://www.digitalguardian.com Marchello, R. (2016, January 5). Do you Approach a new ERP System Implementation as an Opportunity for overall process redesign. Retrieved October 8, 2016, from Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com Pallardy, C. (2015, March 25). 5 thoughts on revenue Cycle Management. Retrieved October 8, 2016, from Hospital CFO: https://www.com Singleton, T. (2012, September 10). What Every IT Auditor Should Know About Proper Segregation of Incompatible IT Activities. Retrieved October 8, 2016, from ISACA: https://www.isaca.org Yacht, C. (2016). Compter Acconting with sage 50 2016. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.