Hi,
@Emma Peel. I have no problem with individuals or groups starting any legal fundraiser. If they want to use the money to pay a defense attorney or buy a new car or get plastic surgery, that is up to them. We see all kind of fundraisers for all kinds of causes.
I think it gets murky when we have an attorney working in an official capacity who is soliciting funds for trial purposes. In order to avoid an impression of impropriety, I think a fundraiser such as this should be at least once removed from the attorneys’ offices. MOO
Hi
@OldCop , I have questions regarding evidence storage, if you have time.
How does LE make sure homicide case evidence is secure/preserved? What type of measures are typically put into place to avoid loss of data?
In your career, did you ever witness loss of 2 months + 2 weeks and 6TB of homicide case evidence? Or loss of 2 weeks of evidence from the first week after the body(ies) were discovered? If so, what were the circumstances? I understand there can be natural disasters like floods, or fires.
If you were collecting evidence or taking a statement, were there any things that you did individually to secure important information (I.e., make like make duplicate copies that were stored in different places or on a private server)?
To clarify, the reason I ask is because in the transcript from the March 18 (2024) hearing, LE Stephen Mullin testifies that interviews/evidence collected Feb 13-Feb 20 2017 (the first week) stored on a DVR system was lost/it was overwritten-apparently 6TB of interviews missing, which would be approximately 48 hours of constant video recording (p. 49, 52, 55). He also testified investigative data collected between April 28 2017-June 30 2017 was either lost or corrupted (p. 66-76).
How could this lost data potentially influence a homicide case, whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty? Would you consider this a big deal or does it happen often?
Thank you so much for your input!
Source: page 49, 52, 55, 66-76
Transcript: Record of Proceedings at Hearing on Motion to Dismiss, Held MARCH 18, 2024
March 18, 2024 Motion to Dismiss Hearing.pdf