Material evidence
Physical evidence are litigation objective evidence that the law enforcement agencies ( police , prosecutor's office ) and the court the evidence of a crime or delinquent act.
General
Material evidence is not a stand-alone piece of evidence, but is combined with personal evidence to be evaluated by the law enforcement authorities and the courts when establishing the truth. The code of criminal procedure and case law do not recognize any “subjective” or “objective” evidence in criminal proceedings. As with personal evidence, material evidence also requires interpretation. The material evidence found at the scene of the crime can be misjudged if it has been falsified (false documents , intentionally laid traces) or material evidence has been destroyed (destruction of a hard drive ). In these cases, the evidence may be incorrect. The meaningfulness of material evidence must therefore be clearly established.
The technical development of forensics brings with it a growing importance of material evidence, because natural science has created more precise analysis possibilities. It is therefore the task of forensic science to seek, secure, examine and assess material evidence with the aim of supporting the evidence in criminal proceedings through the use of scientific procedures. As a rule, material evidence must be supplemented by personal evidence (such as an expert). Contradictions between factual and personal evidence will usually turn out in favor of the substantive evidence.
species
The material evidence includes objects ( § 94 , § 103 StPO ), pieces of evidence ( § 147 Paragraph 1 StPO), traces of a criminal offense ( § 103 StPO; e.g. fingerprints , photographs , videographs , DNA traces ), tapes from the control center and reports , traces or features ( Section 86 StPO), certificates and documents ( Section 249 StPO).
In Germany there are several types of expert opinion as evidence:
- Authority reports ( § 256 StPO),
- Witness and expert witness ( § 85 StPO) and
- Expert and judicial expert ( § 72 StPO).
Evidence
The substantive evidence is provided by u. a. Adapted devices , Tatbeute , determination results (z. B. forensic report , lawful interception , retention , video recording ) in the inquiry are introduced. Some material evidence is only provided by (medical) experts or experts (e.g. autopsy ). The inspection (e.g. site inspection) is also material evidence ( §§ 86 ff. StPO).
The whereabouts of the material evidence
Movable items that have been seized according to § 111c StPO , are still in official custody ( evidence ) and are no longer required in criminal proceedings, should be surrendered according to § 111k StPO. This breaks the principle according to which a confiscated object - as an actus contrarius for confiscation, as it were - must be sent to the last person in custody. Material evidence will be returned to the owner after it has become legally binding if it is not confiscated or forfeited or otherwise remains in sovereign custody (e.g. to avert danger - rarely). This includes traces and their evaluations (DNA reports), means of crime, acquired goods and telephone monitoring protocols.
Individual evidence
- ^ BGH , judgment of June 13, 1952, Az. 2 StR 259/52, BGHSt 3, 52, 53.
- ↑ BGH, judgment of August 19, 1993, 4 StR 627/92, full text = BGHSt 39, 291, 297.
- ↑ a b Alexander Elster / Rudolf Sieverts / Heinrich Lingemann / Hans Joachim Schneider (eds.): Handwortbuch der Kriminologie , 1979, p. 269.
- ↑ Horst Clages / Rolf Ackermann: The red thread - principles of criminal practice , 2012, p. 294.
- ^ Thomas C. Knierim: Internal Investigations: Investigations in the company , 2013, p. 501.
