What is a Chain of Custody Form for Evidence?
An evidence chain of custody form is an essential document in the legal and criminal justice fields, designed to provide a thorough and legally-acceptable record of how evidence has been handled. It is commonly used in various situations as part of an official investigation, such as a law enforcement inquiry, a corporate compliance investigation or in any other legal-related matter that requires the presentation of admissible evidence in court. Properly completing a chain of custody form is critical to the proper administration of the legal system, and protecting the rights of individuals.
The purpose of an evidence chain of custody form is to establish and maintain a painstakingly accurate record of the handling and control of evidence gathered during an investigation . This should begin with the very first activity in a given case. If, for example, someone has come forward with a tip about suspected criminal activity, the tip itself may become evidence that must be maintained properly. An evidence chain of custody form would track the receipt of the tip, the actions taken to investigate it and any possible evidence that came as a result, down to the location of any notes or data logs.
No matter what the evidence might be, the form should track its discoveries, handling and storage at every step along the way as it is handled by various individuals in multiple interrelated workflows. It should also be comprehensive enough to document each person who touches the evidence, until it is ultimately presented to the court.
Why is it Critical to Maintain an Accurate Chain of Custody?
Maintaining a precise chain of custody is essential in your case because evidence that is not properly handled or accurately tracked could be dismissed by the judge. Additionally, per Rule 902 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, you must be able to submit admissible evidence in court. There is a strict set of standards through which chain of custody must be maintained in order for the evidence submitted to be deemed admissible. Failing to maintain a chain of custody will likely result in exclusions of witness testimony, which may harm your case; even if the excluded testimony was favorable to your case, that information cannot be presented to the judge.
In some cases, particularly large-scale corporate or white collar criminal matters, violations of the proper chain of custody can even lead to criminal liability. When a person representing the government of the United States transports or handles evidence in a manner that is not consistent with proper chain of custody standards, it may constitute a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519, also known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which prohibits the alteration or destruction of records in federal investigations or bankruptcy. If someone is found guilty of an offense under the rule and if the offense was committed with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence, the potential penalty is fined, imprisonment for up to 20 years, or both.
Key Components in a Chain of Custody
It is critical that a chain of custody form includes the following information: description of the evidence, location where it was found, name of collector, method of collection, location of collection, names of transporters, names of transferor and transferee is transfer has occurred, and the date and time of collection, transfer and transfer. All names must be typed or printed and the signatures must be in ink. If a date or time is not applicable, mark it as N/A. This way, no abuse can be claimed at a later time. If an accident occurs while the chain of custody is broken, you will know who was responsible at the time of the break. To rule in or out a break in the chain of custody, the date, time, and location are important. For example, if the chain of custody showed that the registered owner had possession of the vehicle but the accident happened 2 weeks before the accident, this would show that the person was not using the vehicle at the time of the accident.
How to Properly Fill Out a Chain of Custody
How the chain of custody form is completed can affect its validity. Incorrectly completed chain of custody forms can lead to exclusion of vital evidence in court. In this section, we will describe the step-by-step process for completing a chain of custody form correctly.
Accurate Form Completion
At the scene of a crime, the evidence technician must document where and when each piece of evidence is collected. If there is more than one piece of evidence that is being collected, then each piece of evidence will need a separate line created on the chain of custody form. The date, time, and location of the evidence should be noted. It must then be signed by the evidence technician who collected the piece of evidence. After the evidence is collected, there should be a fair amount of descriptive detail on the chain of custody form to describe the item collected. You may need to include the serial number, the brand, and a general description of the condition of the item. The next step is to offer a description of how, in a general sense, the item was collected, handled, preserved, and protected. The next step is to have the chain of custody form be signed and dated by a witness who observes the evidence being placed into a secure area, whether it is a safe or a property room. The person who observes the final placement of the evidence should also note the date and time. The person who witnessed the placement of the evidence should then note it was placed in the secure area, sign and date the chain of custody form, and be sure to provide their printed name. This process is very important because it helps backtrack the path the evidence takes in the chain of custody process.
Challenges in Maintaining Chain of Custody
The chain of custody, while critical to the usefulness of evidence in litigation, is particularly prone to mistakes as it involves numerous steps and numerous actors. The most obvious phase that tends to be problematic is the initial collection (or the seizing of evidence) and the resulting documentation of that effort. However, unforeseen events such as leaks, environmental exposure, and even natural disasters can occur. In many instances, evidence is collected correctly but then misplaced or misappropriated along the way. Further, even where crime labs do their utmost for accuracy, human errors still occur . Finally, mutual destruction, though relatively rare, is still a risk in litigation. Below are some examples of situations where the chain of custody could break and how the challenges listed above can cause problems as well as how to avoid those challenges: It is important to note that these are just some common examples of how the chain of custody could become compromised – other examples are abundant. Even seemingly common practices can come back to haunt you later in terms of the admissibility of evidence or the availability of proper authentication. It pays to clarify chain of custody procedures with process servers, detectives, and investigators.
Leveraging Tech in Evidence Chain of Custody
As evidence chain of custody forms continue to evolve and become central to litigation, the need for digital tools that can efficiently and accurately manage these forms becomes paramount. Leading-edge technology in this space have focused on driving efficiency, ensuring accuracy in every step of the process, and automating with prescribed business processes. This enhances the potential for success in a legal dispute—and may even reduce legal fees. Digital tools can have a real impact on the way chain of custody forms are created, stored, transmitted, and tracked. For example, when parties are using Microsoft SharePoint for case management or project management, they can also deploy workflow automation tools that keep track of chain of custody forms, no matter which parties they’re sent to, or how many times they’re sent around (e.g., collected by witnesses, authenticated by experts, sent to opposing counsel, etc.). Legal teams can design a digital chain of custody form that meets their specific needs and use it to create templates that ensure the process is adhered to. By ensuring a consistent process, a digital tool helps to remove the potential for human error at every step along the chain. This not only helps parties submit superior evidence in a court setting, but is also extremely useful when it’s necessary to produce chain of custody forms to regulators, government agencies, and outside counsel. Using digital tools to manage the chain of custody process can also help legal teams track forms in real time, instantly check logs to see which parties have and haven’t sent forms, and maintain secure collaboration channels to ensure no outside parties inadvertently have access to sensitive information. These advanced digital capabilities also provide a comprehensive audit trail, which can demonstrate that the evidence in question has remained unaltered before brilliant legal minds go to work on the next steps. Not only is this helpful in the event of a dispute, but it’s also essential to making sure that the integrity of the evidence isn’t compromised at any point.
Case Studies: Chain of Custody Gone Wrong
Case studies offer a compelling glimpse into what happens when the chain of custody is broken.
A fascinating case study involves a drug-related civil case that pitted a Wyoming mother against her son’s step-dad. In this case, police discovered meth in the son’s urine and hair after he allegedly died of a drug overdose. With the evidence chain of custody in disarray, the judge ruled that most of the evidence, including the hair sample, could not be used in court.
From there, the case fell apart, exemplifying how vital a single link in the chain can be. In the end, the absence of custody in the hair evidence opened the floodgates of questionable character.
A second chain of custody fails comes from case law reporting. In State v. Rockey, the convicted could be presumed guilty if it was clear that:
"1) an item of physical evidence was left in the exclusive custody of another person;
2) the item was not altered or changed during the time it was in the other person’s possession; and
3) the item was admitted in evidence and connected with the crime . "
In other words, custody for the evidence was successfully established, and it was directly related to the accused.
Clearly, after the fact is not the time to "make" the chain of custody. Chain of custody software solutions that track evidence from the moment it touches a person’s hands and follow it through the process are necessary to establish the evidence chain.
As police officers track evidence through software, they can also free up their time for investigations by generating evidence reports. Rather than sifting through stacks of paperwork, police can generate reports with the press of a button, and these reports inform and update the public once a case has been closed.
Police departments are poised to spend $4.3 billion on cloud security technology. These dollars can ensure custody of the evidence and potentially curb chains of custody fail.