Can the police use evidence if it's turned in anonymously?

[eerelations]

If you left said directions in a phone call, and said directions went to a park, you would get no results. But if you mailed said tape + directions to the cops, you would get at least the initiation of an investigation.

How many times do we have to tell you this before you get it?

 

[quincy]

Okay thanks. Well it seems the general consensus is, is that evidence will not be admitted, if the source who provides it remains anonymous. Someone has to testify as to what it is, is that right? What if in the recording though, the victim of the crime's name is mentioned? The full name.

If I left directions explaining who the victim is that is mentioned, can the police use her to corroborate it?

Why do you wish to remain anonymous?

And are your questions here for your creative writing?

Here, for your education, is a link to the Digital Media Law Project and California Recording Laws:

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/california-recording-law

 

[harmonica]

Okay thanks. When you say get an investigation going does that mean it would be enough to get search warrants or wire tap orders to find out more, or could the police not do that?

 

[CdwJava]

An anonymous package left for the police with a call to the police for them to find it could make the police call the bomb squad and blow your taped evidence to smithereens.

That is a very real possibility!

 

[CdwJava]

Okay thanks. When you say get an investigation going does that mean it would be enough to get search warrants or wire tap orders to find out more, or could the police not do that?

Probably not, no. It might be enough to open a case file, run a few names and see if there have been prior contacts and for what, check to see about any cases involving the parties, etc. Maybe even doing a knock and talk with the parties. But, a search warrant or wire tap (also requiring a warrant)? Not at all likely ... based solely on a discovered recording. But, details of what might be ON the recording could change that. Since that info is missing from your hypotheitcal, there's no way to know.

 

[cbg]

OP, EVEN IF this is a writing project, I am willing to help, and I suspect a few others would as well. But we need more input from you. What is the situation and what is the reason it has to be anonymous?

Please confirm if it is or isn't a writing project (because if it is we may be able to help you adjust the parameters to make it work) and more details about the issue. Thank you.

 

[harmonica]

Yes it is for a writing project. Sorry I did not mention that before, and I was just giving a hypothetical scenario. Sorry for not saying it was. I just thought that if I said it was, I might not get any serious feedback, since I know this forum is normally reserved for real cases.

But yes, I would like some help for writing a screenplay, if that is okay and not too much trouble.

 

[CdwJava]

As a writer, you can create whatever fictional circumstances you'd like to make the action pan out the way you'd like it to. But, if you want a true-to-life (i.e. real) scenario, some details will be vitally important.

 

[harmonica]

I am not sure yet for my story. I would like to know what the real life laws are first before I decide what is best for my fiction. But there seem to be disagreements in what evidence would be admissible and what would not be.

In my script, it's about a cop who wants to get evidence on suspects, who are suspected gang members. But he doesn't have enough evidence to get a search warrant or wire tap order to investigate further. However, I find myself at a paradox cause all of the evidence on the suspects is kept indoors, on private property, which the cop would not be allowed to search and seize.

So if this is the case, is there anyway to get evidence that has been searched and seized illegally, to the police and have it be admissible? If anonymously mailing it in does not work, is there any other way at all law wise? I mean there is the option of having a civilian bring it in, since the fourth amendment only applies to government. But all the cops would have to do is trace the civilian back to the cop, and find out that the civilian is associated to the cop. So if the civilian is still associated to the cop, would that be admissible then?

Or is there any other way to get admissible evidence, if it would logically, all be indoors?

 

[CdwJava]

I am not sure yet for my story. I would like to know what the real life laws are first before I decide what is best for my fiction. But there seem to be disagreements in what evidence would be admissible and what would not be.

The laws of evidence vary by state. A lot depends on what state the item is found in, and what the video contains. The disagreement is because the details matter. That, and in many instances the law is as clear as mud, which is why there are suppression hearings and the like that are raised by defendants.

In my script, it's about a cop who wants to get evidence on suspects, who are suspected gang members. But he doesn't have enough evidence to get a search warrant or wire tap order to investigate further. However, I find myself at a paradox cause all of the evidence on the suspects is kept indoors, on private property, which the cop would not be allowed to search and seize.

So if this is the case, is there anyway to get evidence that has been searched and seized illegally, to the police and have it be admissible? If anonymously mailing it in does not work, is there any other way at all law wise? I mean there is the option of having a civilian bring it in, since the fourth amendment only applies to government. But all the cops would have to do is trace the civilian back to the cop, and find out that the civilian is associated to the cop. So if the civilian is still associated to the cop, would that be admissible then?

An illegal search conducted at the behest of a law enforcement officer would be inherently unlawful. Thus, it would be suppressed.

Again, what action could be taken or WOULD be taken would depend on the details. A bunch of thugs sitting around listening to Snoop Dog is not going to be actionable. A bunch of them flashing their gats and bragging about capping someone that was just found dead last week might be compelling if sent in anonymously. At the very least, the cops would look into it. Whether it would be enough for a search warrant would depend on the prosecutor, the judge, and state law. And, if it ever came out that a cop encouraged someone to obtain the evidence illegally, then it would all be tossed.

Or is there any other way to get admissible evidence, if it would logically, all be indoors?

How about one of the guys or their girls - or a friend who was inadvertently present (a BFF of one of the gangster girlfriends) - and they caught something while making an instagram or snap chat video, or recording crap personally. Perhaps they felt guilty, played it for a friend who is a cop, knows a cop, etc., and then sent it along. There's a possibility that such a recording could be admissible.

But, if sent anonymously, you would again have problems of validation that might be necessary to use it as probable cause even for a search warrant.

I would recommend that you see about working with a local detective or gang officer, or someone in local law enforcement, and see if they can help you craft a true-to-life scenario.

 

[harmonica]

Okay thanks. I already met a law enforcement officer to craft a real life scenario.

He came up with two that he said would most likely fly with a judge. He said that either the video is mailed in anonymously, or an anonymous call is placed leading the police to where the video recording can be found in plain view, with the caller describing exactly what crime is on it. He said that if the police know which suspects to look for, cause of the faces on the tape, that the police do not have enough authorization to enter private property, but that they could detain the suspect for questioning, as long as he is outdoors. But it was said on here, that that scenario would not fly with a judge, so the cop I talked to was wrong perhaps then.

Now in my story, the villain wants to have collateral on some other characters. So he video tapes the other characters committing a murder, and uses that as leverage on them in order to control them. This is the video that would be the evidence. You say that the video can be used to get search warrants. However the villain has no other reason to keep any other evidence of the murder. The only evidence he has a logical motivation to keep around, is the videotape for leverage. So that is the only evidence he has reason to keep around, and thus a warrant for future searches would not do any good, cause there is no other evidence.

Is there anyway to make the one piece of evidence admissible, since the gang leader would no reason to keep anything else around? I could technically use someone in the gang making a video of it but, then I would have to create another character who would just have to kind of come out of nowhere and save the day. Is their any way the main character cop particularly can develop his own plan, even if it means using another person if need be?

But bottom line is, I don't think that getting a future search warrant would do any good, since the villain has no reason to keep evidence of a murder, around on his property. What about a video of a murder being enough to get a warrant for a court order to record the suspects conversations between one another with a parabolic microphone or a device like that? Would a videotape of a murder, from an anonymous source be enough to get a court order to record conversations of the suspects in the video?

 

[HighwayMan]

Honestly, why don't you go hire a consultant if you're writing a book or movie and leave us out of it?

 

[cbg]

I object to "hypothetical" situations which can be anything from a poster trying out his defense to someone who is bored and wants to stir things up. And I really object to helping students with their homework - the professor wants THEIR work, not ours.

But I don't mind helping writers - I am one. This particular issue proved to be a bit beyond my skill set so I wasn't much good. If you don't want to help, you don't have to. But there are those of us who are okay with this kind of research - kindly allow us to do so.

 

[harmonica]

Well I wanted more than one opinion since a lot of people seem to disagree, in order to see what everyone thinks about the law.

Thanks for the help though.

There is one thing I found in the law. It says that evidence that was obtained by the police breaking and entering can still be used, if the place they got it from is owned by someone else, other than the person being prosecuted. So if of a leader of a gang, has one of his members on video committing murder, and he is keeping it as leverage against his member, can the police break into the leader's property, take it, and use it to prosecute the other gang member, since it's the other gang member the police want to prosecute, and he does not own the property of where the video is being kept?

 

[CdwJava]

I have a few ideas, but, they are based upon CA law which may be different than the law in the state where your story takes place. That's why it might be best to consult a local law enforcement professional who can better explain what is likely to happen where this story takes place. Police and legal procedural matters can vary a great deal even within the same state. For instance, how things worked in San Diego County was not the same as they might have worked in Sacramento County. Different policies of the agencies, prosecutors and courts can make these jurisdictions sometimes feel as if they are foreign entities. They hold some things in common, but, you are asking for a scenario based largely upon state interpretations of the law.