Assignment: In at least one (1) page, for this writing assignment, find the criminal code in your state (or a state of your choosing) for murder. Cite the appropriate criminal code(s) in your state and identify the elements of the offense that as an investigator you would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a court. Include in your paper the types of investigative skills and techniques that you think you would need to employ to prove those elements.
For your writing assignment:
(1) identify the appropriate criminal code for your state for murder (NOTE – Many states have first degree, second degree, and manslaughter – you may pick ONE specific offense type for this paper) Be sure to include a citation for your source;
POTENTIAL SOURCE for STATE CRIMINAL CODES: https://www.law.cornell.edu/states/listing (Links to an external site.)
(2) describe what you believe your biggest challenge as an investigator would be proving all of those elements of the offense;
(3) identify AT LEAST ONE investigative tool or technique that you think would be critical to solving that case and explain why it is important; and
(4) do you believe homicide investigations generally require more expertise than other types of criminal investigations or can any investigator conduct a thorough homicide investigation, support your answer.
Submission Requirements
- APA Style elements required
- Separate Title Page with Name, class, date and topic/title
- At least one (1) page of your writing on this topic that includes using in-text citations
- 12 point font
- Times New Roman or Arial
- Separate Reference Page – List detailed source information for all references
Grading Criteria
- Review the grading rubric below this assignment to see how it is assessed.
Course Resources
Course readings imbedded into the course.
Brown, Thomas. (2019), “Criminal Investigation”. Virginia Wesleyan University. OERCommons. eBook.
Viewed from: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/criminal-investigation/view#
Lewandowski, Carla and Jeff Bumgarner. (2021) “Criminal Justice in America: The Encyclopedia of Crime,
Law Enforcement, Courts and Corrections”, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Volumes 1 and 2: Available
Online via EGCC Gale EBooks at: Gale eBooks,
link.gale.com/apps/pub/69TZ/GVRL?u=steu43952&sid=bookmark-GVRL
Accessed 14 June 2022.
