Regarding the evidence and related issues that you wrote about in the previous question, what types of problems could these issues present for a prosecutor in the case?

Thanks to her job in the crime lab, Cristina has become somewhat of an expert in chain of custody issues. That's good, because she's about to face a very confusing situation involving chain of custody.

Scenario: Cristina has just come into the crime lab, where Detective John Jones and several boxes of evidence are waiting for her. As he leaves the lab, Jones tells her, “These are the boxes for a burglary case we picked up last night. I'm just dropping them off.”

As she starts to unpack the boxes, Cristina notices some problems right away.

She starts to create a list of items so she can determine which pieces of evidence have chain of custody issues, why they have issues, and what needs to be done about it.

1. One envelope of pink powder found at the scene. The envelope of powder is labeled with where at the scene it was found (spilled next to the door). It was tested in an outside expert's lab and found to be a substance that makes picking locks easier. Cristina notes that the lab opened the envelope where the officer had sealed it and signed over the seal. Then they sealed it over in the same place and signed over their seal.

2. One envelope of pink powder. This envelope is sealed, signed, and dated. However, it does not provide other information about where it was taken from or what it is. Cristina, having read the police report, believes it was taken from a suspect's pocket away from the scene, but the label does not say this.

3. One large bag with a description of “shattered glass fragments” gathered at the scene. The bag is sealed and signed, and it specifies that its contents were taken from the scene. Cristina notes there are at least two different kinds of glass in the bag. She cannot tell from the chain of custody details whether all of the glass was found together or simply bagged together.

Cristina thinks each of these items has a chain of custody problem. Answer the following question in your notes. This process will allow you to describe some basic chain of custody issues, as well as to connect some rules to their larger meaning and importance within the criminal justice system.