Page 170 - CFDI Guide

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APPENDIX A – Definitions Common to Death / SBI investigation

ACE-V - Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation and Verification is a forensic science principle of examining

forensic evidence.
Best-Evidence Rule - Is a misleading name for the courts' preference for original writings, recordings, and

photographs over copies, when the contents are sought to be proved. The purpose of this rule at
common law was to avoid the potential for inaccuracies contained in handmade copies. The current rule

contained in the Federal Rules of Evidence requires the use of original writings, recordings, and
photographs (including X-rays and motion pictures), but the rule defines original to include most

photocopies or prints from the same negative. The risk of inaccuracies from these types of duplicates is
almost non-existent. When the original evidence is lost, destroyed, unobtainable, or in the possession

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of the opponent, the court will not require a party to produce the original.
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Cause of Action - The legal basis for filing a civil suit.
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Cause of Death - The disease, injury, or combination of conditions that leads to the death of the individual.
Common Law - The common law of England that was adopted by states. Many states have codified common

law into statutes. Common law also refers to traditional laws of an area or region, as decided by the

courts.
Contributory Negligence - A doctrine of common law that if a person was injured in part due to his/her own
negligence (his/her negligence "contributed" to the accident), the injured party would not be entitled

to collect any damages (money) from another party who supposedly caused the accident. Under this

rule, a badly injured person who was only slightly negligent could not win in court against a very
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negligent defendant. (see Comparative Negligence)
Comparative Negligence - A rule of law applied in accident cases to determine responsibility and damages
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based on the negligence of every party directly involved in the accident.
CSI Effect - A juror’s (jury’s) unrealistic expectation that forensic evidence is abundant, indisputable, failsafe,
inexpensive and necessary to prove/disprove a case.

1 Adapted from ‘Reviewing and Comprehending Autopsy Reports’, Dean A. Beers, CLI, 2010 – adapted to ‘Practical
Methods for Legal Investigations: Concepts and Protocols in Civil and Criminal Cases’, CRC Press 2011
2 http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/evidence
3 Colorado Peace Officers Legal Source Book (2003, Colorado District Attorneys’ Council and Colorado Attorney
General)
4 Basic Competencies in Forensic Pathology (College of American Pathologists, 2006)
5 http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/contributory+negligence
6 http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/comparative+negligence