LEGAL MEDICINE

LECTURE 4

WALTER RANDOLPH C. JALGALADO, M.D.

MEDICAL EVIDENCES
EVIDENCES
- are the means, sanctioned by the Rules of
Court, of ascertaining in judicial proceedings
the truth respecting a matter of fact. If the
means employed to prove a fact is medical in
nature, then it becomes a medical evidence.
METHODS OF PRESERVING EVIDENCE
1. Photographs, audio and/or video tape, micro-film,
Photostat, Xerox, voice tracing, etc.
2. Sketching- rough drawing of the scene or object to be
preserve is done. It must be simple, identifying significant
items and with exact measurement.
3. Description- putting into words the person or thing to be
preserved. It must cause a vivid impression on the mind
of the reader, a true picture of the thing described.
 METHODS OF PRESERVING EVIDENCE
4. Manikin Method- miniature model of a scene or of a human
body indicating marks of a various aspects of the things to be
preserved.
5. Preservation in the Mind of the Witness
6. Special Methods- Special way of treating certain type of
evidence may be necessary. Preservation may be essential
from the time it is recovered to make the condition
unchanged up to the period it reaches the criminal
laboratory for appropriate examination.
CHINA’S TERRACOTA WARRIORS
TYPES OF MEDICAL EVIDENCES
AUTOPTIC OR REAL EVIDENCE
This evidence made known or addressed to the senses of
the court.
Limitations to the Presentation of Autoptic Evidence:
- Indecency and Impropriety
- Repulsive Objects
EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE

A medical witness may be

allowed by court to confirm an
allegation or as a corroborated
proof to an opinion
previously stated.
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

1. Medical and Physical Examination

2. Necropsy (Autopsy)
3. Laboratory Examination
4. Exhumation
5. Birth or Death Certification
6. Deposition
7. Medical Expert Opinion
 PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

1. Corpus Delicti Evidence – objects or

substances which may be a part of the body
of the crime.
2. Associative Evidence- these are physical
evidence which link a suspect to the crime.
3. Tracing Evidence- these are physical
evidence which may assist the investigator in
locating the suspect.
 TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE
Physician may be commanded to appear before a
court to give his testimony. He is obliged to
answer questions propounded by counsel
except when these information are considered
privileged communication.
 TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE
As a rule, hearsay information is not
admissible in court as these are data that
are handed from one person to another,
therefore, veracity is difficult to
ascertain. An exception will be a dying
declaration.
 DYING DECLARATION
- is a statement made by a person who is lying at the point
of death and conscious of his approaching dissolution,
in reference to the manner in which he received the
injuries of which his dying;
- other immediate cause of his death and in reference to
the person who inflicted such injuries of such person
who is charged or suspected to having committed them
DYING DECLARATION IS CONSIDERED BY THE COURT
WHEN THE FOLLOWING REQUISITES:
1. The declarant was conscious of his impending death
2. The declarant was in full possession of his mental
faculties when he made the declaration.
3. The declaration must be with regards to his impending
death
4. That such evidence is presented in court in a case of
homicide, parricide or murder.
DECEPTION DETECTION
 DECEPTION DETECTION
1. Recording of Psycho-physiological Responses
2. Use of Word Association Test
3. Use of the Psychological Stress Evaluator
4. Use of Drugs to inhibit the inhibitor (sodium
thiopental)
5. Narcoananlysis and Narcosynthesis
DECEPTION DETECTION
6. Intoxication with alcohol
7. Hypnosis
8. Observation
9. Scientific Interrogation
10. Confession*
 RECORDING OF PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL
RESPONSES (POLYGRAPH TEST)

Phases of Examination
i. Pre-test interview
ii. Actual interrogation and recording through the instrument
Standard test questions: 1. Irrelevant questions
2. Relevant questions.
3. Control questions
iii. Post-test interrogation
 FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE 25% ERRORS
OF THE LIE DETECTOR:
1. Nervousness or extreme emotional tension experienced by a
subject who is telling the truth regarding the offense in question
2. Physiological abnormalities
3. Mental abnormalities
4. Unresponsiveness in a living or guilty subject
5. Attempt to ―beat the machine‖ by controlled breathing or by
muscular flexing
6. Unobserved application of muscular pressure which produces
ambiguities and misleading indications in the blood pressure
tracing
 WORD ASSOCIATION TEST

A list of stimulus and non-stimulus words are read to the

subject who is instructed to answer as quickly as possible.
The time interval between the words uttered by the
examiner and the answer of the subject is recorded. The
test is not concerned with the answer, be it a ―yes‖ or
―no‖. The important factor is the time of response in
relation to the stimulus or non-stimulus words.
 USE OF DRUGS THAT TRY TO ―INHIBIT THE
INHIBITOR
a. Truth serum – In the test, hyoscine hydrobromide is given
hypodermically in repeated doses until a state of delirium is
induced. When the proper point is reached, the questioning
begins and the subject feels a compulsion to answer the questions
truthfully.
b. Narcoanalysis or narcosynthesis – practically the same as that
of administration of truth serum. The only difference is the drug
used. Psychiatric sodium amytal or sodium penthotal is
administered to the subject.
c. Intoxication – the apparent stimulation effect of alcohol is really
the result of the control mechanism of the brain, so alcohol, like
truth serum, and narcoanalytic drugs ―inhibit the inhibitor‖. (In
vino veritas – in wine there is truth)
 SCIENTIFIC INTERROGATION
Techniques of Interrogation
a. Emotional appeal – interrogator must create a mood that is conducive
to confession
b. Mutt and Jeff technique – there must be at least 2 investigators with
opposite character; one (Mutt) who is arrogant and relentless, and the
other (Jeff) who is friendly, sympathetic and kind.
c. Bluff on split-pair technique – applicable where there are two or more
persons who allegedly participated in the commission of a crime.
While one of them is interrogated, the interrogator may claim that the
subject was implicated by the author and that there is no use for him to
deny participation.
 SCIENTIFIC INTERROGATION
Techniques of Interrogation
d. Stern approach – questions must be answered clearly,
and the interrogator utilizes harsh language.
e. The subject is given the opportunity to make a lengthy,
time-consuming narration.
f. Confession – an expressed acknowledgment by the
accused in a criminal case of the truth of his guilt as to
the crime charged, or of some essentials thereof.