Minnesota v. Riff Interpersonal Communications/CJA-304 September 24, 2011 University of Phoenix Abstract Identify and discuss the various types of written or oral communication presented in the case and the guidelines for each type of communication. Consider the prosecution, defense, witnesses, and the judge. Write an arrest-and-incident police report using the specified guidelines and parameters for report writing as outlined in the assigned readings. Assume the role of the investigating officer.
The report must be factual, accurate, objective, and complete. Ensure the police report is as long as necessary, concise, clear, and mechanically correct. Types of Written and Oral Communication Prosecution The various types of written and oral communications that is presented in criminal cases for the prosecution are indictments, police reports, and investigating reports and pictures. Oral communication is when the prosecution has to present their opening statements and closing arguments to the jury.
The statements must be clear and concise. Oral communication is shown between the Prosecutor, the Defense Attorney, and the Judge which ensures everyone remains focused on the case at hand and the defendant receives due process and all rights of the defendant are protected. Judge Written and Oral Communication for Judge in criminal cases would consist of the Judge’s Instruction Sheet which gives written directions and instructions to the Jurors. The Judge exhibits oral communication during criminal cases by acting as a referee.
He makes a ruling in the form of Attorney Objections, giving warnings to keep quiet to the courtroom to prevent delays, and warns of any disruptions. The Judge will also announce the opening and closing statements and verbally dismisses the courtroom. Defense The defense in this situation disputed that Mr. Riff gained the $910. 00, from a poker game the evening of the robbery. Mr. Riff had five eyewitnesses who allegedly seen Mr. Riff collect the cash at the poker game, which included a Canadian five dollar bill. The witnesses stated that the sacks that Mr.
Riff was charged with carrying that contained the money were issued to him at the poker game. Mr. Riff testified he grabbed the hammer to use as a security measure for him in order to protect his winnings. The Defense disputes Mr. Riff tossed the hammer away prior to arriving home and in no way meant to steal from the market. The Defense in this case exercised oral communication by exploiting the redundancy in this case. This was to establish that the eyewitness testimonies for the prosecution were incorrect and imperfection was found during the police investigation.
Witnesses The witnesses in the Minnesota v. Riff case would have used verbal communication when communicating with the police and the Defense Attorney. During the trial they would have used oral communication. The witnesses would also have used visual communication in describing to the Judge, the Prosecutor, the Defense Attorney, and the Jury what they saw. Also, the witnesses would have used written communication during their personal statements to the police and the Attorneys. Police Arrest/Incident Report Incident Type: Burglary
Incident Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011 Time: Approximately 12:30 am Address: Marquette’s Market- Corner of Main and First Street Officer Name: Officer Terry Shields, Minnesota Police Department Offender/Suspect: Ronald Riff Victim: Speedy Marquette (Store Owner) Witnesses: Marty Martini, Melvin Strongarm, Rusty Fender, Otis Ripple, Soapy Waters, Betty Biddy, C. Sharp, and Guido Concertino Report Details: On Saturday morning of July 30, 2011 at 12:30 am, Officer Terri Shields was dispatched by the desk Sergeant to investigate a possible burglary at
Marquette’s Market located off Main and First Street in Midtown Minnesota. Upon arriving at the scene, I noticed that the rear door of the market had been smashed open with a heavy blunt object. I proceeded to check the cash register that was also smashed open. The remaining amount of money remaining in the register was $7. 83, in coins and two checks, one for $10. 00 and the other for $5. 80. After interviewing the owner Speedy Marquette, the alleged burglary could have occurred between 12:00am-12:25am. He stated that the money that was taken could have been placed in a tan cloth bag labeled “Midtown State Bank”.
It included the missing $910. 00, and a Canadian five dollar bill. Upon further investigation and interview of the witness, he stated that the suspect and his girlfriend were seen walking into Red’s Pleasure card room to play poker about 8 pm Friday July 29, 2011. According to the witness Marty Martini Id-180454, Ronald Riff winnings totaled to be around 100-200 dollars. After leaving Red’s Pleasure palace alone around midnight on Saturday July 30, 2011, suspect Riff stopped by Rusty’s Auto Body. While speaking to the body shop owner, Riff notice a hammer that was sitting in plain view.
Before leaving the body shop, Riff picked up the hammer and departed. The suspect then proceeded to Marquette’s Market where he entered the store unlawfully and proceeded to retrieve the cash from the register. When I interviewed witness Otis Ripple Id-987543, he told me that while he was taking his break, around 12:15a. m, he noticed a kid throwing something by the trash cans near the southeast corner of the market. He took me to the place where the object was thrown and I discovered the hammer laying on the ground.
After interviewing witness Rust Fender Id-453678, he mentioned that he had closed his shop around 12:30 am. He then discovered he misplaced his hammer. I retrieved the hammer that was in my possession and asked if he could identify the type of hammer. Rusty was able to identify the hammer as the one from his shop. According to witness Betty Biddy, she saw suspect Riff tossing a bag near the bushes. After the suspect walked away, witness Biddy approached the bushes and noticed the bag. It was a cloth tan bag that was labeled with the words “Midtown State Bank”.
Witness C. Sharp, owner of Sharp music store had mentioned that Riff came into the store the next day about 10:30 am to purchase a guitar with a price tag of $875. 00. He told me suspect Riff was carrying a wad of large and small bills. He refused to take the Canadian Bill that Riff attempted to give him. The description of the alleged suspect according to witnesses Betty Biddy and Otis Ripple, was wearing denim jeans and a blue band jacket. On the back of the jacket it reads, “Deep Water Reunion” and on the front it reads DWR in white letters.
