1. What is your essential question? What is the best answer to your question and why?
My essential question is; What is most important in securing a conviction in a criminal investigation? My best answer is my third one which is; Following chain of command to properly present evidence to a jury and this is my best answer because it really is the only way to guarantee a conviction since any evidence must be admissible and convincing to a jury if you want to get a guilty verdict.
2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
My EQ started as "What is most important to solving a criminal investigation?" But, after meeting with Mrs. Pittman and Mrs. Ortega, I knew that just solving an investigation is not enough. Something productive must come of it such as conviction from the information that has been gathered. And, from my time at mentorship, I learned how extensively prosecutors must work to ensure that any evidence gathered is properly presented. I observed all the DAs at the West Covina courthouse work tediously to make sure each piece of evidence was as convincing as it could be.
3. What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?
The biggest problem that I faced was finding a mentorship. I spent a lot of time calling the Baldwin Park Police Department hoping to mentor with one of the detectives there. I was informed, after several weeks, that the Police Station was in the process of being closed down and I wouldn't be able to ever volunteer with them. After me EQ had changed to what is most important in securing convictions, I looked
4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
One of my best sources was my fourth interview subject, Ryan Erlich. I learned so much about the court process in that interview and he sat down and talked with me about my 3 answers for my EQ. My other very important source was a document I found called Basic Trial Techniques for Prosecutors published by the American Prosecutor's Research Institute. It gave a complete run down of a prosecutors preparations and objectives during a trial and helped me find my 3rd and best answer.
5. What is your product and why?
My product would be that I know this is a career field that I want to pursue. I learned skills that I intend to perfect in college. And, most importantly, I gathered the personal contact information of 7 of the deputy DAs and built social capital with them to the point where they have offered to help me with any future ambitions I have in the criminal justice field.
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