CJA 498 All Assignments CJA 498 All Assignments | Page 3

CJA 498 Module 3 Assignment 2 LASA 1 A High-Profile
Centervale Murder Case Takes Center Stage
Click Below Link To Purchase
www.foxtutor.com/product/cja-498-module-3-assignment-2-lasa-1-a-
high-profile-centervale-murder-case-takes-center-stage
Here's What Happened . . .
The murder of Cindy Jones, a young woman, stunned the community in Centervale. Five years
ago, a young woman was found strangled to death in her car outside a grocery store in
Centervale. For the past five years, the Centervale Police Department (CPD) has worked
tirelessly to develop leads toward the identification of a suspect. Last year, the CPD officials got
a break when the State Crime Lab notified the lead detective that the DNA sample recovered
from the purse strap found around Jones's neck indicated the involvement of Jason Rivers.
The District Attorney's (DA's) office has never had a case like this before. Jones came from an
honorable family in the community and Rivers is a mentally challenged, middle-aged man who
lives with his father far from the grocery store. Rivers had been arrested more than twenty-five
times before the death of Jones. Centervale detectives have surmised that Rivers happened to
be in the area of the grocery store where he supposedly encountered Jones.
Upon arrest, Rivers was found to be incompetent to proceed to trial and a judge remanded him
to a state custody. Recently, doctors at the State Mental Health Hospital sent a notice that
Rivers was no longer suffering from the effects of substance abuse and is competent to stand
trial. A judge ruled in accordance with the doctors and the case was put on the docket for trial.
During jury selection, the voir dire consisted of questions about how potential jurors felt about
law enforcement-related TV shows. During the presentation of the case, the State introduced
the jury to the DNA evidence and other important physical evidence in the case. Rivers did not
take the stand and the defense rested on the claim that Rivers's DNA got on the purse strap