Q: If you know Police have tampered with evidence do you submit an Affidavit to the ADA or do you hire an Attorney to file?
The witness statement I gave in a case which was put into evidence is not the one I wrote.. it has been changed.. Am not sure if I should hire a forensic expert or file an affidavit with the ADA and let them investigate.
A: You should hire a lawyer. Getting a prosecutor (ADA) to believe the police changed your statement is going to be very difficult. If you are the Defendant in this case, or a suspect, then you should not talk to a prosecutor. If you are just a witness, and in no way involved in this situation beyond being a witness, then it's less risky to inquire about your own statement. However, if you aren't 100% sure you are not a suspect then don't take any chances and hire a lawyer.
Kiele Linroth Pace agrees with this answer
A: I agree with Mr. Guest and would add that you should consider using an attorney even if you are the alleged victim in the case. The thing about prosecutors is that it is their job to put people in cages based on statements from officers... so they have a vested interest in convincing themselves that statements from offices are honest and accurate. If you go in there saying that the statement has been altered, their knee-jerk reaction will be to believe you are a liar. They may even threaten to charge you with the crime of False Report to a Peace Officer. Having an attorney on your side will make this Tampering issue harder for the prosecution to ignore and they won't be able to make the problem go away with empty threats.
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