Columbo's methods
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Columbo
erikbeale — 9 years ago(October 22, 2016 11:00 AM)
Would Columbo's methods have help up in a court of law?
Thank you
erikbeale@yahoo.com -
abelt — 9 years ago(October 22, 2016 09:05 PM)
I'm not a cop or anything, but I've read he would have had problems with his keeping evidence in his pockets like he did. He did bluff a lot, but that's actually legally OK and done in real life. I get the idea that other people think the bad guys could walk free if they had good lawyers, if he didn't break their spirit, if that's the right phrase.
"I used to be a detective like you, but then I took a bullet to the knee."-Law & Order: Dragon Squad -
Karl Aksel — 9 years ago(October 26, 2016 07:39 AM)
I am reminded of A Stitch in Crime, where Leonard Nimoy's character manages to plant the incriminating dissolving suture in Columbo's pocket. Columbo doesn't notice it, but thinks to check anyway because it was the only place they didn't search. So Columbo finds the "smoking gun" in his own pocket, and this is supposed to be the "gotcha" moment. But as far as I can tell, it would be inadmissible - Columbo fished it out of his own pocket himself, with his bare hands, and he cannot prove that Nimoy's character put it there. The intended victim is now stitched up in permanent suture, and the villainous surgeon could argue that he reused the suture - but why he didn't bring a spare of permanent suture with him to present to the police (because they were looking for the old suture), I don't know.
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MilesCo — 9 years ago(January 02, 2017 02:03 PM)
There's no reason why that would be inadmissible. You could attack Lt. Columbo's credibility, saying he planted the suture on himself and tried to frame the doctor, but that's different from saying that the evidence is inadmissible.
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lawkel — 9 years ago(November 09, 2016 06:50 AM)
And sometimes his evidence is so weak, that it doesn't make sense for the murderer to confess.
For example, Murder by the Book, Any Old Port in a Storm, Mind over Mayheim, a Matter of Honor, Old Fashion Murder, to name a few -
antonasmodeus — 9 years ago(November 20, 2016 03:56 AM)
The brilliance of Columbo's final reveal is that it's so overwhelming to the killer that he or she ultimately resigns to their fate of getting busted that they don't think of any possible means of escaping justice.
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indranee19 — 9 years ago(January 08, 2017 11:17 PM)
And the fact that they are so exhausted from his routine of showing up literally everywhere they go and the "Just ONE more thing sir/ma'am!"
Fear not for the future; weep not for the past Percy Bysshe Shelley -
MilesCo — 9 years ago(January 02, 2017 02:15 PM)
Yeah,
Any Old Port
is a good example. As far as I can recall, there really was no evidence that Carsini had murdered anyone. Yeah, Columbo caught him disposing of bottles of overheated wine at the beach. Okay, so maybe that proves that his wine cellar got too hot over that warm weekend. So what? What does that prove? That the air conditioning unit failed? Okay, sure. But how does that prove murder? -
zargmatt-73661 — 9 years ago(December 23, 2016 02:00 AM)
In "Dagger of the Mind" the killers confess only after Columbo plants evidence. This is one of the episodes where I was somewhat disappointed by the reveal and by Columbo's character in general.
I'm also not a fan of episodes in murder mysteries where they plant the detective at the location and coincidentally a murder occurs, for example, while they're a guest somewhere or on vacation. -
MilesCo — 9 years ago(January 02, 2017 02:08 PM)
Yeah, that was by far the worst ending to a Colombo episode. In fact, it wasn't even a confession merely a shocked or dismayed facial expression. No way would that be enough to convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
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rms-49651 — 9 years ago(November 23, 2016 12:26 AM)
No way. First no cop is ever going to keep showing at your home, your job, wherever he wants multiple times asking all these seemingly weird questions. Doesn't happen that way except on tv with Columbo. Any smart is going lawyer up immediately, any question talk to my attorney. If cop start showing up all over the place bothering you that's harassment, your attorney can solve that, you do not have to speak to the cops without attorney and guaranteed half Columbo's questions would get shot down. The cops in this show are bumbling idiots that mishandle crime scenes, destroy, evidence, mishandle it, etc. I've seen Columbo enter residences with no warrant and be snooping when suspect shows up. Even a public defender could get you off if Columbo did the investigation. If by chance some bonehead DA even tried to prosecute on this bogus evidence any attorney worth be filing a motion to suppress immediately and win. Columbo wouldn't be a cop very long. That said I love the show but it's tv not reality.
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wesperkins — 9 years ago(December 19, 2016 10:00 PM)
No way. First no cop is ever going to keep showing at your home, your job, wherever he wants multiple times asking all these seemingly weird questions. Doesn't happen that way except on tv with Columbo. Any smart is going lawyer up immediately, any question talk to my attorney. If cop start showing up all over the place bothering you that's harassment, your attorney can solve that, you do not have to speak to the cops without attorney and guaranteed half Columbo's questions would get shot down. The cops in this show are bumbling idiots that mishandle crime scenes, destroy, evidence, mishandle it, etc. I've seen Columbo enter residences with no warrant and be snooping when suspect shows up. Even a public defender could get you off if Columbo did the investigation. If by chance some bonehead DA even tried to prosecute on this bogus evidence any attorney worth be filing a motion to suppress immediately and win. Columbo wouldn't be a cop very long. That said I love the show but it's tv not reality.
I agree with a lot of what you say, esp when used in today's context. I wasn't alive when Columbo was on and always just thought, "well I guess cops and the court system was different back then". I agree today Columbo would have a hard time, but I wonder if back then it was more acceptable to go follow someone around and ask them the questions, and even bring his dog lol. I am guessing it still was tv back then but maybe it would have been easier than today for him. -
amazingmayana — 9 years ago(November 30, 2016 08:46 AM)
It was a long time ago, and it'a a fictional reflexion of police work, as seen on TV.
At least his intentions and his instinct were always on point and Columbo strived for REAL justice. Supported by evidence (as best as was available in those years, filtered through the Hollywood lens.)
Today, will it matter?! USA just elected a liar-in-chief. Justice? Irrelevant. Who cares about facts, or evidence?! -
MilesCo — 9 years ago(January 02, 2017 02:55 PM)
Yeah, in a lot of
Columbo
episodes, the evidence is pretty weak (seems damning at first, but on further reflection, isn't so much), and I think that if the murderer would just keep his mouth shut, he'd be able to beat the charges.
Still fun to watch, though.