A Joyce warrant is used to obtain what type of evidence?

• A. Firearm ownership records
• B. Trace evidence
• C. Blood evidence
• D. Video surveillance

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is the purpose of a Joyce warrant, which is specifically about collecting trace evidence. Trace evidence refers to tiny, often microscopic clues that can transfer between people and objects, such as hairs, fibers, glass, paint, soil, or gunshot residue. A Joyce warrant allows investigators to seize items that may contain this kind of material, even if the evidence isn’t obvious on the surface, so forensic analysis can recover those small but crucial clues and help connect a suspect to a crime scene or object.

This is why it’s the best fit: it targets the kind of physical material that can be analyzed in a lab to yield forensic results, rather than administrative records, biological samples like blood, or digital data like video surveillance, which require different legal tools and procedures. Firearm ownership records aren’t about physical evidence from a scene, blood evidence involves biological samples with separate handling rules, and video surveillance involves digital evidence that is obtained through other channels.