forensics

Crime scene team

Group of people that find and use evidence from the crime scene for a case

Criminology

WHY a case happened, why the person did it

Criminalostics

A piece or pieces of evidence being looked at and being directly related to the case

Forensic science

Study and application of science to law

Locards exchange principle

Whenever 2 objects come into contact with eachother traces are exchanged

Bill of rights

List of rights everyone’s guaranteed

Miranda warning

List of rights given when arrested

Facets of guilt

Means, motive, opportunity

Means

Ability to commit crime

Motive

Reason to do crime

Can have this but not commit crime

Can have none of this and commit crime

Opportunity

Can be placed at scene of crime

Presumption of innocence

Defendant is innocent until proven guilty

Burden of proof

Responsibility of prosecution to show/prove guilt of dependant

Beyond a reasonable doubt

No other logical explanation can be drawn from the facts except that of the defendant

Unanimous jury

Everyone on the jury votes the same

4 assumptions or conditions needed in a court of law before a defendant can receive a guilty verdict

Presumption of innocence, burden of proof, beyond reasonable doubt, unanimous jury

Testimonial evidence

Statement made under oath /direct evidence

Physical evidence

Any object of matirial that's relevant in a crime more reliable, can link suspect with victim with the crime scene/ indirect evidence

Can be examined in a lab or under a microscope

Questioned sample

Piece of evidence found at a crime science that had an unknown source

Known sample

Collected sample, compared to unknown sample to determine its source

Probable cause

Reasonable grounds for questioning or searching for something

Prosecution

Side of court that is committed to providing enough evidence to convince the jury that the defendant is guilty

Crime scene reconstruction

Physical evidence used, what happened during crime, sequence of events, number of people involved

Class evidence

Common to a group of objects or people

Individual evidence

Can be identified with a particular person or source

Pattern evidence

Imprints, indentations, markings, fractures, deposits, blood splatters, burn pattern, furniture placement, tire marks

Conditional evidence

Lighting conditions, smoke, fire patterns, location of injuries/bloodstains/weapons/glass,vehicles(windows/locks), body position/ wounds, scene conditions

Direct evidence

Evidence that supports the truth without any other evidence

Circumstantial evidence

Relies heavily on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact, allows for more than 1 explanation

FBI responsibiltys’s

Protect U.S. from threats and make sure people follow laws

DEA responsibility’s

Make sure medicine is used properly and seize drugs when needed

ATF responsibility’s

Enforce firearm and arson laws

Handle alcohol

U.S. postal service

Handle things sent and received in mail

U.S. Fish and Wildlife services responsibility

Identify animals cause of death and see if any laws were broken