Criminalistics Midterm

Forensic Science's broadest definition

The application of science to law - anything you learned in school, anytime you can apply science to a court case, you are dealing with forensic science. A lawyer cannot deny facts of science. Taking the physical aspects of science and utilizing them in a court case.

Causes of Death:

• Pneumonia

• Congestive Heart Failure

• Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular disease

• Hypertensive heart disease

• Dementia

• Renal failure

• Gunshot wound 

• Blunt force trauma 

• Stab wounds

• Asphyxiation 

• Exsanguination

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Seizure

• Disseminated Intravascular 

What is Forensic Odontology?

Dental science to legal matters

Helps with human identification in legal cases, able to look at prior dental history and match the human remains to prior dental records. Can also look at human bite marks on skin.

When processing a crime scene, you need to…

Secure and isolate the scene 

start with photography 

The ordinary compound microscope is used for:

A type of microscope (compound light microscope) that uses 2 or more lenses to magnify very small objects that cannot be seen with the naked human eye.

Usually used to examine hair because it can show the cuticle, medulla, and cortex without harming the sample.

• cells, bacteria, and tissues.

• Forensic work (e.g., hair, fibers, and biological evidence)

The active ingredient in Marijuana (THC)

The flowering tops of the cannabis plant that secrets a sticky resin

(T or F) If the coroner’s office refuses to do an autopsy, the family may get a private autopsy 

True 

(T or F) Beer Decreases the speed of absorption of alcohol

True

Most alcohol is oxidized in the..

Liver (90% of alcohol metabolized here)

The other 10% is eliminated through the lungs and urine 

Who can sign a death certificate:

Any licensed physician in the state of Pennsylvania may issue a NATURAL death certificate

ONLY the coroner or medical examiner in the county where the death occurred may issue anything other than a natural.

(6) Manners of Death 

1.) Natural

2.) Homicide

3.) Suicide

4.) Accident 

5.) Pending 

6.) Undetermined 

What is an Expert Eyewitness?

• The only witness in the court case that is allowed to say what they think happened. You can be an expert in science, medicine, etc. Just about anything, as long as you have the background experience.

• Establish satisfaction of a trial judge that he or she possess a particular skill or has knowledge in a specific trade or profession that will aid the court in determining the truth of the matter at issue; that individual will be accepted as an expert witness. The court will usually consider knowledge acquired through experience, training, education, or a combination of these as sufficient grounds for qualifications as an expert witness. 

The most important prerequisite for photographing a crime scene:

Unaltered scene

All club drugs (such as Rohynpol, GHB, and Ketamine) are:

What are stimulants (Know the examples)

Drugs that stimulate or speed up the Central Nervous System (CNS) 

• Caffeine

• Nicotine

• Methamphetamines/Amphetamines

• Prescription drugs

• Coccaine

• Synthetic cathinones: Known as "bath salts

• Ecstasy/MDMA (possibly a stimulant)

Any substance can be toxic if….

it is a chemical that causes damage to living organisms through immediate or long-term exposure 

Among Women and Men who use sedative, anti-anxiety, or hypnotic drugs…

Women abuse them much more

Cocaine has been found

in bloodstreams

Heroin is…

• called diacetylmorphine

• comes from opium, a juice exuded from an unripened pod of the poppy plant in parts of Asia 

• Made by boiling morphine over a stove 

• Most Widely 

• Bayen is even used as cough suppressant 

Cocaine is

• Comes from the cocoa plant, was believed to be a gift from god

• Older than weed

• Freud often used treatment, (was even used to treat morphine addiction.)

• Pembleton is used as an active ingredient in Coca-Cola

• Blocks pain sensation, stimulates the CNS (increases heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure)

• Natural

• Stimulant

• illegal

• blocks the synaptic reabsorption of certain neurotransmitters (in particular, dopamine)

• In hydrochloride, is very stable and binds closely to the ink in paper currency (most Americans handle it every day) 

(T or F) The district attorney’s office is mandated by law to hold a trial into any death case

FALSE

ONLY if death is ruled to be a homicide, then the attorney’s office is mandated by law to hold a trial

 

The original freebase cocaine is:

• cocaine without its water-soluble component or “base” (remove base)

• Prepared by dissolving cocaine hydrochloride with strong alkali (e.g, ammonia) 

• dangerous to make, why crack was made 

• Cocaine that can be smoked

Cocaine is a psychologically

addictive

Psychologically addictive drugs

Cocaine

alcohol

amphetamines

barbiturates (downers)

All Coroners in Pennsylvania are allowed to sign death certificates on

anything other than a natural death

What are Anabolic steroids?

• Promote muscle growth related to testosterone

• Used to induce weight gain, increase muscle mass, and reduce immune system activity by affecting function of white blood cells

What is Gamma-hydroxybutyrte (GHB)

“Date Rape” Drug 

Colorless, Odorless depressant that mixes well with alcohol 

Ketamine has similar effects to:

PCP (phencyclidine)

All jail deaths must…

be REPORTED

The Coroner must (duties) 

1. Who?

2. What? (PCP, meds) 

3. Where? (scene) 

4. When? (how long, time of death) 

5. Why? (motive/why did they die) 

6. Cause of death? 

7. Manner of death? (surrounding circumstance) 

Crime laboratories solve…

used to solve violent crimes against humans

Full service ______ can have a physical science unit, biology unit, firearms, documentation examination, and photography units.

In recent years, many local ones have been solely used for processing drug specimens.

If a scene is photographed by a forensic photographer, the detective rough sketch:

• can be used to show the layout of an indoor/outdoor crime scene
  show relationship of all items and features significant to investigation
  location of collected evidence
  possible paths of entry/exit
  movement through the scene

The crime scene should be secured by

The First responding officer

In order to be a medical examiner in the state of Pennsylvania..

• you must be appointed

• must be a licensed physician of the state specializing in Forensic Science

Steroids also reduce 

Reduce inflammation

Reduce time of recovery (makes you recover quicker)

Reduce activity of the immune system

Definition of Drugs

any substance of natural/synthetic origin that can alter the emotional state, perception, body functioning, or behavior of an organism.

(T or F) Forensic Science can be both criminal and civil for applying basic science to evidence:

TRUE

can be applied to:

Death

Rape

Forgery

Fraud

Negligence

Assault

Kidnapping

Does Forensic Science solve a crime?

NO

Investigators = solve crime

Evidence is useless without witnesses, interviews, and confessions

Coroner vs. Medical Examiner 

Coroner - elected, anyone can be a coroner if they are elected as long as they are signed up to vote. If you are elected Coroner you have to obtain a state-mandated week-long class.

Medical Examiner - usually a licensed physician in that state specializing in forensic science’s requirements by the state, city, or county, to make that decision

What do all investigations start with?

Photography

Cardiopulmonary Arrest 

• is a life-threatening medical emergency where the heart and lungs suddenly stop working effectively

• Not a legal cause of death 

• Something would have caused it 

Locard Exchange Principle

Whenever there is contact between two objects, they will leave or pick up debris from the other object.

During a crime, there is always a transfer of evidence.

The difficulty is finding and collecting the evidence

What protein are hair primarily composed of?

Keratin

The 3 distinct layers a hair is composed of 

1.) Cuticle 

2.) Cortex 

3.) Medulla 

Anagen

initial phase of hair growth, phase may last up to 6 years, root is flame-shaped

Catagen

The root changes and become loosened (2-3 weeks) root become elongated.

About 2% of hair

Telogen

The phase where hair naturally falls out of the skin, the root is club-shaped. 

18%. of hair 

When you are collecting hair evidence from a suspect/victim

Collect at least 25 known hairs from different parts of the head and/or pubic region. Comb and pull out the hairs, submit the hairs in clean paper or an envelope with sealed corners.

Head hairs

Usually the longest hairs on the human body. Alterations to the natural appearance of hair include the use of hair dyes, rinses, permanents, frosts, and other chemical applications.

Melanocytes 

cells that produce hair color pigments (melanin) 

Medullary Index

Measure the diameter of the medulla relative to the diameter of the hair shaft. Usually expressed as a fraction

Humans: medullary index less than 1/3

Animal greater than 1/2

What else can you tell from hair

Race

Age

Sex

Are men or women more likely to commit suicide?

Women are more likely to commit suicide than men. However, men are more likely to kill themselves properly compared to women.

On average, women are more concerned about the way they would appear in a viewing casket.

Where do your fingerprints come from

Dermal Papillae

Friction Ridges are found on the skin of?

• Palms of hands

• Palmar aspect of fingers

• Soles of feet

• Solar aspect of toes

• Designed by nature for a firmer grip, resisting slipping

When do you get the fingerprints that you will have for the rest of your life?

During your second trimester as a fetus

Anabolic Steroids

Induce weight gain

Increase muscle mass (testosterone)

Reduce the production of inflammatory chemicals in order to minimize tissue damage

Also reduce the activity or the immune system by affecting the function of white blood cells

What contains the active ingredient of Marijuana (THC) 

The flowering tops cannabis plant that secrete a sticky resin (THC) 

Crack Recipe

•     Two parts of cocaine hydrochloride

•     One part baking soda

•     20 ML of water

•     The solution is then heated gently until white precipitates form

•     Heating is halted when precipitation stops

•     The precipitate is filtered and retained

•     The precipitate may then be washed.

C.R. Wright 

English researcher who synthesized heroin, diacetylmorphine, by boiling morphine over a stove 

How do most Americans handle cocaine every day of their lives?

through cocain hydrochloride

it binds with ink in paper currency

95% of dollar bills in the U.S. capitol have traces of the drug

LSD (lysergic Acid Diethylamide)

• One of the major drugs making up the hallucinogen class

• Discovered in 1938, one of the most potent moo-changing chemicals

• Manufactured from lysergic acid, found in fungus, ergot that grows on rye and other grains

• depend on the amount taken; user’s personality, mood, and expectations, and the surroundings in which the drugs is used

• many users experience flashbacks

What is Ketamine made out of?

Phencyclidine (PCP)

What are Ketamine abusers trying to enter when using the drug

Abusers want to enter a K-Hole 

Rohypnol

o   Flunitrazepam is a benzodiazepine that is used in the short-term treatment of insomnia and as a sedative hypnotic and preanesthetic medication

o   It has psychological effects similar to diazepam (commonly known by its trade name, valium), approximately 10 times more potent.

o Continues to be abused by teenagers and young adults in night clubs

o   Tasteless/odorless

o   Dissolves in carbonated beverages

o   Users report effects similar to intoxication, yet claim they wake up the next morning without a hangover

Duties of the ME’s Office

Determine the cause and manner of death

-       Identification

-       Information and record keeping  

-       Epidemiology

-       Community Relations

-       Teaching facility (interns, residents and fellow)

-       Public Presentations

-       Underage drinking program

Notifying Next of Kin

Common types of physical evidence found at the scene would include..

What is Trace Evidence? – small evidence used to link a victim, a suspect, and a specific crime scene. Trace Analysis uses microscopes and other instrumentation; other sections (Drug, firearms) also use microscopes.

Classifying Evidence – most evidence is classified using class characteristics: Color, Shape, Refractive index, etc. When examining class characteristics, absolute identification is not possible. The forensic scientists’ main objective is to give the jury an idea about how rare the category is