Forensics Test 1

4th Amendment

Warrant needed for violation of privacy (search and seizure)

5th Amendment

Right to non-self incrimination
No Double Jeopardy
- unless practical reasons (new evidence, confession, etc) - apply for new trial

6th Amendment

Public and speedy trial
Impartial jury
Know/be told charges
Know/see witnesses against you
Trial held as locally as possible (unless federal crime)
Right to an attorney
Right to call own witnesses

4th Amendment Exclusionary Rule

any evidence acquired by an improper search can't be used in court

Warrantless Searches

Consent (of homeowner)
- can be retracted
Exigent Circumstances
Hot Pursuit
Destruction of Evidence
- only get THAT evidence
Plain Sight
Incident to Arrest
- when arrested, police can search local area (arm's reach)
Security Sweep

Warrants

written permission from judge to violate someone's privacy

Warrant Application

Who
-name, SSN, Lic#, picture/description, alias
Where
- address, description
When
-two week window for permission (allow mult. searches)
What
-can only take what they list in application
Why
-probable cause (sound reasoning)

Miranda Warnings

do not have to be given during arrest
have to be warned anytime they will be questioned
Non-self incrimination ("right to remain silent")
Right to an attorney
*has to be confirmed that suspect understands*
-document signatures
-repeat back in own/correct words

unsolicited confessions are allowed without warnings

Processing Crime Scenes

1) Check victim and help
2) Apprehend people
3) Secure transient evidence
4) Secure/isolate crime scene
5) Locate and identify evidence
6) Document the evidence within the scene

transient evidence

anything that could move or disappear (pets, something burning, ice, liquids, trace evidence, etc)

trace evidence

tiny objects: hair, powder, fiber, etc

Secure/isolate crime scene

judgement call
- crime scene: only investigators
-emergency personnel
- public/anyone

Document the evidence

A) Notes - running/continuous process - setting, evidence list, position of body
B) Photos - all evidence - far then close range, multiple angles, include scale, all walls, all entrances, all exits, all adjacent rooms, outside of building, close-up of wounds
C) Drawings/Sketches - initial and final - blueprint/map, room dimensions and to scale, measurements from each piece of evidence to closest walls (2)

Packaging of Evidence

individually packaged with Chain of Custody/Chain of Possession

Packaging evidence (bloody)

air dry BEFORE packaging - in a breathable container

Packaging evidence (clothing)

air dry BEFORE packaging - in a breathable container

Packaging evidence (trace)

inside a druggist fold

Medical examiners and bodies

1) Blood
2) Internal organs
3) Clothing
4) Objects/Possessions
5) Hairs
6) Fingerprints

Might collect:
7) Gunshot residue (GSR) swabs
8) Swab all openings (if sexual assault)

Rigor Mortis

Body stiffens up over time - from about 6 hours to 36 hours (will relax after 36)

Livor Mortis

lost control of blood vessels - gravity pulls blood down to lowest parts of body - starts immediately and for up to 12 hours before blood coagulates (stops moving) - any pressure creates white shadows

Algor Mortis

cooling of body to match the surrounding temperature
- cools about 1.5 degrees F per hour

Discoloration

starts torso where most bacteria is - grey/green hue
**1-2 days dead**

Marbling

blood vessels darken
**2-3 days dead**

Bloating

gases from decomposition - gas buildup starts in abdomen and spreads everywhere
**4-7 days dead**

Liquifaction/Seepage

bloating and fragile skin causes tears = leaking of internal liquids
**3-8 days dead**

Skin Slippage/Sloughing

skin separates from underlying tissue
**4-8 days dead**

Rupture

insides get pushed out through any openings
**7 days - up to 3 weeks**

Drying

Bone and leatherized skin
**4+ weeks**

Hair Mass

hair separates from body
**2+ weeks**

Maggots

detect smell of dead body up to 1 mile away within 1 hour of death - lay eggs into any openings with soft tissue and moisture - hatch within 24 hours - about 3 day life cycle to turn into flies

Cadaverine and Putrescine

chemicals released by dead bodies that create the smell

Mammals

only cons - introduce new "wounds", alter/move/destroy evidence

Skeletons - Age

Teeth - wisdom, baby or adult, wear and tear
Long Bones - juvenile = growth plates
Skull - plate fusions starts at about 45 years old and ends at about 80 years old

Skeletons - Race

Caucasoid, Negroid, or Mongoloid
Mongoloid = shovel-shaped incisors

Skeletons - Sex Determination (Female)

Skull - less prominent brow ridge, no bump at base, sharp orbit edges, rounded orbit shape, curved jaw line
Pelvis - curved front arch, shorter tailbone

Skeletons - Sex Determination (Male)

Skull - prominent brow ridge, bump at base, rounded orbit edges, square orbit shape, L-shaped jaw line
Pelvis - V-shaped front arch, longer tailbone