HOSA Forensic Science Test

Who helped advance fingerprint, firearms, and hair analysis?

Victor Balthazard

Who was credited with developing a probablility model that showed fingerprints are unique (10^60 chance of 2 people having same patterns)?

Victor Balthazard

Who developed an advanced photographic method of comparing markings on bullets?

Victor Balthazard

What is the identification of suspects using 11 body measurements?

Anthropometry/bertillonage

Who created anthropometry?

Alphonse Bertillon

When was anthropometry popular?

1883-1900s

Who was the first forensic scientist that used fingerprints to solve a case?

Alphonse Bertillon

Who was the cousin of Charles Darwin?

Sir Francis Galton

Who developed the first classification for fingerprints?

Sir Francis Galton

What is used to describe one of the features found in fingerprints in the US?

Galton Ridge

Who is credited with establishing examination of firearms evidence in US?

Galvin Goddard

Who coined the term of "criminalistics"?

Hans Gross

What does criminalistics refer to?

The forensic analysis of physical evidence

Who wrote Kriminologie?

Hans Gross

What is Locard's exchange principle?

Every contact leaves a trace

Who created Locard's exchange principle?

Edmond Locard

Who is the founder of forensic toxicology?

Mathieu Orfila

Who spent a good deal of their time studying poison?

Mathieu Orfila

What poison did Mathieu Orfila spend the most time studying?

Arsenic

What is the adversarial system?

Two positions arguing for acceptance

What is a judge and jury also called?

Finder of fact/trier of truth

What is the scientific method?

Data based and founded on concepts taken collectively through a series of steps

What is the first step of the scientific method?

Formulate hypothesis

What is the second step of the scientific method?

Test hypothesis using observation or experimentation

What is the third step of the scientific method?

Based on results, revise hypothesis and repeat previous steps

What is the fourth step of the scientific method?

Continue until the data is in agreement with hypothesis

What is the first thing a forensic scientist should do?

Distinguish evidence from coincidence

What is the second thing a forensic scientist should do?

Rank alternative results based on the basic principles in applied sciences

What is the third thing a forensic scientist should do?

Allow for certainty and probabilistic considerations wherever appropriate through this ranking

What is the fourth thing a forensic scientist should do?

Disallow hypotheses more extraordinary than facts

What is the fifth thing a forensic scientist should do?

Pursue specific details

What is the sixth thing a forensic scientist should do?

Pursue testing by addressing smallest logical component of the hypothesis one at a time

What are the opinions of Charles Sander Pierce?

Contrite Fallibilism

What is contrite fallibilism?

The awareness of how much we do not know and the humility to acknowledge the possibility of making mistakes

Who normally works as private consultants?

Forensic anthropologists/engineers

What are public laboratories?

Laboratories funded by governments

What are private laboratories?

Businesses designed to make a profit

What do most private laboratories specialize in?

DNA and forensic toxicology

What is the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner tasked with?

Death investigations and houses laboratories associated with performing autopsies

What will the office of the Chief Medical Examiner also have?

Toxicology laboratories to analyze postmortem samples

What do full-service laboratories cover?

DNA, drug analysis, firearms and toolmarks, trace evidence, fingerprints

What is an example of a full-service laboratory?

FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia

What is a small branch laboratory?

Laboratory that focuses on one type of evidence

What are the jobs of a forensic scientist that is also a police officer?

Respond to crime scenes, process and collect evidence, deliver evidence for further testing

What is accreditation?

A laboratory that agrees to work according to professional standards and proves that it can and does operate this way

What does accreditation also require?

Re-accreditation on a set schedule

What is certification?

A forensic scientist that has completed a written test covering their discipline

What board covers the most diverse set of forensic disciplines?

American Board of Criminalistics

How does certification begin?

Passing a multiple-choice test

What can you do after certification?

To be further certified in a specialty area

What does this level of certification require?

A successful completion of yearly proficiency tests

Mathieu Orfila

(1787-1853) Founder of forensic toxicology, studied poisons and worked on the Marie Lafarge poisoning case

Sir Francis Galton

(1822-1911) Developed the first classification system for fingerprints, published the book Fingerprints in 1892 and described the loop, arch and whorl of fingerprint patterns

Hans Gross

(1847-1915) Generalist who believed in diverse approaches to forensic science and published the first forensic science textbook, Criminal Investigations, in 1893.

Victor Bathazard

(1852-1950) Paris Medical Examiner who advanced fingerprint, firearm and hair analysis, showed that fingerprint are unique to the 10^60 and used photography to help identify bullets

Alphonse Bertillion

(1853-1914) Developed anthropometry and was the first to solve a case using fingerprints

Edmond Locard

(1877-1966) Established a forensic lab in Lyons France in 1910, founded the Locard Exchange Principle and focused on trace evidence

Calvin Goddard

(1891-1955) Established the study of firearms evidence in the US, established a variety of police labs in the US and invented the comparison scope.

Anthropometry

System of identification of suspects involving 11 body measurements + descriptions + photos

Criminalistics

Describes forensic analysis of physical evidence

Locard Exchange Principle

Every Contact Leaves a Trace

Juan Vucitech

(1891) Who began the first fingerprint files

The Henry Classification System

Classification for fingerprinting in all European Countries

1 in 64 billion

Sir Francis Galton's odds for two fingerprints being the same

The scientific method

System in which forensic scientists work

The adversarial system

System in which lawyers work

Finder of fact

Judge or jury who determines "right" in a case

Civil Cases

Occur between individuals and must show a preponderance of evidence (51%)

Criminal Cases

Occur when laws have been broken, the government in the prosecutor and and guilt but be shown beyond a reasonable doubt (99%)

Felony

Serious criminal case, possibility of greater than 1 year in prison

Misdemeanor

Minor criminal case, possible of a fine or less than 1 year in prison

Voir Dire

Qualifications of a scientists given in a court of law

Subpoena

A statement requiring someone to appear in court and stating the when and where the trial will be held

Gilbert Thomas

(1882) Who used fingerprints officially in the US for the first time

Dr. Henry Faulds

(1880) First to come up with a classification system based on fingerprints

1892

When was the first fingerprint identification made

1901

When was the idea of fingerprinting introduced to England/Wales

Karl Landsteiner

Discovered ABO blood typing and received the Nobel Prize in medicine for this work in1930.

Alec Jeffreys

Geneticist who developed DNA testing

Colin Pitchfork

First criminal convicted by DNA evidence

William Hershel (1856)

The first to use fingerprinting as a method of identification

Forensic Nurse

Trained to treat trauma patients (assaulted), take blood and tissue samples, collect evidence, photograph and measure wounds

Rules of Evidence

Exclusionary rules that filter out irrelevent/prejudiced information

Frye Standard

New methods must be generally accepted by scientists

Federal Rules of Evidence

Allows expert witnesses to explain techniques in court

Daubert Trilogy

Judge becomes gatekeeper to determine the admissibility of evidence while following a court framework

Direct Evidence

Evidence that establishes something without further work (eyewitness testimony)

Circumstantial Evidence

Evidence that requires reasonable inferences to be drawn (DNA found at a crime scene)

Class characteristic evidence

Evidence that doesn't indicate a specific individual (shell casings, sneaker prints)

Individual characteristic evidence

Evidence that does indicate a specific individual (fingerprints, DNA)

Associative Evidence

Things found at the crime scene that can be matched to an exemplar (standard)

Biological Evidence

Human (or other) tissues used to identify a person or animal. Includes DNA testing.

Chemical Evidence

Includes drugs, explosive, toxicology ect...

Trace Evidence

Random stuff left at a crime scene and taken from a crime scene due to Locard's Exchange Principle

Fingerprint Evidence

Fingerprints and their identification and developments

Impression Evidence

Impressions on the ground caused by footwear, tires, ect...

Firearm and Tool Mark Evidence

Fired bullets, casings, Gun Powder Residue, impressions left by tools ect...

Questioned Documents

Examining documents for forgery

Primary Crime Scene

Site of first criminal activity in a case

Secondary Crime Scene

Site of following criminal activity in a case