Forensic Science: Marking Period 1 & 2 Review

Forensic Science

the application of science to criminal and civil laws

Locard

• incorporared Gross’ principles within a

  workable crime laboratory

• when a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs.

Galton

• conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification.

Bertillon

• devised the first scientific system of personal

identification in 1879.

• Body measurements – Replaced by Fingerprinting but considered the Father of Criminal Identification

Anthropology

the identification and examination of human skeletal remains

Crime Scene Recording Methods

photography, sketches, and notes

Frye V. US

• set guidelines for determining the admissibility of scientific evidence into the courtroom.

• To meet the ___ standard, the evidence in question must be “generally accepted” by the scientific community.

Daubert V Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc.

• the U.S. Supreme Court asserted that the __ standard is not an absolute prerequisite to the admissibility of scientific evidence.

• Trial judges were said to be ultimately responsible as “gatekeepers” for the admissibility and validity of scientific evidence presented in their courts, as well as all expert testimony.

Chain of custody

a list of all person who came into possession of an item of evidence

Rigor mortis

results in the shortening of muscle tissue and the stiffening of body parts in the position at death (occurs within the first 24 hrs. and disappears within 36 hrs.).

Livor mortis

results in the settling of blood in areas of the body closest to the ground (begins immediately on death and continues up to 12 hrs.)

Algor mortis

results in the loss of heat by a body (a general rule, beginning about an hour after death, the body loses heat by 1 to 1 1/2 degrees Fahrenheit per hour until the body reaches the environmental temperature)

Class evidence

Evidence associated only with a group is said to have class characteristics.

Individual Evidence

Evidence that can be associated to a common source with an extremely high degree of probability is said to possess individual characteristics.

Transient Evidence

temporary; easily changed or lost; usually observed by the first officer at the scene

Pattern Evidence

produced by direct contact between a person and an object or between two objects

Conditional Evidence

produced by a specific event or action; important in crime scene reconstruction and in determining the set of circumstances or sequence within a particular event

Transfer Evidence

produced by contact between person(s) or object(s), or between person(s) and person(s)

Associative Evidence

items that may associate a victim or suspect with a scene or each other