Unit 1 Slides for Survey of Forensic Science

Forensic Science

the study and application of science to matters of law

Forensic science provides

timely, accurate, and thorough information to decision makers in criminal justice system

Police science

From the German “Kriminalistic” coined in early 1900s to decide emerging discipline

Criminalistics

The scientific examination of physical evidence for legal purposes

Criminalistics synonym

Forensic science

Criminology

Includes the psychological angle

Criminology studies

The crime scene for motive, traits, and behavior to help interpret evidence

FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation

FBI’s duty

enforces federal law, and investigates a variety of criminal activity including terrorism, cyber crime, etc

DEA

Drug Enforcement Administration

DEA’s duty

enforce controlled substances laws and regulations of the US

ATF

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ATF’s duty

enforcing Federal criminal laws and regulating the firearms and explosives industries

NCIS

Naval Criminal Investigative Science

NCIS’s duty

investigates felony level crimes within the US Navy and Marine Corps

NTSB

National Transportation Safety Board

NTSB’s duty

investigates every civil aviation accident in the US and significant accidents in other modes of transportation

U.S. Postal Service

provides mail processing and delivery services to individuals and businesses in the US

US Fish and Wildlife Service

conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the benefit of the American people

First crime lab in the world

France, 1910 by Edmond Locard

First police crime lab in the U.S.

1923, Los Angeles

Scientific Crime Detection Lab (SCDL)

founded at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, 1929 (printed by the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre)

First FBI crime lab opened in what year

1932

Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853)

Father of forensic toxicology; Spanish medical professor; developed test for identifying arsenic in the body

Alphonse Bertillion (1853-1914)

Father of criminal identification; used anthropometry (body measurements) as a means of identification

Francis Galton (1822-1911)

First to develop method using fingerprints as means of identification; wrote Finger Printe (1892), the first statistical proof of uniqueness of fingerprints

Dr. Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943)

• Austrian physician; identified the A,B,AB and O blood groups in 1901

• continued to investigate chemistry of antigens, antibodies and other immunological factors of the blood

Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (1821-1902)

• German pathologist who standardized a way to perform autopsies — one of two ways still used today

• later worked in anthropology

Omnis cellular a cellula

Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow’s cell theory that cells arise only from other cells

Edmund Locard (1877-1966)

• French professor

• considered the father of criminalistics

• build world’s first forensic laboratory in France 1910

Locard Exchange Principle

whenever two objects come into contact with each other, traces of each are exchanged

Eugene Francois Vidocq (1775-1857)

• father of modern criminal investigation

• initially a criminal

• asked to help police solve crimes

• group became the Surete

Eugene Francois Vidocq’s accomplishments

• record-keeping, criminalistics, science of ballistics

• first to make plaster-of-paris casts of foot and shoe impressions

• master of disguise and surveillance

• held plants on indelible ink and unalterable bond paper

First step to scientific method

Observe and collect objective data

Second step to scientific method

Consider a hypothesis or possible solution

Third step to scientific method

Examine, test, and analyze evidence

Fourth step to scientific method

Determine significance of evidence

Fifth step to scientific method

Formulate a theory based on evaluation of the significance of the evidence

Necessary to work through and solve crimes

• deductive and inductive reasoning

• classifying

• comparing and contrasting

• problem solving

• analyzing perspectives

• constructing support

• error analysis

Laws that pertain to the US Criminal Justice System

• The US Constitution

• Statutory Law

• Common Law or Case Law

• Civil Law

• Criminal Law

• Equity Law

• Administrative Law

Fourth Amendment

the right against unreasonable search and seizure

Warrantless search

• Emergency circumstances

• Prevent loss of evidence

• Search person and property within the immediate control of the person leading to a lawful arrest

• A search made by consent of the parties involved

Fifth amendment

Protection against self-incrimination by declining to testify in their own defense

Miranda update

• Police not required to obtain a waiver before interrogation

• Suspect bears the burden to speak up and say that he/she does not wish to talk

• No one is ever obligated to answer questions asked by the police

Recognition

Ability to distinguish important evidence from unrelated material: pattern recognition, physical property observation, information analysis, field-testing

Preservation

Collection and proper preservation of evidence

Identification

Use of scientific testing - physical/chemical properties, morphological (structural) properties, biological/immunological properties

Comparison

Class characteristics are measured against those of known standards or controls

Individualization

The sample is unique, even among members of the same class

Interpretation

Gives meaning to all the information

Reconstruction

Reconstructs the case events - inductive/deductive logic, statistical data, pattern analysis

Dr. Henry Lee

Chief emeritus for scientific studies

• former commissioner of public safety for Connecticut

• Star’s chief criminalist from 1979 to 2000

• Worked many high profile cases (OJ Simpson, Jon Benet Ramsey, and the Helle Crafts wood chipper murder case)

Direct Evidence

Establishes a fact; eye witness statements, confessions

Circumstantial Evidence

Requires an indirect judgement or inference about what happened

Testimonial Evidence

A statement made under oath that may be given by a lay or expert witness. The credibility of the witness comes into play

Physical Evidence

Any object or material that is relevant in a crime; also known as real evidence

Direct Evidence factors

• Nature of offense; situation in which observed

• Characteristics of witness

• Way information is retrieved

Direct Evidence additional factors

• witness’ prior relationship with accused

• Time between offense and identification

• Prior identification or failed to identify defendant

• Prior identification of a person other than the defendant by the eyewitness

Eye witness

• May not be the best source

• Police composite may be developed from witness testimony by program or forensic artist

Circumstantial evidence (2)

• not absolute proof

• Can be used by applying logic and common sense to infer a fact

• How it got where it is

Testimonial evidence (2)

• based on sufficient facts or data

• The product of reliable principles and methods

Expert witness

• can only be declared by a judge

• Some are scientists, some not

• Most importantly work from data with reliable scientific methods

Types of physical evidence

• transient evidence

• Pattern evidence

• Conditional evidence

• Transfer evidence

• Associative evidence

Transient evidence

Temporary; easily change or lost

Transient evidence examples

• odor

• Temperature

• Imprints and indentations

• Markings

Pattern evidence

Produced by direct contact between a person and an object or between two objects; most are imprints, indentations, saturations; markings fractures or deposits

Pattern evidence examples

• blood spatter

• Glass fracture

• Fire burn

• Tire marks

• Etc

Conditional evidence

Produced by a specific event or action; important in crime scene reconstruction and in determining the set of Constance’s within a particular event

Conditional evidence examples

• Light

• Smoke

• Fire

• Location

• Vehicles

• Body

• Scene

Transfer evidence

Produced by contact between person(s) or object(s) or between person(s) and object(s)

Associative evidence

Items that may be associated a victim or suspect and can link a person or item to the scene of a crime

Value of physical evidence

• generally more reliable than testimonial

• Can prove that a crime has been committed

• Can corroborate or refute testimony

• Can link a suspect with a victim or with a crime scene

• Can establish the identity of those associated with a crime

• Can allow reconstruction of events of a crime

Evidence characteristics

• class

• Individual

Class

Common to group of objects or persons

Individual

Can be identified with a particular person or source

Federal rules of evidence

• probative

• Material

Probative

Actually prove something

Material

Address an issue in this particular crime

Facets of guilt

• means

• Motive

• Opportunity

Means

Person had the ability to do the crime

Motive

Person had a reason to do the crime

Opportunity

Person had the ability to be at the crime