introduction to forensic science

Song Ci

• wrote collected cases of injustice rectified

• farmer and sickle example

• provided advice on how to distinguish drowning, strangulation and cause of death

Mathieu Orfila

• father of toxicology

• taught medicine in france

• published first scientific treatise on poison detection and their effects

• established forensic toxicology as a legitimate scientific endeavor

Alphonse Bertillon

• father of criminal identification

• devised first scientific system of personal identification

• anthropometry, series of body measurements to distinguish onself

• replaced by fingerprinting

Francis Galton

• first definitive study of fingerprints

• published finger prints book

Dr. Leone Lattes

• professor in Turin Italy

• blood grouping useful for identifying an individual

• devised simple procedure for determining blood group from a dried bloodstain

• applied to criminal investigations

Calvin Goddard

• refined techniques for determining if a gun fired a bullet using a comparison microscope

• established comparison microscope as an essential tool

Albert S Osborn

• developed principals of document examination

• authored questioned documents

Dr. Walter C McCrone

• preeminent microscopist

• educated thousands in microscopic techniques

• published polarized light microscopy

Hans Gross

• public prosecutor and judge

• authored first treatise describing application of scientific disciplines to criminal investigation

Auguste Ambroise Tardieu

• preeminent forensic medical scientist

• wrote of a dozen volumes of forensic analyses on topics including abortion, drowning, hanging, insanity, poisoning, suffocation

• wrote first book on sexual abuse of children, battered childs syndrome known as tardieus syndrome

Paul Leland Kirk

• chemist/forensic scientist

• blood spatter evidence

• has an award for the highest honor one can receive in criminalistics section of the american academy of forensic science

Edmon Locard

• studied medicine and law

• founder and director of institute of criminalistics

• Locards exchange principle

criminalistics

application of science through the analysis of physical evidence within the enforcement of the law

criminology

area of sociology that focuses on the study of crimes and their causes, effects and social impact

forensic scientists are responsible for

• documenting and preserving evidence

• analysis of physical evidence

• maintaining chain of custody

• providing expert testimony

basic services provided by full-service labs are as follows

• physical science unit or trace evidence unit

• biology unit

• firearms unit

• toxicology unit

• drug analysis unit

• latent fingerprint unit

• document examination unit

• CSI

• computer crimes

• voiceprint analysis unit

• photography unit

• polygraph unit

medical examiner system

• highly trained professionals appointed to their position

• high quality death investigations and pathology services

• independent from population size, county budget and politics

• florida follows the medical examiner system

coroner system

• elected officials who inquire into cause and manner of death

• no specific medical or forensic training required

• can hold related or unrelated positions

• possible conflicts with the criminal justice system

• coroners who are pathologists can identify bodies, notify next of kin, sign death certificates and perform autopsies

• coroners who are not pathologists can identify bodies, notify next of kin, sign death certificates and perform very limited autopsies

cause of death

• injury or disease responsible for the disturbances that resulted in death

• medical reason for death

manner of death

• circumstances under which death occurred

• classified as natural or unnatural

rigor mortis

• stiffening of body and muscles postmortem

• manifests within first 24 hours, disappears within 36 hours

livor mortis

• setting of blood in areas closest to the ground

• begins immediately and up to 12 hours after death

algor mortis

• postmortem changes causing a body to lose heat

• one hour post mortem body loses head 1-1.5 deg F/hour

vitreous humor

-cells in eyes release potassium

can help determine time of death