Survey of Forensic Science - Key Terminology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key historical figures, crime laboratory structure, specialized units, and legal admissibility standards in forensic science based on lecture materials.

Forensic Science

The application of science to law.

Sung Tz'u

Author of "The Washing Away of Wrongs" (1247 A.D.) in China, representing one of the earliest recorded applications of science to criminal investigation.

M. J. B. Orfila

Spanish scientist known as the Father of Forensic Toxicology, who introduced analytical aspects of toxicology and successfully detected arsenic in the 1840 Marie LaFarge case.

Alphonse Bertillon

French police officer known as the Father of Criminal Identification, who devised the first system of personal identification known as Anthropometry in 1879.

Anthropometry

A systematic method of personal identification based on precise body measurements, devised by Alphonse Bertillon in 1879; also known as Bertillonage.

Sir Francis Galton

English scientist known as the Father of Fingerprints, who developed a methodology for classifying fingerprints and published the book "Finger Prints" in 1892.

Albert S. Osborn

Known as the Father of the Science of Questioned Documents, who authored the fundamental reference book "Questioned Documents" in 1910.

Leone Lattes

Italian scientist who developed a procedure in 1915 for determining the blood group of a dried bloodstain.

Edmond Locard

French criminologist who formulated Locard's Exchange Principle in 1920.

Locard's Exchange Principle

The fundamental forensic principle stating that whenever two objects or persons come into contact with each other, a cross-transfer of material occurs ("Every contact leaves a trace").

Calvin Goddard

U.S. Army colonel who pioneered the use of the comparison microscope for firearm examination in 1925.

LAPD Forensic Laboratory

Established in 1923, it is the oldest crime laboratory in the United States.

FBI Laboratory

Established in 1932 to serve law enforcement agencies nationwide; currently the largest crime laboratory in the world.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

A federal agency whose crime laboratories focus primarily on the analysis, production, sale, and transportation of illegal drugs.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)

A federal agency whose crime laboratories specialize in analyzing alcoholic beverages, tax law documents, weapons, and explosive devices.

Physical Science Unit

A crime laboratory unit that applies principles of chemistry, physics, and geology to process drugs, glass, paint, explosives, soil, and trace physical evidence.

Biology Unit

A crime laboratory unit staffed with biologists who process DNA typing, bloodstain and body fluid identification, hair and fiber comparisons, and botanical materials.

Firearms Unit

A crime laboratory unit responsible for examining firearms, discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, ammunition, clothing for gunshot residue, and tool marks.

Document Examination Unit

A crime laboratory unit that analyzes handwritten and typed or printed documents for authenticity, forgery, ink composition, and paper characteristics.

Toxicology Unit

A crime laboratory unit that tests body fluids and organs to detect the presence or absence of drugs and poisons.

Intoxilyzer

An instrument used in forensic analysis to measure the level of alcohol consumed by an individual.

Sound Spectrograph

An instrument used in voiceprint analysis that transforms speech into a visual graphic display called a voiceprint.

Evidence-Collection Unit

A specialized crime laboratory team dispatched directly to crime scenes to collect and preserve physical evidence without analyzing it on site.

Frye Standard

A legal standard established in Frye v. U.S. (1923) requiring that scientific techniques or evidence must be "established" and "generally accepted" within the relevant scientific community to be admissible.

Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE)

Federal rules enacted by U.S. Congress in 1975 as an alternative to the Frye Standard, allowing evidence if it assists the jury and is deemed relevant by the trial judge.

Daubert Standard

A legal precedent set in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) establishing the trial judge as a "gatekeeper" for scientific evidence admissibility based on testability, peer review, error rates, standards, and general acceptance.

Expert Witness

An individual evaluated and recognized by the court as possessing specialized skill, knowledge, training, education, or experience to aid in determining the truth.