Forensics Unit 1 and 2

What is the definition of forensics?

the application of science to law

What are the members of the forensics team?

1. Law Enforcement

2. Medical Professionals 

3. Investigators

4. Deputy Coroners

5. Field Evidence Technicians

6. Forensic Pathologists/ State Coroners

7. Forensics Scientists

8. Other Scientists

9. Prosecutor/ District Autorney

10. Press Liason

1813

M. Orfila’s first attempt of the use of a microscope in examining blood and semen

1879

A. Bertillon creation of Anthropometry

1887

the publishing of Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes”

1892

the publishing of Francis Galton’s “Fingerprints”

1900

K. Landsteiner discovered human blood groups

1910

the publishing of Albert Osborne’s “Questioned Documents”

1910

Edmund Locard established the first police crime lab

1915

C. Goddard refined gun examination

1986

DNA was used to solve a crime

Locard’s Principle of Exchange

when 2 objects interact, material is exchanged between the two goods

What is direct evidence?

a firsthand account

What is circumstantial evidence?

indirect evidence implying fact but cannot prove it

What is biological circumstantial evidence?

evidence originating from something living

What is physical circumstantial evidence?

evidence originating from something non-living

What is trace evidence?

small amounts of evidence left behind

What is class evidence?

evidence leading to a group of suspects

What is individual evidence?

evidence leading to a specific suspect

Why is eye witness testimony unreliable?

change blindness

What is deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning?

Deductive - big to small

Inductive - small to big

Abductive - best general guess

Frye vs. the US

helped new sciences and examination techniques appear more often in courtrooms

Federal Rules for Evidence, Rule 702

replaced Frye’s rules with expert testimony. though with a bad expert, it could lead to misleading or incorrect information being used

Daubert Decision

Daubert overruled Frye

What does the Chain of Custody ensure?

the same evidence from the crime scene is being showed in the courtroom

What are the 7 S’s of securing a crime scene?

1. Secure

2. Separate

3. Scan

4. See

5. Sketch

6. Search

7. Secure

What is a rough sketch? How does it differ from a finished drawing?

rough - on site, informal, captures layout

final - precise, detailed, containes measurements

Units of Forensics 1

physical science

Units of Forensics 2

biology

Units of Forensics 3

firearms

Units of Forensics 4

documentation examination

Units of Forensics 5

photography

Units of Forensics 6

toxicology

Units of Forensics 7

latent fingerprinting

Units of Forensics 8

polygraph

Units of Forensics 9

voiceprint analysis

Units of Forensics 10

crime scene investigation

Units of Forensics 11

forensics pathology

Units of Forensics 13

odontology

Units of Forensics 12

engineering