Foundations Forensic Science

Who developed the system known as anthropometry?

Alphonse Bertillon

What did the 2007 NAS Report discuss?

The NAS report called on the scientific community to increase scientific rigour and greater quality assurance in all fields of forensic science

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Recommendations:


1. Create a National Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS)
2. Standardize terminology and reporting practices
3. Expand research on the accuracy, reliability and validity of the forensic sciences
4. Remove forensic science services from the administrative control of law enforcement agencies and prosecutor’s offices
5. Support forensic science research on human observer bias and sources of error

If there is blood at a crime scene, that does not belong to the victim, and the blood type is O, what can you say about a suspect with type O blood?

The suspect can not be excluded as contributing blood to the crime scene

The Kaufman report was concerned with what aspects of forensic investigations and forensic science:

tunnel vision, appropriate use of the scientific method, and not describing the limitations of physical matches

What is the problem with the anthropometry system for individual identification? \*

It sometimes yielded the same results (same measurements) of criminals to those already incarcerated

The Scientific Method has evolved over time and is currently viewed as a combination of theories from:

Bacon (observation), Popper (falsification), and Kuhn (paradigm shift)

Who undertook the first definitive study of fingerprints as a method of personal identification?

Francis Galton

The concept of “general acceptance” of scientific evidence relates to what?

Frye Standard

The Innocence Project refers to:

The exoneration of the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and the reform of the criminal justice system to prevent future injustices.

The fictional character of Sherlock Holmes was created by:

Arthur Conan Doyle

The Daubert Standard suggest that admissible scientific data must include which of the following criteria: 

testable predictions/adequate testing, peer-reviewed, known error rates, regular standards controlling the techniques, general acceptance

There are important differences and similarities between science and the law, a __**similarity**__ or __**similarities**__ in how science and the law are seeking the truth include(s):

adversarial process - the falsification of hypotheses and construction of alternative hypotheses

It is difficult for courts to sort good science from bad, whether the bad science is a matter of perjury, incompetence, or inadvertent language. The Daubert Standard was set to address these issues by requiring that expert testimony of physical evidence address the following:

Peer review of techniques , error rates of techniques, general acceptance of technique

The effectiveness of an expert’s testimony is almost always dependent on:

The ability of the expert to talk in clear, concise language, education background of the expert, the scientific validity of the test used

The dramatization of forensic science on television has led to a phenomenon known as what?

CSI effect

As a forensic scientist the word “match” means?  Provide the best answer.

we can't identify the difference between two items

In *Kumho Tire v. Carmichael*, the US Supreme Court ruled that the “gatekeeping” role of a trial judge: \*

applied not only to scientific testimony, but to (Allows all expert testimony).

What is subclass carryover in terms of physical evidence?

During the sequential manufacturing process, items that are created one after the other have attributes that are very closely related ,undermining the uniqueness of the item.

In Canada, the main ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada on the admissibility of scientific evidence is based on?

R.v. Mohan

Forensic science is the application of science to

law

The Colin Pitchfork case involved:

A 15-year-old girl in Narborough, Leicestershire was found raped/murdered in November of 1983. On the scene, they found semen. 3 years later, another girl was found with the same semen at the scene. Richard Buckland (17) confessed to the murder, (he was suspected because he knew intimate details of the case not released to the public), but DNA evidence was used to exonerate him. Afterwards, a mass DNA screening (4,000 people) was held to try to find the killer, but to no avail. However, a friend of Colin Pitchfork turned him into the police saying that he heard him brag about the murders. DNA evidence was used to then convict him. It was the first exoneration through DNA evidence. The First Murder conviction using DNA evidence, and the first mass DNA screening.

The 1st DNA type case in Canada took place in what year?

1988

What is an expert as assessed in a legal context?

An expert is a person possessed of special skill and knowledge acquired through study or experience that entitles them to speak authoritatively concerning their area of expertise.

The principle that states that a cross-transfer of materials occurs when two objects come into contact with each other is known as?

Lockards’s Exchange Principle

In the David Milgaard case, what was the major problem or problems with the focus of the criminal investigation?

inappropriate use of language, tunnel vision, not clearly describing the limitation of physical evidence

The case of Coppolino v. State highlights issues dealing with what?

the acceptability of new scientific tests

The Kaufman Inquiry made several recommendations including:

* reports must contain the conclusions drawn from the forensic testing and the limitations be placed upon those conclusions
* certain language is demonstrably misleading, terms such ‘match’ and ‘consistent with’
* The ‘scientific method’ means that scientists are to work to vigorously challenge or disprove a hypothesis, rather than prove one
* Identification and avoidance of tunnel vision which is the single-minded and overly narrow focus on a particular investigative or prosecutorial theory

Who devised a technique for determining the blood group of a __**dried**__ bloodstain, which he applied to criminal investigations? 

Leone Lattes

The scientific method requires that scientific evidence be validated by what means?

A) formulating pertinent questions

B) formulating hypotheticals

C) performing experiments

Y-STR markers are useful for what types of investigations?

Sexual assault investigations

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when multiple males are involved in a sexual assault

To determine whether a bloodstain is of human or animal origin, what type of test would the serologist perform?

precipitin test

The amylase enzyme is a good indicator for what types of stains?

Saliva

Species identifications are normally done using what type of DNA? \*

mtDNA

The discriminating power of mtDNA is _____ the discriminating power of STR analysis.

less than

The means to detect the amelogenin gene is included in commercial STR kits used in crime labs because the gene allows determination of what?

Gender

What is PSA (p30)?

Prostate Specific Antigen

CODIS is a national system of what? 

Shared databases of DNA typing information from convicted felons and crime scene evidence.

Luminol can be used at crime scenes to do what?

luminate blood stains, show evidence of movement and detect traces of blood without compromising potential DNA typing

What is CITES?

Convention on international Endangered Species of Wild Fauna - protects species against over-exploitation through international trade

What is a SNP?

single nucleotide polymorphism

A gene pair made up of two similar alleles—for example, AA and BB—is said to be what?

homozygous

Wildlife DNA forensic investigations most often start with what type of analyses?

species identification from mtDNA, such as from cytochrome b, or cytochrome oxidase genes

Acid-phosphatase is a major constituent of what?

semen

Which is an advantage of working with short DNA fragments?

* They are more stable and less likely to break apart.
* Their quantity can be greatly amplified by PCR technology.
* They are less subject to degradation due to adverse environmental conditions.

The technology of DNA typing in forensics had its beginnings in 1985 with the work of whom?

Sir Alec Jeffreys

Y-STR markers are useful when multiple males are involved in a sexual assault. If three men are involved in such an attack of one female, the investigators would expect Y-STR analysis to show a maximum of how many peaks?

3 peaks

What is one of the biggest concerns with presumptive testing for biological fluids?

The primary concern with all presumptive tests is the lack of specificity, as the tests will often react with a range of different substances and so false positives are an issue. Furthermore some of the tests are not particularly sensitive and so small amounts of a body fluid may result in false negatives.

What is BOLD?

Barcode of Life Database

If you have a STR DNA profile from a bloodstain at a crime scene, and the genotype at a locus is comprised of 3 alleles, what can you say about the profile?

at least 2 people contributed to the stain?

A DNA sample is normally said to have a low copy number when it contains fewer than ________ DNA-bearing cells.

18

What does the PCR technique do? 

a technique used to amplify or make multiple copies of a specific gene or segment of a DNA sample

The Canadian National DNA Databank includes offender “hits” to crimes including:Murder, Robbery, Break and Enter, Sexual Assault, and Attempted Murder. As of March 31, 2020, how many “hits” have occurred since the inception of the NDDB in 2000?  Please provide the closest approximate number.

65,000+

In terms of the National DNA Databank, the CSI is also known as:

Crime Scene Index

What is the genotype of an individual with the following dinucleotide STR:

Allele 1: GTGTGTGTGT

Allele 2: GTGTGTGTGTGTGT

5,7

A stain can tentatively be identified as blood by what test?

A. The luminol test. \n B. The benzidine test. \n C. The phenolphthalein test.

Buccal cells obtained from? 

The cheek

How many bones are in the human male and female body, respectively?

207

Which of the following would lead to skeletal remains NOT being forensically relevant?

archaeological in nature, cemetery, teaching skills, relics

Which of the following is NOT a reportable death type to a Coroner?

Deaths caused by communicable diseases.

A biological profile developed by a forensic anthropologist would include:

sex, age at death, racial ancestry, height

What does the term *rigor mortis* refer to?

The hardening of the muscles and stiffening of the body that begins 3 to 4 hours after death.

Who is Bucky?

Skull found in bucket

Which of the following indicators can be used to estimate the time of death?

Rigor mortis, Eye fluid potassium levels (vitreous humor), Livor mortis

Livor mortis can assist in:

judging the time of death for a body, it also assists in determining if the body died where it was found, what position it was in, and whether it was moved

Classifications of trauma fall into 6 main categories that include:

Chemical, Mechanical, Blast, Radiation, Thermal and Electrical

Femurs can be used to determine the height of the victim, but if present, the femoral head can be used to determine sex.  Which of the following is TRUE of female femoral heads?\*

Longer than males and at a greater than 90 degree angle

Time of death is often approximated by analyzing the vitreous humor for the levels of what?

K+ (potassium)

A corpse was discovered in an apartment last November. It was that of a 50-year-old male who died of a heart attack. At the time of discovery, the body temperature was determined to be 89°F/31.7C. Knowing that living body temperature is 98.6F/37C, what is the most probable postmortem interval?

7 hours

A body that displays a cherry-red discoloration might lead a pathologist to suspect what type of poisoning?

Carbon Monoxide

The rate of cooling of a dead body is *not* influenced by which of the following?

Gender of victim

The death of an individual due to chronic alcoholism is ruled what?

Natural

Lividity (livor mortis) can be expected to be fixed after how long?

16 hours

Traditional autopsies have several drawbacks that include:

invasive and destructive, potential destruction of evidence, time consuming, extensive to perform, somewhat subjective

Virtopsy is best described as:

Non-invasive technique that scans the body and captures 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional images with the usage of CT, MRI, MSCT, CT, and CAT scans

Human skulls have subtle features that allow them to be categorized as either male or female.  These features include:

**Male skulls tend to have a larger, lower, more sloping frontal bone than female skulls**.

Putrefaction and autolysis are two types of ________ processes.

decomposition

*Homicide, suicide, accident, natural*, and *undetermined* are all categories of what?

Manners of Death

The Goudge Report was a critical investigation into the challenges of expert forensic testimony associated with:

**unreliable and flawed expert evidence leading to wrongful convictions**

A critical piece of evidence in the Ted Bundy murders, tying him directly to one victim included:

Bite mark evidence

The stage of fusion of various bones within a skeleton can be examined to learn what about the decedent.

Age

What is the cause of the largest percentage of __**accidental**__ deaths?

Transportation accidents

A pathologist would expect rigor mortis to largely disappear after how long?\*

36 hours

Which of the following can influence potassium levels in your eyeball fluid?

Burn victims, drug overdose, chronic illnesses

In the Death Investigation module, the lack of Active Transport was noted as important in the mechanism of PMI estimation for which of the following?

Rigor mortis - Active transport is the mechanism that transports molecules and other substances across membranes and requires an expenditure of cellular energy to move the molecules against a concentration gradient. When an organism dies, the active transport ceases due to the loss of cellular energy that is required for the process. When selective membrane permeability is lost, the analyte concentrations across barriers approach equilibrium values.

Evidence of tampering with the position of a body after death can be obtained by evaluating what?

Livor mortis

The amount of alcohol detected in the blood would be ______  in the alveolar breath.

2100:1

If blood is not available, which of the following ***can't*** the medical examiner use to determine the body's alcohol content to a reasonable degree of accuracy?

urine

In the short film on clandestine burials, two main means to locate graves were discussed including:\*

Normally, PMI is calculated using what type of blowfly species?\*

Necrophagous (Calliphoridaes)

The study of how animals decay and become fossilized is called:

Taphonomy

Antemortem injuries could include:

healed fractures

Carbon monoxide is toxic because it does what?

displaces oxygen in the blood and deprives the heart, brain and other vital organs of oxygen.

In one of the earliest cases of applying entomological data to a homicide, as described in “The Washing Away of Wrongs”, what were the flies attracted to, that helped identify the murderer?

blood on a sickle

Alcohol is oxidized primarily where in the body?

liver

Which of the following drugs is *not* found in blood or urine?

Heroin

In the Steven Truscott case, entomological evidence was extensively debated by several experts, and was key in determining if Steven had an alibi in the murder of Lynne Harper.  What was the debated evidence?

Time of death was reassessed based on the view that the body was not colonized the evening of June 9th, but that the insects likely only colonized the body on June 10th.  Thus, providing Truscott with an alibi during the suspected time of death. whether larvae are are deposited? during the night

From this photo, state the stage of development this blowfly is in?

3rd instar

The rate of alcohol absorption on a full stomach is ________ the rate of absorption on an empty stomach.

faster than

The Theory of Spontaneous Generation established that:

life arose from nonliving matter

While there can be further subdivisions for the stages of decay, the four main stages of decay, in order of occurrence, include:

Fresh, bloat, decay, dry