Unit 1

Administrative law

focuses on the exercise of government authority by the executive branch and its agencies

ATF

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; federal crime lab and law enforcement agency that protects our communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, the illegal use and storage of explosives, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.

Admissible

Something you can use in court to help show what happened

Anthropometry

taking a series of measurements as a means of distinguishing individuals

Arrest

taking away freedom

Bail

money put up to guarantee the defendant will appear in court

Booking

gathering personal information

Case/Common Law

laws made up of judicial opinion and precedents

Civil/Private Law

deals with individuals; usually matters of property or contracts

Confirmation bias

the tendency for individuals, including forensic scientists, to interpret and evaluate evidence in a way that confirms their pre

Constitutional Law

branch of law that deals with the interpretation and application of the US Constitution

Crime Scene Investigation

a multidisciplinary approach in which scientific and legal professionals work together to solve a crime; a team of people working together to solve a crime

Criminal/Public Law

regulation and enforcement of rights setting the acceptable limits of conduct in society

Criminalistics

Using science to study clues from a crime; the scientific examination of physical evidence for legal purposes

Criminology

Includes the psychological angle; studying the crime scene for motive, traits, and behavior that will help interpret the evidence.

Criminally insane

insane at the moment of the crime or “not knowing right from wrong”

CSI Effect

unrealistic expectations that a prosecutor’s case should be bolstered and supported by forensic evidence; when people expect lots of science in real

Daubert Ruling

the judge decides if the evidence can be entered into the trial. Admissibility is determined by: whether the theory or technique can be tested, whether the science has been offered for peer review, whether the rate of error is acceptable, whether the method at issue enjoys widespread acceptance, and whether the theory or technique follows standards.

DEA

Drug Enforcement Administration; federal crime lab and law enforcement agency that combats criminal drug networks bringing harm, violence, overdoses, and poisonings to the US.

Deductive Reasoning

getting a conclusion from the facts using a series of logical steps

Equity Law

remedial branch of law that is intended to address situations where the law is not robust enough to handle a particular case

Expert Witness

has knowledge beyond that of an ordinary lay person; a person who knows a lot about something and explains it to the court

Eyewitness

a person who has seen someone or something related to a crime and can communicate his or her observations

FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation; federal crime lab and law enforcement agency that works to protect the American people and uphold the US Constitution by investigating: terrorism, counterintelligence, cybercrime, violent crime, civil rights, transnational organized crime, white

Felonies

major crimes punishable by fines and/or more than one year in prison

Felony murder

death that occurs during a felony

Forensic Science

application of science to criminal and civil laws

Framing Cognitive Bias

Influencing how information is presented and how experts interpret it.

The Frye Standard

scientific evidence is allowed into the courtroom if it is generally accepted by the relevant scientific community. Does not offer any guidance on reliability.

Grand Jury

only prosecution presents evidence and jury decides if there is enough to go to trial

Homicide

the act of killing another human being

Inadmissible

Something you can not use in court to help show what happened

Indictment

to formally accuse someone of a felony

Infraction

minor offense or petty crime; penalty is usually a fine

Insanity

legal concept, not evidence of mental illness; special legal rule for people who didn’t understand what they were doing

Involuntary manslaughter

reckless act that results in death

Locard Principle

transfer of evidence whenever two objects come into contact with each other

Material

means relevant and significant; something important to a case

Means

person had the ability to do the crime

Medicolegal

matters involving both medicine and law.

Mens Rea

guilty mind

Misdemeanors

minor crimes punishable by fine or jail

MMO

motive, means, opportunity; the reason, the way, and the chance to do a crime

Motive

person had a reason to do the crime (not necessary to prove in a court of law)

Murder

the unlawful killing of another human being

Negligence

when someone doesn’t act safely and causes harm without meaning to

Observation

what a person perceives using his or her senses

Opportunity

a person had the ability and chance to commit the crime

Perception

information related from the senses; how your brain understands what you see/feel

Probative

tending to prove something

Stare decisis

to stand by the decision

Statutory Law

legislative acts declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something based on the Constitution

Subpoena

a summons to appear in court

US Constitution

the supreme body of laws that govern the country

USPS

federal crime lab and law enforcement agency responsible for providing postal service in the US

Toxicology

the scientific study of poisons, toxins, and chemicals, and how they harm living things

Latent Fingerprint

A print left behind on a surface

What are the 4 major crime labs?

ATF, FBI, USPS, DEA

What was the first crime lab, when was it made, and who founded it?

LAPD, 1923, August Vollmer

Given to a person who has been arrested their legal rights; in accordance with the Miranda decision

Miranda Rights/Mirandize

How many people are in a Grand Jury?

23

What type of evidence is the prosecuting attorney going to present for their case?

any evidence that points or could point to a suspect

Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853)

“Father of Toxicology” and one of the first people to use microscopy to study forensic science

M. Orfila = sounds like Morphine, for toxicology

Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1917)

Developed Anthropometry, a system of measuring someone’s physical features and photographing them to identify suspects

Anthropometry was once called Bertillonage (A. Bertillon)

Francis Galton (1822-1911)

Proposed that criminal tendencies could be inherited. Laid groundwork for the use of fingerprints in criminal investigation, and provided the first workable fingerprint classification system

Was the founder of EUGENICS

had the Gall(ton) to believe in that + fingerprints can be somewhat hereditary

Victor Balthazard (1872-1950)

Worked on the first grooves and sets in ballistics and was the first to study the comparisons of human and animal hair

Victor - Like Frankenstein, studying humans and animals Bal(tharzard) - Bal(listics)

Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943)

Discovered ABO blood groups

Landsteiner and Lattes - the blood guys

Leon Lattes (1887-1954)

Determined how to find blood type from blood stains

Landsteiner and Lattes - blood guys, Landsteiner comes first alphabetically

Calvin Goddard (1891-1955)

“Father of ballistics” and created identification systems for guns and bullets

Goddard - like “The father” and “The father of ballistics”

Alec Jeffreys (1950-now)

Invented DNA fingerprinting

Like Alec from MLB who knows literally everyone

Albert S. Osborn (1858-1946)

Created the principles of document examination

S. like script or postscript

Walter McCrone (1916-2002)

Dedicated to advancing microscopy

McCrone like Micro

Hans Gross (1847-1915)

Advocated and wrote papers for the use of science in criminal investigations

Gross means large in German, and he was largely in support of forensics

Edmund Locard (1877-1966)

First person to apply forensics to an investigation. Locard principle of cross contact, saying that anytime evidence or a suspect comes in contact with something, a transfer of evidence occurs

(Lo)card - like shuffling cards

deka

times 10

hecto

times 100

kilo

times 1,000

mega

times 1,000,000

giga

1,000,000,000

deci

1/10

centi

1/100

milli

1/1,000

micro

1/1,000,000

nano

1/1,000,000,000

16oz is how many pounds?

1

how many pounds in a ton

2,000lbs

how many feet in a mile

5280ft

how many oz in a cup

8