Ethical Standards in Forensic Science

Legal Responsibilities of Forensic Science Follow procedures Obey the rules of evidence Maintain impartiality Stay within the legal, scientific boundaries On the other hand, we also have to follow procedures, obey the rules of evidence, maintain impartiality, and stay within the legal, scientific boundaries. Forensic scientists have to report whatever they observe and whatever they find, no matter what they believe. Report what you observe, whatever you find, no matter what you believe. Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Character of Forensic Scientists Unprejudiced and impartial Objective Have sufficient education and training Forensic scientists are inclined toward the view that their function is to employ scientific procedures to unearth factual information about the physical evidence in a case, regardless of which side the evidence supports. Most forensic scientists think of themselves as unprejudiced and make every effort to ensure that their work is objective. They think of their results as a way of providing information to the court, rather than to one side or the other. Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Key Terms Ethics – the branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions, and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Key Terms (continued) Expert Witness – the Forensic Scientist and or Crime Scene Technician presenting the findings of a crime investigation in a court of law

Ethical Guidelines for Analyzing Physical Evidence Adequate examination Interpret and/or evaluate findings No excessive testing to falsely enhance results Use valid, reliable standards of comparison Use accurate, reliable equipment Precise Reproducible Make adequate examination and analysis of evidence Do not use excessive testing to needlessly enhance results Use only methodology currently accepted in the field(s) of expertise at the time of the analysis Use only valid, reliable, standard materials for comparison Use accurate, reliable equipment demonstrating precision and reproducibility Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Ethical Guidelines for Interpreting Physical Evidence Don’t confuse scientific facts with opinion Don’t state conclusions and opinions beyond the area(s) of personal expertise Do not confuse scientific facts with opinion in reports and testimony Qualify and explain opinions and conclusions appropriately, especially in gray areas (where the results are less than positive or negative) Do not extend conclusions and opinions beyond the area(s) of personal expertise; don’t claim any false qualifications Assign the proper weight and certainty to opinions and conclusions Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Ethical Guidelines for Reporting Physical Evidence Personal interest or gain should not bias or distort a report or testimony Never claim results and/or accomplishments not your own Avoid misleading or ambiguous language and terms easily misconstrued Never allow personal interest or gain to bias or distort a report or testimony Never claim results and/or accomplishments not your own Limit reports and/or testimony to the opinions and conclusions that can be properly drawn from the examinations and analyses Avoid misleading or ambiguous language or terms easily misconstrued or misunderstood Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.