1. Forensic Science

2. Forensic science, by its very nature, lies at the point of convergence between our legal and scientific systems.
*The law wants certainty - Who committed the crime and where - Seeks justice *Science can only establish the simplest of facts. - Probability, odds of an occurrence, etc. - Looks for greater understanding

3. It lies with juries to ultimately decide what odds are sufficient to convict someone of a crime. This is made more difficult by the increasing technical complexity of scientific evidence that juries must try to understand to arrive at a fair and just verdict.

4. Many disciplines are used and are being pulled into the world of forensics.
Medicine, chemistry, physics, psychology, anthropology, entomology. There is too much information to be known by any one person. Forensic science has evolved into a variety of complex forensic sub-specialties with expert specialists.

5. Science does have limitations when finding & analyzing evidence.
*Too often juries find cases ‘lacking’ unless all possible types of scientific data are presented. *This leads to excessive, useless and expensive uses of forensic testing. A strong system of justice requires an equally strong partner in forensic science.

6. Forensic Science
The application of scientific methods and principles to the investigation of crimes and criminals.

7. Criminalistics: The science and profession dealing with the recognition, collection, identification, individualization, and interpretation of physical evidence, and the application of the natural sciences to law-science matters.

8. History & Development of
Forensic Science

9. Early Contributions to Forensics
*Early Romans & Greeks used natural world understanding to deduce logical arguments related to criminal prosecutions.
-Archimedes: “Father of forensic science”
*Quintillian: Roman attorney; Proved a person was framing a blind man in the homicide of his mother.
*Sung T’ze: Published 1st forensic textbook; Reported how flies were used to detect blood on a harvest scythe used to kill a man.

10. History INTRODUCTION Mathieu Orfila—the father of forensic toxicology.
Alphonse Bertillion—devised the first scientific system of personal identification in 1879.
Francis Galton—conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification.
Leone Lattes—developed a procedure to determine blood type from dried bloodstains.
Calvin Goddard—used a comparison microscope to determine if a particular gun fired a bullet.
Albert Osborn—developed the fundamental principles of document examination.
INTRODUCTION

11. ANTHOPOMETRY - Bertillon
A systematic procedure of taking a series of body measurements as a means of distinguishing individuals. This method was considered to be the most accurate until it was replaced by fingerprinting.

13. Information Sheet

14. History
Walter McCrone—utilized microscopy and other analytical methodologies to examine evidence.
Hans Gross—wrote the first treatise describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation.
Edmond Locard—incorporared Gross’ principles within a workable crime laboratory. ***Locard’s Exchange Principle—states that when a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs.
INTRODUCTION

15. August Vollmer: Police chief from Berkeley, CA.
Set up the oldest forensic lab in the U.S. with the Los Angles Police Dept.
Under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI organized a national lab that offered forensic services to all law enforcement agencies.
*Consulted with business executives, manufacturers & scientists to gain info.
*Now the largest crime lab in the world.

16. The ever increasing number of crime laboratories is partly the result of the following:
1) Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s responsible for police placing greater emphasis on scientifically evaluated evidence. (Miranda rights)
2) Crime laboratories inundated with drug specimens due to accelerated drug abuse.
3) The advent of DNA profiling.

17. Modern Day Crime Labs
*Necessary for a lab to have enhanced capabilities, state-of-the-art instrumentation and to use best-known practices for evidence analysis. *Labs are subject to tighter controls and stricter standards than ever before with increased caseload.

18. Crime Detection in Literature
Edgar Allen Poe: Citizen C. Auguste Dupin used deductive reasoning and put himself in the criminal’s shoes to solve crimes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Author of the Sherlock Holmes series. Doyle was a Scottish physician who wrote the series in his spare time (he wasn’t a very good doctor). He used scientific techniques in his books. Other authors: Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie

19. Modern Day Media & Forensics
With the popularity of investigative television shows, the general public is very comfortable and also interested in crime scene investigation. The problem with this… THE C.S.I. EFFECT A phenomenon where scientific crime television shows have made actual jurors reluctant to vote to convict when forensic evidence is neither necessary nor available.

20. The Organization
of a
Crime Laboratory

21. The development of crime laboratories in the United States has been characterized by rapid growth accompanied by a lack of national and regional planning and coordination.
At present, nearly 400 public crime laboratories operate at various levels of government—federal, state, county, and municipal.

22. TYPES OF CRIME LABORATORIES
Will provide its expertise to any local agency that requests assistance in relevant investigative matters.
FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation
DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration
ATF – Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
USPIS – U.S. Postal Inspection Service
These are Federal labs. Some states have regional (statewide system) and may even organize into a county and municipal labs.

23. Full-service Crime Lab
Basic Services
of the
Full-service Crime Lab

24. 1) Physical Science Unit - Incorporates the principles of chemistry, physics, and geology to identify and compare physical evidence.
2) Biology Unit – Applies knowledge of biological sciences in order to investigate blood samples, body fluids, hair, and fiber.
3) Firearms Unit - Investigates discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition.
4) Document Unit - Provides skills needed for handwriting analysis and other questioned-document issues.
5) Photographic Unit - Applies specialized photographic techniques for recording and examining physical evidence.

25. Optional Crime Lab Services

26. 1) Toxicology Unit - examines body fluids and organs for the presence of drugs and poisons.
2) Latent Fingerprint Unit - processes and examines evidence for latent fingerprints.
3) Polygraph Unit - conducts polygraph or lie detector tests.
4) Voiceprint Analysis Unit - attempts to tie a recorded voice to a particular suspect.
5) Crime-Scene Investigation Unit - dispatches specially trained personnel to the crime scene to collect and preserve physical evidence.

27. Functions of the Forensic Scientist
*Be skilled in applying the principles and techniques of the physical and natural sciences to the analysis of the many types of evidence that may be recovered during crime investigation.
*Provide expert testimony at a trial.
Of the thee avenues available to police
Investigators (confessions, eyewitness
accounts, evaluation of physical
evidence) physical evidence is free of
Inherent error or bias.

28. Determining Admissibility of Evidence
Court cases dating back to 1923 set forth guidelines for accepting scientifically evaluated evidence & expert testimony in court.
Frye v. United States: A scientific procedure, technique or principle must be ‘generally accepted’ by the scientific community.
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993): U.S. Supreme Court asserted that ‘general acceptance’ is not an absolute prerequisite for admissibility of scientific evidence.
*Trial judges are the ‘gatekeepers’ in judging
admissibility and reliability of scientific evidence.
continued…

29. Daubert v. , continued
Guidelines to gauge the veracity of scientific evidence:
1) Whether the scientific technique or theory can be (and has been) tested.
2) Whether the technique or theory has been subject to peer review and publication.
3) The technique’s potential rate of error.
4) Existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique’s operation.
5) Whether the scientific theory or method has attracted widespread acceptance within a relevant scientific community.

30. Joiner Case: Experts cannot ‘stray’ to far from their data or from commonly accepted practice.
*Nothing requires a court to admit opinion
evidence that is connected to the data only by
the expert themselves.
*Too great a gap between data & opinion
Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. V. Carmichael: The ‘gatekeeping’ role of the trial judge applied to all expert testimony (not just scientific testimony)
Melendez-Dias (2009): The individual who preforms the analysis in the lab must testify in court as to the findings of the analysis.
*There are problems with taking a technician out
of the lab for lengthy courtroom proceedings.

31. The Expert Witness
An expert witness is an individual whom the court determines possesses knowledge relevant to the trial that is not expected of the average person.
The expert witness is called on to evaluate evidence based on specialized training and experience that the court lacks the expertise to do.
The expert will then express an opinion as to the significance of the findings.
Forensic scientists also participate in training law enforcement personnel in the proper recognition, collection, and preservation of physical evidence.

32. Forensic Scientists should provide training to law enforcement personnel in the proper recognition, collection, and preservation of physical evidence
Excellent lab work has no value if the relevant evidence is not properly recognized, collected and correctly preserved at the site of the crime.

33. Therefore -
It is best to familiarize all field officers with crime lab services and capabilities by providing periodic lectures, lab tours, and dissemination of manuals prepared by the lab staff that outline the proper methods for collection and submission of physical evidence to the lab.

34. OTHER FORENSIC SERVICES
Forensic Psychiatry - An area in which the relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings is examined.
Forensic Odontology - Involves using teeth to provide information about the identification of victims when a body is left in an unrecognizable state; also investigates bite marks.
Forensic Engineering - Concerned with failure analysis, accident reconstruction, and causes and origins of fires or explosions.
Forensic Computer Science - Involves the examination of digital evidence.