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Chapter 1 Notes

Chapter 1 Notes. History, Development, and Crime Labs. Ted Bundy. Former law student believed to be responsible for 40 murders between 1964 and 1978. Convicted for kidnapping, Bundy escaped from prison in Colorado and killed 3 more young women in Florida.

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Chapter 1 Notes

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  1. Chapter 1 Notes History, Development, and Crime Labs

  2. Ted Bundy • Former law student believed to be responsible for 40 murders between 1964 and 1978. • Convicted for kidnapping, Bundy escaped from prison in Colorado and killed 3 more young women in Florida. • Confident he couldn’t be convicted, Bundy acted as his own attorney. • A forensic odontologist expert witness was able to match bite marks on the victims to Bundy’s dental records. • He was executed in 1989.

  3. Definition and Scope • Forensic science is the application of the knowledge and technology of science to the definition and enforcement of our laws.

  4. Definition and Scope • Science plays an important role in the criminal justice system. • It is the forensic scientist’s job to supply accurate and objective information that reflects the events that have occurred at a crime scene.

  5. Definition and Scope • Think of forensic science as an umbrella term encompassing a wide variety of professions that aid law enforcement officials in conducting investigations. • The 10 basic professions associated with forensic science are:

  6. Definition and Scope • 1. Criminalistics

  7. Definition and Scope • 2. Engineering Science

  8. Definition and Scope • 3. General

  9. Definition and Scope • 4. Jurisprudence

  10. Definition and Scope • 5. Odontology

  11. Definition and Scope • 6. Pathology/Biology

  12. Definition and Scope • 7. Physical Anthropology

  13. Definition and Scope • 8. Psychiatry and Behavioral Science

  14. Definition and Scope • 9. Questioned Documents

  15. Definition and Scope • 10. Toxicology

  16. History and Development • One of the earliest records of applying forensics comes from third century China (200-300 A.D.!) • A woman claimed her husband burned to death in an accidental fire. • The coroner determined the husband was dead prior to being burned because he found no ashes in the man’s mouth.

  17. History and Development • The development of forensic science stalled until the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. • Fingerprint characteristics were first noted by Marcello Malpighi in 1686.

  18. History and Development • Breakthroughs in medicine led to a greater understanding of the workings of the body. • In 1775, Carl Wilhelm Scheele developed a reliable test for arsenic presence in corpses.

  19. History and Development • In 1806, a chemist named Valentin Ross developed a more precise method for detecting arsenic in corpses.

  20. History and Development • In 1814, Spanish scientist Mathieu Orfila published a treatise on the detection of posions in the body. • He is considered the father of forensic toxicology.

  21. History and Development • 19th century advances: • Polarizing microscope • Microscopic sperm detection • Toxicological evidence admitted to trial.

  22. History and Development • In 1879, Alphonse Bertillon developed a systematic procedure of taking body measurements used to distinguish one individual from another.

  23. History and Development • Bertillon’s system was considered the most accurate identification system available until fingerprinting was fully developed in the early 1900’s.

  24. History and Development • Forensic science rose to popularity in the 19th century as a more well known field with the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

  25. History and Development • 20th century advances: • Blood typing • Document examination • Locard’s Exchange Principle • Widespread use of the microscope

  26. History and Development • Locard’s Exchange Principle states: When two objects come into contact with each other, a cross-transfer of materials occurs.

  27. History and Development • Modern day advances: • Chromatography • Spectrophotometry • Electrophoresis • DNA

  28. Crime Laboratories • Advances in forensic science and technology led to the establishment of facilities dedicated to analysis of criminal evidence, known as Crime Labs.

  29. Crime Laboratories • In 1932, the FBI organized a national laboratory that offered forensic services to all law enforcement agencies in the country. • It is now the largest in the world and performs more than one million examinations every single year.

  30. Crime Laboratories • Most local law enforcement jurisdictions each operate their own independent crime labs.

  31. Crime Laboratories • With recent advances in science and a staggering increase in crime rate, there has been a rapid increase in the number of crime labs over the last 40 years. • The most common investigative tool is no longer confessions-it is forensic science.

  32. Crime Laboratories • There are four major federal crime labs in the U.S.: • The FBI Crime Laboratory • The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Laboratories • The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Laboratories • The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Laboratories

  33. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Physical Science Unit • Applies principles and techniques of chemistry, physics, and geology to the identification and comparison of crime scene evidence • Examines items such as drugs, glass, paint, explosives, and soil.

  34. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Biology Unit: • Identifies and performs DNA profiling on dried bloodstains and other body fluids, compare hairs and fibers, and identifies and compares botanical materials such as wood and plants.

  35. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Firearms Unit: • Examines firearms, discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition of all types. • Also examines firearms discharge residue and the approximate distance from a target at which a weapon was fired.

  36. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Document Examination Unit: • Studies the handwriting and typewriting on questioned documents to ascertain authenticity and/or source. • Analyzes paper and ink and indented writings, obliterations, erasures, and burned or charred documents.

  37. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Photography Unit: • Examines and records physical evidence.

  38. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Toxicology Unit: • Examines body fluids and organs to determine the presence or absence of drugs and poisons

  39. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Latent fingerprint unit: • Processes and examines evidence for latent fingerprints when they are submitted in conjunction with other laboratory examinations.

  40. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Voiceprint Analysis Unit • Uses voiceprinting, a technique that visually displays sound as a graphic, to tie suspects to telephoned threats or tape recorded messages.

  41. Services of the Crime Laboratory • Crime-scene investigation unit • Collects and preserves physical evidence that will later be processed at the crime laboratory.

  42. Other Forensic Science Services • Forensic psychiatry: • Examines the relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings • Performs tasks such as determining whether an individual is competent to make decisions about preparing a will, settling property, or refusing medical treatment.

  43. Other Forensic Science Services • Forensic Odontology: • Helps identify victims based on dental evidence when the body is left in an unrecognizable state.

  44. Other Forensic Science Services • Forensic Engineering: • Completes failure analysis, accident reconstruction, and causes and origins of fires or explosions. • Answer questions such as: How did this accident occur? Were the parties involved responsible?

  45. Other Forensic Science Services • Forensic computer and digital analysis: • Identifies, collects, preserves, and examines information derived from computers and other digital devices such as cell phones. • Work might involve recovering deleted or overwritten data from a computer’s hard drive and tracking hacking activities.

  46. The Functions of the Forensic Scientist • Analyzing of Physical Evidence • Determining Admissibility of Evidence • Judging Scientific Evidence • “Gatekeeping”= trial judges assume the ultimate responsibility for judging the admissibility and reliability of scientific evidence presented in court.

  47. The Functions of the Forensic Scientist • In Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, the Supreme Court ruled that the “gatekeeping” role of the trial judge applied not only to scientific testimony but to all expert testimony.

  48. The Functions of the Forensic Scientist • Providing expert testimony • Expert witness= an individual whom the court determines to possess a particular skill or knowledge in a trade or profession that is not expected of the average person and that will help a court determine the truth.

  49. The Functions of the Forensic Scientist • http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/3801/3892550/DNACD_mod13-2-01.swf

  50. The Functions of the Forensic Scientist • Furnishing training in the proper recognition, collection, and preservation of physical evidence.

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