Introduction to Forensic Science & to the Law

1. Introduction to Forensic Science & to the Law Chapter 1

2. Students Will Be Able To: • Define and distinguish forensic science and criminalistics. • Recognize the major contributors to the development of forensic science. • Identify the significance that expert witnesses play in forensic science.

3. Forensic Science • It is the study and application of science to matters of law (criminal and civil) • Includes the business of providing timely, accurate, and thorough information to all levels of decision makers in our criminal justice system • Also called criminalistics

4. Criminalistics vs Criminologists • A criminalistic examines physical evidence for legal purposes • Criminologists study the crime scene for motive, traits, and behavior as to help interpret the evidence • They learn to think like criminals

5. Forensic Scientists • Applies the principles and techniques of the physical and natural sciences to the analysis of the many types of evidence that may be recovered during a criminal investigation • May also provide expert court testimony • Known as an expert witness • Individual whom the court determines possesses knowledge relevant to the trial

6. Developments in Forensic Science • 700s AD- Chinese used fingerprints to establish identity of documents and clay sculptures • ~1000- Roman courts determined that bloody palm prints were used to frame a man in his brother’s murder • 1149- King Richard of England introduced the idea of the coroner to investigate questionable death • 1200s- A murder in China is solved when flies were attracted to invisible blood residue on a sword of a man in the community • 1598- Fidelus was first to practice forensic medicine in Italy

7. Developments in Forensic Science • 1670- Anton van Leeuwenhoek constructed the first high powered microscope • 1776- Paul Revere identified the body of General Joseph Warren based on the false teeth he had made for him • 1784- John Toms convicted of murder on basis of torn edge of wad of paper in pistol matching a piece of paper in his pocket • 1859- Gustav Kirchoff and Robert Bunsen developed the science of spectroscopy • 1864- Crime scene photography developed

8. Developments in Forensic Science • 1879- Alphonse Bertillion developed a system to identify people using particular body measurements • 1896- Edward Henry developed the first classification system for fingerprint identification • 1900- Karl Landsteiner identified human blood groups • 1904- Edmond Locard formulated his famous principle, “Every contact leaves a trace” • 1922- Francis Aston developed the mass spectrometer

9. Developments in Forensic Science • 1959- James Watson and Francis Crick discover the DNA double helix • 1977- AFIS developed by FBI, fully automated in 1996 • 1984- Jeffrey’s developed and used the first DNA tests to be applied to a criminal case

10. People of Historical Significance • Mathieu Orfila- father of forensic toxicology • Alphonse Bertillion- devised first scientific system of personal identification • Francis Galton- conducted 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

11. People of Historical Significance • Albert Osborn- developed the fundamental principles of document examination • Walter McCrone- utilized microscopy to examine evidence • Hans Gross- wrote treatise on criminal investigation • Edmond Locard- considered the father of criminalistics; responsible for Locard’s exchange principle • States that when a criminal comes in contact with an object or a person, a cross transfer of evidence occurs

12. Students Will Be Able To: • Define observation. • Describe the examples of factors that influence eyewitness accounts of events. • Compare the reliability of eyewitness testimony to what actually happened. • Relate observation skills to their use in forensic science. • Practice and improve your own observation skills.

13. Observations • Are one of the most important tools of forensic investigators • They use observations to • Identify evidence • Record evidence • Determine the significance of the evidence in relation to the crime

14. Observations • Are also made by witnesses • Factors affecting observations • Whether you are alone or in a group • The number of people and/or animals in the area • What type of activity is going on around you • How much activity is occurring around you

15. Eyewitness • Is a person who witnessed a particular crime occurring • Can be powerful in persuading a jury one way or another • Eyewitness observations can be affected by • Level of interest • Stress • Concentration • Person beliefs • Motives

16. Deductive Reasoning • Forensic scientists have good observation skills along with good analytical skills • Are very important in solving crimes • Some forensic scientists are good at deductive reasoning • Is the act of deriving the consequences from the facts using a series of logical steps • Working backwards from the evidence to piece together what happened leading up to the crime

17. How to Become a Good Observer • Make a conscious effort to examine your environment systematically • Note everything, no matter how small or how familiar • Concentrate on gathering information first and then worry about analyzing it • Write down and photograph as much as possible

18. Your Turn! • You will have 20 seconds to study the following image. • Afterwards, you will be asked questions that relate to the image.

20. Questions • How many people were in the image? • How many were males? Females? • What is located outside the front door? • What color pants is the man on the computer wearing? • How many shoeprints are in the image? • The card labeled “F” points to what in the image?

21. Students Will Be Able To: • Describe how forensic science relies on multiple disciplines to solve crimes. • Describe how the scientific method is used to solve forensic science problems. • Account for the rapid growth of forensic laboratories in the past 45 years. • Describe the services of a typical comprehensive crime laboratory in the criminal justice system. • Understand what specialized forensic services, aside from the crime laboratory, are generally available to law enforcement personnel. • Identify the 5 major crime labs in the US.

22. Multidisciplinary Approach

23. Scientific Method • Forensic science begins at the crime scene and investigators rely on scientific method to help them solve the crime

24. Scientific Method • Steps in forensic science • Crime discovered and problem established • Detectives and investigators observe and collect evidence and evaluate the scene and surrounding areas • A hypothesis is developed • What happened? • How did it happen? • When did it happen? • Evidence sent for analysis to pinpoint a suspect • Conclusion drawn based off evaluation of evidence

25. The Crime Scene Team • A group of professional investigators, each trained in a variety of special disciplines • Team members include • First police officer on the scene • Medics (if necessary) • Investigator(s) • Medical examiner • Photographer and/or Field Evidence Technician • Lab Experts

26. The Crime Lab • Characterized by rapid growth due to • Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s placing greater emphasis on scientifically evaluated evidence • Accelerated drug abuse • Initiation of DNA profiling • 350 public crime labs exist at federal, state, county, and municipal levels

27. The Crime Lab • History • First established in 1910 by Locard • First police crime lab established in 1923 in Los Angeles, CA • Scientific Crime Detection Lab established in 1929 • First FBI crime lab opened in 1932

28. Crime Lab Services • 5 exist • Physical science • Biology • Firearms • Document • Photographic

29. Physical Science Unit • Incorporates the principles of chemistry, physics, and geology to identify and compare physical evidence

30. Biology Unit • Applies the knowledge of biological sciences in order to investigate blood samples, body fluids, hair, and fiber samples

31. Firearms Unit • Investigates discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition

32. Document Unit • Provides the skills needed for handwriting analysis and other questioned document issues

33. Photographic Unit • Applies specialized photographic techniques for recording and examining physical evidence

34. Other Crime Lab Services • Toxicology Unit- examines body fluids and organs for the presence of drugs and poisons • Latent Fingerprint Unit- processes and examines evidence for latent fingerprints • Polygraph Unit- conducts polygraph or lie detector tests • Voiceprint Analysis Unit- attempts to tie a recorded voice to a particular suspect • Evidence Collection Unit- dispatches specially trained personnel to the crime scene to collect and preserve physical evidence

35. Other Forensic Science Services • Forensic Pathology- concentrate closely on the understanding of types and causation of injuries and causes of sudden and unnatural death • Deals with the different stages of death • Rigor mortis- stiffening of the body (occurs within first 24 hours) • Livor mortis- settling of blood closest to the ground (occurs up to 12 hours) • Algor mortis- results in loss of heat

37. Other Forensic Science Services • Forensic Anthropology-concentrates on the identification of deceased individuals whose remains are decomposed, burned, mutilated or otherwise unrecognizable • Forensic Entomology- is the study of insects and their relation to a criminal investigation, commonly used to establish the time of death • Forensic Psychiatry- work with courts in evaluating an individual's competency to stand trial, defenses based on mental diseases or defects (e.g., the "insanity" defense), and sentencing recommendations

38. Other Forensic Science Services • Forensic Odontology- evaluates teeth to determine the identification of the deceased • Forensic Engineering- investigation of materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not operate/function as intended, causing personal injury for example • Cybertechnology- involves the examination of digital evidence

39. Major Crime Labs • FBI- Federal Bureau of Investigations • DEA- Drug Enforcement Agency • ATF- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives • US Postal Service • US Fish and Wildlife Service

40. Students Will Be Able To: • Identify and describe the laws that pertain to the US criminal justice system. • Know the Bill of Rights as they apply to the criminal justice system.

41. Laws that Pertain to the US Criminal Justice System • The US Constitution • Statutory Law • Common Law or Case Law • Civil Law • Criminal Law • Equity Law • Administrative Law

42. US Constitution • Supreme body of laws that governs our country • Overrules the constitutions of individual states

43. Statutory Laws • Are written laws as enacted by a government body such as Congress • Are based on the Constitution

44. Common Law • Also known as case law • Are made by judges • Makes for predictability and consistency in how the law is applied

45. Civil Law • Also known as private law • Deals with relationships between individuals involving properties or contracts • Regulates noncriminal relationships between individuals, businesses, agency of government, and other organizations • Includes contracts, marriages, divorces, wills, property transfers, negligence, and products manufactured with hidden hazards • More concerned with assigning blame than intent

46. Criminal Law • Also known as public law • Deals with regulation and enforcement of rights • Concerned with offenses against an individual that are deemed offensive to society • Cases tried are always the person vs the state • Those laws that are broken fall into 1 of 2 main categories • Misdemeanor- is a minor crime such as theft, minor assault and battery, or possession of small amounts of illegal drugs • Felony- is a major crime such as murder, rape, armed robbery, serious assaults, dealing in illegal drugs, fraud, auto theft, or forgery

47. Equity Law • Remedial or preventive law • Are for cases not covered by common law • Restraining orders • Injunctions

48. Administrative Law • Laws established by governmental agencies such as the IRS, Social Security Administration, or the military

49. The Bill of Rights • The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty • The right not to be searched unreasonably, either on one’s person or in one’s home • The right not to be arrested without probable cause • The right against unreasonable seizure of personal property • The right against self-incrimination • The right to fair questioning by police

50. The Bill of Rights • The right to protection from physical harm throughout the justice process • The right to an attorney • The right to trial by jury • The right to know any charges against oneself • The right to cross examine prosecution witnesses • The right to speak and present witnesses