Download Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Introduction to Forensic Science
Explosion of TV Shows
Definition and Scope



Forensic science is the application of
science to law
Applies the knowledge and technology of
science for the definition and enforcement
of laws
Supplies accurate and objective
information that reflects the events that
have occurred at the crime
History of Forensic Science
Dates
BC-1823
Important Events
BC - Early paintings/rock carvings
700s – Chinese used fingerprints to est. identity
1000 – bloody handprint est. murder
1248 – published info on drowning and strangulation
1784 – first documented use of physical evidence matching
1813 – first assessment of blood and semen stains
1823 – fingerprinting began
1836-1892 1836 – James Marsh used toxicology
1851 – Stas first to id poison in body tissues
1864 – Odelbrecht – first used photos of criminals and crime scenes
1877 – Taylor suggested hand markings could id people in criminals
cases
1880 – Faulds connects crime scene with fingerprints
1887 – Holmes published
1891- Gross published book about physical evidence
1882 – Galton published fingerprints
1900-1920 • Karl Landsteiner(1900)- first discovered human blood group, won Noble
Peace Prize in 1930
• Professor R.A. Reis(1902)- set up one of the first academic curricular in
forensic science
• President Theodore Roosevelt(1905)- established the FBI
• Edmond Locard(1918)- suggested 12 matching points as positive fingerprint
ID
1900-1920
 Karl Landsteiner(1900)- first discovered human blood group, won Noble
Peace Prize in 1930
 Anthropometry – use of body measurements to id people
 Professor R.A. Reis(1902)- set up one of the first academic curricular in
forensic science
 President Theodore Roosevelt(1905)- established the FBI
 Edmond Locard (1918)- suggested 12 matching points as positive
fingerprint ID
 Popp botoanical id
19201945
1922 – Vollmer, LA crime lab formed
Distinction of body fluids
1932 – FBI Crime Lab
1941 – Hill studied of voiceprint id
1945 – Lundguiest developed acid phosphate test for semen
19531999
1953 – Kurt criminal investigation book
1986 – First use of DNA to solve a crime
1992 – DNA technology was published
1996 – fingerprint database
1999 – computerized database

The terms “Criminalistics” and “Forensic Science”
can be used interchangeably.
History
•
•
Marcello Malpighi
1686
First person to
record note about
fingerprints but did
not apply them as
a method of
identification.
History
•
•
•
•
Mathieu Orfila
1814
Father of
toxicology
Formed treatise
on the detection of
poisons and their
effects on animals
•
•
•
Alphonse Bertillon
1879
First system of
personal identification
called anthropometry
– a procedure of
taking s series of body
measurement as a
means of
distinguishing one
individual from
another


•
•
Francis Galton
1892
First definitive study of fingerprints and
developed methodology of classifying them
for filing;
Published Finger Prints in 1892
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1859- 1930
Sherlock Homes and Dr. Watson
Fictional Characters that popularized
scientific crime detection methods!



Leone Lattes
1915
Devised a simple
procedure for
determining blood
group of dried
bloodstain
Today we use:
A, B, AB, O
Rh factor + or -

Calvin Goddard (1891-1955)

Used a comparison microscope to analyze
bullets; requires a comparison of the crime
scene bullet to one test-fired from the
suspect’s gun

Hans Gross (1847-1915)
•
Wrote a book outlining the principles of
criminal investigation
Detailed the assistance investigators could
expect from microscopy, chemistry,
physics, mineralogy, botany, zoology,
anthropometry, and fingerprinting
•


•
•
Edmond Locard
1877 - 1966
Persuaded police department in
France to give him two attics rooms
and two assistants to create a crime
lab;
Founder and director of the Institute
of Criminalistics in France; his
success sparked the creation of
crime labs Vienna, Berlin, Sweden,
Finland, and Holland

Locard’s Exchange Principle

The exchange of materials between two
objects that occurs whenever two objects
come into contact with each other

Locard believed that every criminal can be
connected to a crime by dust particles carried
from the crime scene
Modern Scientific Advances
•
Sir Alec Jeffreys
•
•
•
1984
First DNA profiling test
Computerized databases:
•
•
•
Fingerprints
Markings on bullets and shell casings;
DNA
History of Forensic Science


1923 – LAPD creates first crime lab in US
1932 – FBI organized a national crime lab
to offer services to law enforcement
agencies in the country; currently, the
world’s largest forensic lab
Organization/History of a Crime Lab

Rapid Growth –


Necessity of police to secure scientifically
evaluated evidence
Increasing crime rate


Drug related crimes
DNA profiling
Organization/History of a Crime Lab

Federal Crime Labs






FBI (Department of Justice)
Drug Enforcement Administration (Department of
Justice)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (Department of Justice)
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
State Crime Labs
Local Crime Labs (municipals/counties)
Service of the Crime Lab

Individual crime labs
vary in the type of
service it provides based
on:



Variations in local law
Different capacities and
functions of the
organization to attached to
the crime unit
Budgetary/staffing
limitations
Service of the Crime Lab










Physical Science Unit
Biology Unit
Firearms Unit
Document Examination Unit
Photography Unit
Toxicology Unit
Latent Fingerprint Unit
Polygraph Unit
Voice Analysis Unit
Evidence-Collection Unit
Other Forensic Science Services

Forensic Pathology



The investigation of sudden, unnatural, unexplained,
or violent deaths.
Typically performed by coroners or medical
examiners
Primary role is to determine the cause of death; if the
cause cannot be found through observation, an
autopsy is performed

Cause of death can be classified into five categories:
natural, homicide, suicide, accident, or undetermined
Other Forensic Science Services

Forensic Anthropology

The identification and examination of human skeleton
remains


Bones undergo an extremely slow breakdown process
Can provide several types of individual characteristics:







Origin
Sex
Approximate age
Race
Skeletal injury
Facial reconstructions
Useful in identifying victims of mass disasters
Other Forensic Science Services

Forensic Entomology
 The study of insects and their relation to a criminal
investigation
 Used to estimate time of death
 Insects will infect body once decomposition begins
and lay eggs; the entomologist can identify the
specific insects present in the body and approximate
how long a body has been left exposed by
examining the stage of development of the larvae
Other Forensic Science Services

Forensic Psychiatry
 The relationship between human behavior and legal
proceedings is examined.



Civil cases – determine whether people are competent to
make decisions about preparing wills, settling property, or
refusing medical treatment
Criminal cases – evaluate behavioral disorders and
determine whether people are competent to stand trial
Also examine behavioral patterns of criminals to help
develop a criminal’s behavioral profile
Other Forensic Science Services

Forensic Odontology
 Identification through dental records



Because of teeth enamel’s resilience, the teeth will
outlast tissues and organs as decomposition begins
Characteristics of teeth, their alignment, and the
overall structure of the mouth provide evidence for
identifying a specific person
Bite marks on a victim can be analyzed and compared
to suspect
Other Forensic Science Services

Forensic Engineering
 Concerns itself with accident reconstruction and
causes and origins of fires and explosions
Other Forensic Science Services

Forensic Computer and Digital Analysis


Involves identifying, collecting, preserving, and
examining information derived from computers
and other digital devices (cell phones, etc.)
Involved in recovering deleted or overwritten data
and tracking hacking activities
Functions of Forensic Scientist
1.
2.
3.
Collection of Physical Evidence
Analysis of Physical Evidence
Provision of Expert Testimony
Functions of Forensic Scientist
1.
Collection of Physical Evidence
Forensic Science begins at the crime scene. If the
investigator cannot recognize physical evidence or
cannot properly preserve it for laboratory examination,
no amount of sophisticated laboratory instrumentation or
technical expertise can salvage the situation.
Physical Evidence can achieve its optimum value in criminal
investigations only when its collection is performed with
a selectivity governed by the collector’s thorough
knowledge of the crime lab’s techniques, capabilities,
and limitations
Functions of Forensic Scientist
2. Analysis of Physical Evidence
A forensic scientist must 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 a criminal
investigations.
Provision of Expert Testimony

Expert witness – an individual whom the
court determines possesses knowledge
relevant to the trial is not expected of the
average layperson
Functions of Forensic Scientist
3.
Provision of Expert Testimony
The forensic scientist must also be aware of the
demands and constraints that are imposed by
the judicial system. The procedures and
techniques that are used in the laboratory must
not only rest on a firm scientific foundation but
also satisfy the criteria of admissibility that have
been established by the courts.
Court Cases





Frye v. US
Federal Rules of Evidence
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc
Kumho Tire co v. Carmichael
Coppolino v. State
Frye v. US
(1923)


Set guidelines for determining the
admissibility of scientific evidence.
Evidence in question must be “generally
accepted” by the scientific community.
Federal Rules of Evidence



Governs the admissibility of all evidence,
including expert testimony, in federal courts
Many states adopted codes similar to this
“A witness qualified as an expert by knowledge,
skill, experience, training, or education, may
testify….if (1) the testimony is based on sufficient
facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of
reliable principles and methods, and (3) the
witness has applied the principles and methods
reliably to the facts of the case.”
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical,
Inc. (1993)


Stated that Frye v. US needed to allow for the
courts to make the final judgement on
admissibility and validity
Judge must assume responsibility in determining
the admissibility and reliability of scientific
evidence





Theory must be (has been) tested
Subject to peer review or publication
Rate of error
Standards of technique
Widespread acceptance
Kumho Tire co v. Carmichael(1999)

The “gatekeeping” role of the trial judge
applied not only to scientific testimony but
to all expert testimony
Coppolino v. State

Techniques that make new discoveries are
still admissible