Chapter 1 NotesHistory, 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.• 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.

Definition and Scope

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

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.

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:

Definition and Scope• 1. Criminalistics

Definition and Scope• 2. Engineering Science

Definition and Scope• 3. General

Definition and Scope• 4. Jurisprudence

Definition and Scope• 5. Odontology

Definition and Scope• 6. Pathology/Biology

Definition and Scope• 7. Physical Anthropology

Definition and Scope• 8. Psychiatry and Behavioral Science

Definition and Scope• 9. Questioned Documents

Definition and Scope• 10. Toxicology

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.

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.

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.

History and Development

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

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.

History and Development

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

History and Development

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

History and Development

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

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.

History and Development

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

History and Development

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

History and Development

• Modern day advances:• Chromatography• Spectrophotometry• Electrophoresis• DNA

Crime Laboratories

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

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.

Crime Laboratories

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Services of the Crime Laboratory• Toxicology Unit:• Examines body fluids and organs to determine the

presence or absence of drugs and poisons

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.

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.

Services of the Crime Laboratory• Crime-scene investigation unit• Collects and preserves physical evidence that will later

be processed at the crime laboratory.

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.

Other Forensic Science Services• Forensic Odontology:• Helps identify victims based on dental evidence when the body is

left in an unrecognizable state.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Functions of the Forensic Scientist• http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/3801/3892550/

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The Functions of the Forensic Scientist• Furnishing training in the proper recognition,

collection, and preservation of physical evidence.

REVIEW• 1. Which of the following people did not make a contribution

to forensic toxicology?• A. Valentin Ross• B. Alphonse Bertillon• C. Carl Wilhelm Scheele• D. Mathieu Orfila

REVIEW• 2. Locard’s Exchange Principle states that when two objects

come into contact with each other, a ________ of materials occurs.• A. Cross-transfer• B. Contamination• C. Destruction• D. Disappearance

REVIEW• 3. The _____ unit of a Crime Lab performs DNA profiling on

dried bloodstains and other body fluids, compares hair and fibers, and identifies and compares botanical materials such as wood and plants.• A. Physical Science Unit• B. Document Examination Unit• C. Biology Unit• D. Firearms Unit

REVIEW• 4. The current system of crime laboratories in the United

States can best be described as• A. Centralized• B. Regional• C. Decentralized• D. National

REVIEW• 5. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the wide

variation in services offered by crime laboratories in different communities?• A. Variations in local laws• B. Varying local approaches to crime scene investigation• C. Different capabilities and functions of the organization to

which a laboratory is attached.• D. Budgetary and staffing limitations.

REVIEW• 6. In Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, the U.S. Supreme

Court ruled that the “gatekeeping” role of a trial judge • A. was restricted to scientific testimony• B. applied only to cases involving capital crimes• C. was subject to appeal by a higher court• D. applied to all expert testimony