forensic science

FORENSIC SCIENCE

Week 1

Week One- C day

Bell Ringer!

What do you expect to learn in this class?

What are some things you really want to learn about Forensics?

Are you considering a career in Forensics? What type? (CSI, Toxicology, etc?)

What do you think Forensic Science is?

Assumptions

You have an interest in ForensicsYou watch CSI, Bones, Criminal Minds, or other forensic showsYou like to read or read about mysteries, real or fictionYou have taken Biology, Chemistry and at least one Law Enforcement ClassYou are considering a career in forensics or Law EnforcementYou needed an extra science credit and this class fit

Bell Ringer Review- Let’s talk about what you know:

What do you expect to learn in this class?What are some things you really want to learn about Forensics?Are you considering a career in Forensics? What type? (CSI, Toxicology, etc?)What do you think Forensic Science is?

Expectations

1. Punctuality: Be on time!2. Preparedness: Be prepared to work and learn! (This means bring your supplies and binders to class!!!)3. Respect: Be respectful of your teacher, your classmates, and your environment.4. Motivation: Give your best effort on all that you do! (“Do, or do not. There is no try.”)5. Clarification: Ask questions when you’re confused or need help!

Disclaimer

Due to the graphic nature of violent crime, you may be exposed to some gruesome images and topics, either real or re-created. I expect you have a mature, scientific attitude about everything presented in the course.

Requirements:

3 Ring BinderPackage of DividersNotebook PaperSomething to write withExtra Credit for: Highlighters

Grading Policy

Nothing new here: 25% Test 20% Presentations, labs, papers 40% Classwork/Homework (Binder

Grade) 15% Six Weeks Grade

Binders are graded on Quiz Days

Vocabulary

Complete vocabulary online on Quizlet (http://www.quizlet.com)Study Mode and Test ModeDo it as many times as it takes!

Tutoring hours:

M/W/Friday 8:30 AM-9:00 AM

Other times by appointment only.

You must obtain an official Sunset tutoring pass from Mrs. Schwartz or her substitute to guarantee entry to the science wing before 8:25 or after school.

These times are subject to change. Mrs. Schwartz does not guarantee availability during the designated tutoring time.

For your first 100…

Visit http://schwartzscience.edublogs.org Post a comment to the forensic

science page

Visit Quizlet.com Search Sunset Forensic Science Join with password: sunsetrules

Class 2

Bellringer!

What do you think the definition of Forensic Science is?What do you think are some essential skills for a forensic scientist to have?

Forensic Science- What is it?

“Forensic” – Stems from Latin word for Forum.

If you lived in Rome and you wanted to discuss Current news or have a legal issue decided, youWould head to the Forum, a public meeting place.

In the case of a criminal or civil dispute, you wouldEach state your case before a panel of citizens…You would bring your case “before the Forum”.

Therefore- Forensic Science is…… The application of Scientific discipline to Law

(our version of a forum is the court room)

Criminalistics vs Criminology

Criminologyincludes the psychological angle,

studying the crime scene for motive, traits, and behavior that will help to interpret the evidence

Criminalistics the scientific examination of

physical evidence for legal purposes.

Scientific Method in Forensics

Observe a problem or questioned evidence and collect objective data.Consider a hypothesis or possible solution.Examine, test, and then analyze the evidence.Determine the significance of the evidence.Formulate a theory based on evaluation of the significance of the evidence

Forensic Science- What it’s NOT

What Forensics Work Looks Like

Watch Forensic Science Technician Video

Top 5 Misconceptions

#5: Time of Death can be precisely calculated down to a 2 hour window Both the time of death and the postmortem

interval (time since death) cannot be determined with 100% accuracy

Even less accurate when a body is found in advanced state of decomposition or is recovered from fire, water, or ice.

Time of death and PMI are given as estimates, and can vary from hours to days, or from months to years, depending on each particular case.

Top 5 Misconceptions #4: Fingerprints susceptible to testing and identification are always found

Finding identifiable fingerprints that can be collected and are of a high enough quality to do an automated search are rare

Normally fingerprint comparison must be done by ‘hand’

The on-demand fingerprint scan(Eagle Eye- The movie in which a burnt body fingerprint had a match) is rare to use and hard to get results from.

Top 5 Misconceptions #3: The laboratory personnel examines evidence as soon as it arrives and gets results in hours

Chain of Custody, the procedures that follow… Can take months before time permits an

examination of the evidence due to back logs, lack of qualified personnel, and quality control procedures

Positive and Negative Controls have to be taken into consideration before starting an examination

Numerous drugs, botanicals, chemicals can be present at any given crime scene and many instruments can’t identify every one.

Top 5 Misconceptions #2: One person can examine all types of evidence (and examine the scene, interrogate the suspects, and make the arrest…..)

There are few ‘generalists’ in today’s forensics field. The expertise required for each section of forensics

sometimes requires one piece of evidence to be examined by more than one individual

The evidence at hand needs to be examined sometimes in different departments of the laboratory

The scientist in the lab usually have no contact with the suspects and never interrogate or make arrests

Top 5 Misconceptions #1: The fully equipped, high tech crime lab

Forensic labs in TV are always fully equipped with the most up to date technology

Even the labs with the largest budgets cannot afford to have the same lab quality as the labs on TV dramas

Shortages occur with building space, funds, equipment and proficient personnel

A lot of the technology shown on TV is misrepresented, exaggerated or just does not exist

Play Castle Clip

Skills of a Forensic Scientist

Observant Step one of the Scientific Method! Play Sherlock clip


Not SqueamishThe ability to be around dead people is a must. Also, forensic scientists can't be reluctant to dig through garbage or dirty laundry.


Speak to the PeopleBeing able to explaining evidence to a jury in plain language is very important.


OrganizedThey must be organized and time efficient because there is never just one case to handle. May handle 10-40 cases at a time depending on size of department and case load.


AcademicThe forensic scientist usually has a degree in mathematics or one of the sciences, or sometimes both.


Teach OthersThe forensic scientist must be able to teach the police and other people collecting and handling evidence at a crime scene how to do it properly.


Logical ThinkingIt is important to be able to think through the evidence logically to reach a conclusion.


Working With OthersBeing a team player is a necessary skill as well. The scientist will likely have assistants and work with law enforcement officers to build a case.

Read more: Skills Needed to Be a Forensic Scientist | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_4869643_skills-needed-forensic-scientist.html#ixzz1V8fSwYW4

Class 3

Bellringer! When do you think forensics as a

science was first used? What do you think is the most useful

means of identification?

History of Forensics

Then the Lord said to Cain,”Where is your brother Abel?”He said,”I do not

know; am I my brother’s keeper?”And the Lord said “What

have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!”-Genesis 4:9-10Watch timeline video

Forensic Science- People to know

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Sherlock Holmes stories Sherlock Holmes used trace evidence such as shoe

and tire impressions, as well as fingerprints, ballistics and handwriting analysis, now known as questioned document examination.

Such evidence is used to test theories conceived by the police, for example, or by the investigator himself.

All of the techniques advocated by Holmes later became reality, but were generally in their infancy at the time Conan Doyle was writing

Holmes frequently complained of the way the crime scene had been contaminated by others, especially by the police, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining its integrity, a now well-known feature of crime scene examination


Mathieu Orfila Spanish born but did work in France Father of Forensic Toxicology (1814) published a Treatise on the detection of poisons

Alphonse Bertillion French Scientist (1879) devised first system of person ID using a

series of body measurements Devised the first crime scene kit –still used today

Anthropometry

•The Bertillion system relied on a detailed description and measurement of the subject.•Eleven measurements were necessary.•These included height, reach, width of head, and length of foot.

The down fall of Anthropometry

The down fall of Anthropometry occurred in 1903 at Leavenworth Federal Prison. A prisoner named Will West was brought to the prison and had his measurements taken. His measurements matched a prisoner already in the prison named William West. Despite the system there was no way to tell the two apart. The only noticeable difference between the two men was their fingerprints. Thus the Anthropometry was abandoned and the fingerprint (Henry) system was adopted.


Francis Galton British Scientist. (1892) published the book “Finger Prints”which contained

the 1st statistical proof supporting the uniqueness of fingerprints.

Laid the foundation of modern fingerprints.

Hans Gross Lawyer and Judge in Austria (1893) Published the first treatise on applying science to

criminal investigation Started the forensic journal “Kriminologie”

Karl Landsteiner (1901) Discovered human blood could be

grouped into different categories (A, B, AB and O) 1930 Won Nobel Prize 1940 helped to discover the Rh factor in human blood

Albert Osborn American Scientist. (1910) published the book “Questioned Documents.” The book became a primary reference for document

examiners.

Edmond Locard (1910) set up the first Forensic Lab in Lyons, France Founder and Director of the Institute of Criminalistics

@ the University of Lyons Formulated the Locard’s Exchange Principle….

"It is impossible for a criminal to act, especially considering the intensity of a crime, without leaving traces of this presence."


Locard’s Exchange Principle

When a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs

The criminal either removes something from the crime scene or leaves something behind

Either way this exchange can link the criminal to the crime scene.

It is this principle that is the foundation of the study of “trace evidence”.

Trace Evidence: evidence that occurs when different objects contact one another.

Locard Influenced by Sherlock

In the 1904 story "The Adventure of Black Peter," after a student reports a lack of footprints at a crime scene, Holmes responds: "As long as the criminal remains upon two

legs so long must there be some indentation, some abrasion, some trifling displacement which can be detected by the scientific researcher"


Leone Lattes (1915) devised a procedure by which dried bloodstains could

be grouped as A, B, AB or O His procedure is still used today by some forensic scientists

Calvin Goddard (1925) Described the use of the comparison microscope

regarding firearms investigations. He is generally credited with the conception of the term

"forensic ballistics“ In 1925 Established The Bureau of Forensic Ballistics, United

States’ first independent criminological laboratory


Paul Kirk U.S. scientist that applied biochemistry to

forensics 1950 Head of the Crime Dept @ U of Cal school of

Criminology 1953 published “Crime Investigation”,a handbook

for lab techniques

Landmark Cases

Frye v. United States – It provides that expert opinion based on a scientific

technique is admissible only where the technique is generally accepted as reliable in the relevant scientific community. Discussed what is meant by a technique that is

“generally accepted” by most of the scientific community.

Ruled Polygraph tests were inadmissible.

Federal Rule of Evidence 702

Purpose is to: Regulate the evidence that the jury may use to reach a

verdict. Eliminate this distrust, and encourage admitting evidence in

close cases. Limit the kind of evidence they may receive or the purpose

for which they may consider it.

Rules center on a few basic ideas relevance, unfair surprise, efficiency, reliability, and overall fairness of the adversary process.

Landmark CasesDaubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc. Ruling allows trial judge to be the gatekeeper, i.e.

to decide who is and who is not an expert witness.

The Daubert Test Replaced the Frye rule in 1993 by stating that scientific evidence must pass four tests before it can be admitted into evidence for a trial.

Has the theory or technique been tested? Has the theory or technique been peer reviewed? What is the known or potential error rate and the

existence and maintenance of standards controlling its operation?

Has it has been accepted within a relevant scientific community?

Daubert in Texas

Declined to simply adopt the Daubert factors.In any case involving a challenge to the reliability of expert testimony, the courts examine the following factors:

The extent to which the theory has been or can be tested; The extent to which the technique relies upon a subjective

interpretation by the expert; Whether the theory has been subject to publication and/or peer review; The technique’s potential rate of error; Whether the underlying theory or technique has been generally

accepted as valid by the relevant scientific community; and The non-judicial uses that have been made of the theory or technique

(i.e., was is developed simply for litigation?).

Like Daubert, these factors are non-exclusive; the courts are allowed to look at any facts that it feels are relevant to its examination of the expert’s methodology.

Landmark CasesBrady v. Maryland 1963 Ruled that all evidence that is favorable to an accused that has requested it must be presented and cannot be suppressed by the prosecution.

Landmark CasesCoppolino v. State – Recognized the admissibility of new techniques as

long as they are based on scientifically valid principles and techniques.

Kumho Tire v. Carmichael Brought to question that not all testimony given by

experts is scientifically based; Instead it can be non-scientific technical evidence. Determined that the Daubert rule when determining

reliability and relevancy can be "flexible" based on the occupation of the expert witness.

Landmark Cases

People v. Castro (1989)First case to challenge a DNA profile's admissibility.

The court determined that DNA identification was accepted in the scientific community

DNA tests could be conducted and allowed into evidence as long as they showed the blood on the defendant's watch was not his, even when tests could not show that the blood belonged to one of the victims.

Landmark CasesSchwartz v. State 1989Court refused to admit DNA results from a private forensic laboratory stating that the lab did not comply with established rules and guidelines for analyzing evidence. The Minnesota Supreme Court concluded that a defendant should be provided with the actual DNA sample(s) in order to reproduce the results but that it may not be possible because forensic samples are often so small that the entire sample is used for testing. “Consequently, access to the data, methodology, and actual results is crucial . . . for an independent expert review"

Quiz Next C Day! Don’t forget to do Quizlet Vocabulary!

forensic science

Documents

definition of forensic

forensic scientist

forensic scienceweek

forensic stems

forensic showsyou

science wing

extra science credit

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