FORENSIC SCIENCE

1. FORENSIC SCIENCE Week 1

2. Week One- C day

3. 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?

4. Assumptions • You have an interest in Forensics • You watch CSI, Bones, Criminal Minds, or other forensic shows • You like to read or read about mysteries, real or fiction • You have taken Biology, Chemistry and at least one Law Enforcement Class • You are considering a career in forensics or Law Enforcement • You 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?

5. 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!

6. 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.

7. Requirements: • 3 Ring Binder • Package of Dividers • Notebook Paper • Something to write with • Extra Credit for: • Highlighters

8. 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

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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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?

13. 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, you Would head to the Forum, a public meeting place. In the case of a criminal or civil dispute, you would Each 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)

14. Criminalistics vs Criminology Criminology includes 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.

15. 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

16. Forensic Science- What it’s NOT

17. What Forensics Work Looks Like Watch Forensic Science Technician Video

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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

23. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Observant • Step one of the Scientific Method! • Play Sherlock clip

24. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Not Squeamish • The ability to be around dead people is a must. Also, forensic scientists can't be reluctant to dig through garbage or dirty laundry.

25. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Speak to the People • Being able to explaining evidence to a jury in plain language is very important.

26. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Organized • They 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.

27. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Academic • The forensic scientist usually has a degree in mathematics or one of the sciences, or sometimes both.

28. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Teach Others • The 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.

29. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Logical Thinking • It is important to be able to think through the evidence logically to reach a conclusion.

30. Skills of a Forensic Scientist • Working With Others • Being 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

31. 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?

32. History of Forensics Then the Lord said to Cain,”Where is your brother Abel?”Hesaid,”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 4:9-10 • Watch timeline video

33. 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 Forensic Science- People to know

34. Forensic Science- People to know • 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

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. Forensic Science- People to know • 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”

38. 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.

39. Forensic Science- People to know • 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."

40. 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.

41. 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"

42. Forensic Science- People to know • 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

43. Forensic Science- People to know • 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

44. 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.

45. 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.

46. Landmark Cases Daubert 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?

47. 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.

48. Landmark Cases • Brady 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.

49. Landmark Cases • Coppolino 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.

50. 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.