Chapter 4 Flashcards
forensic identification
is the process of linking a piece of physical trace evidence to an individual, usually a criminal suspect
Anthropometry
required taking 11 measurements, including left foot length, cranium size, height, length of the arm, and length of the middle finger. And was the first criminal identification technique
biometrics
the identification of an individual person based on distinctive, measurable anatomical or behavioral traits
Reliability
the consistency or repeatability of a measure or observation
Test–retest reliability
(sometimes referred to as temporal consistency) is high if a measure yields the same results over time
Interrater reliability
sometimes referred to as interobserver agreement) is the degree to which two or more observers or analysts independently arrive at the same measurement.
measurement validity
refers to whether or not a technique measures what it is supposed to measure.
People v. Wesley
Case where DNA evidence was first used
Electropherogram:
a graph showing the height of peaks at specific locations on the human genome
-sometimes yields ambiguous results and is left up to interpretation
-almost always contextualized with probability statements
friction ridges
The tiny swirling lines on your fingertips
Latent prints
when fingerprints are found on a surface at the scene of a crime, difficult to see with naked eye
Bifurcation
when a single ridge splits into two
ends
where a ridge stops
crossovers
two ridges joined by a bridging ridge
independence
short ridges with clear end points
Junk science
-Hair matching
-Bullet-composition matching
-Bite-mark analysis
-Handwriting comparison and analysis
-Polygraph
-Shaken-baby syndrome
Communicating the similarity of a trace and a source
qualitative statement, simple match, match plus statistics, individualization
qualitative statement
simplest approach; a subjective assessment of whether a match is weak or moderate or strong
simple match
the expert merely says that the trace and the source share certain characteristics
Match plus statistics
incorporates statistics that place the match in context. Typically, such statistics give information about how rare or common a particular matching characteristic is in the relevant population
individualization
This form of testimony requires that the forensic analyst be able to say that the match is so detailed and perfect that the trace could only have come from one person.
psychological stress evaluator
measures voice stress for lying
facial expressions
studies micro-expressions for lying
psychophysiological techniques
brain imaging studies for lying
