ELO 1 pt 2 Flashcards
FBI
Federal bureau of investigation
Drug enforcement administration
Analyzes drugs seized
Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives
Analyzes alcoholic beverages, explosives, and firearms
US postal inspection service
Crimes involving the postal service
Physical science unit
Applies techniques of chemistry, physics, and geology
Crime scene examination
-Glass
-Paint
-Explosives
-Soil
Biology Unit
-DNA profiling
-Blood stains and bodily fluids
-Hair and fiber analysis
-Botanical materials
Firearms unit
-Discharged bullets
-Cartridge cases
-Shotgun cases
-Other ammunition
Garments
Tool marks
Document Examination Unit
-Examining handwriting and typewriting
-Paper and ink analysis
-Indented writing
-Burned or charred documents
Photography Unit
Examines and records physical evidence
-This may include digital, infrared, UV, and X-ray imaging
Prepares photographic exhibits for courtroom presentation
Toxicology Unit
Examines bodily fluids and organs for presence or absence of drugs and poisons
Fingerprint Unit
Develop latent fingerprints
May take fingerprints of suspects, persons of interest
Analyze fingerprint ridge characteristics
Polygraph
a machine designed to detect and record changes in physiological characteristics, such as a person’s pulse and breathing rates, used especially as a lie detector.
Voiceprint analysis
Telephoned threats, tape-recorded messages, etc.
Not always considered a valid mean of authentication
Crime scene investigative Unit
Dispatches specially trained personnel to collect physical evidence to later test
Forensic psychitatry
Relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings are examined
Forensic odontology
Involves using teeth to provide information about the identification between victims when a body is left in an unrecognizable place
Ex. Bite marks, teeth
Forensic engineering
Concerned with failure analysis, accident reconstruction, and cause origins of fires or explosions
Forensic computer science
Involves the examination of digital evidence
The scientific method
- Formulate a question worthy of investigation
- Formulate a reasonable hypothesis to answer the question
- Test the hypothesis through experimentation
- Upon analysis of the evidence, check hypothesis and come up with a valid conclusion/testimony
The Frye standard
Sets guidelines for determining the admissibility of scientific evidence in the courtroom
The evidence in question must be “generally accepted” by the scientific community
Trial judges determine…
-Whether the scientific theory or technique can be tested
-Whether the technique has been subject to peer review and publication
-The technique’s potential rate of error
-Existence and maintenance of standards
-Whether the scientific method or theory is accepted widely
Trial judges are said to be ultimately responsible as “gatekeepers” for the admissibility of evidence as well as all expert testimony
Pathology Unit
Study of corpses