Intro to Forensic Science Flashcards
Intro to Forensic Science
What is the definition of forensic science?
Science applied to matters of law
What is the burden of proof in a civil case versus a criminal case?
Civil = a preponderance of the evidence
Criminal = beyond a reasonable doubt
What is an indictment?
A document that states that a person has been formally charged with a serious crime
What are the three levels of courts that can issue an indictment?
- Local/Trial
- State
- Federal
A guilty verdict is known as a —— whereas a not guilty verdict is known as an ——.
conviction, acquittal
Is it possible for a defendant to be charged in both civil court AND criminal court?
YES (usually the civil case follows that criminal case but they CAN occur at the same time as well)
Can a defendant be indicted at different levels such as local, state and federal?
Yes, all three!!! And they also can occur at the same time or at different times
List the six major forensic disciplines found in a typical crime lab and describe what each one does:
Drug chemistry
Examines and identifies the presence of illegal drugs on items of evidence
List the six major forensic disciplines found in a typical crime lab and describe what each one does:
Biology/DNA
Examines items of evidence for the presence of blood and other body fluids; can also then perform DNA testing on those body fluids to determine who could (or could NOT) have contributed to the body fluid found on the evidence by comparing to the DNA profiles of known persons
List the six major forensic disciplines found in a typical crime lab and describe what each one does: Patterned evidence
Examines patterns on items such as tire marks, footwear impressions, handwriting, etc for individual characteristics. Can compare these characteristics found on evidence samples to the characteristics of known sources.
List the six major forensic disciplines found in a typical crime lab and describe what each one does:
Latent fingerprints
Examines fingerprints (latent meaning invisible to the naked eye that have been detected using methods such as fingerprint powders or superglue fuming) whether latent OR visible to identify individual characteristics. Can compare prints to known individuals or enter them into a database to try to connect multiple crimes involving the same person.
List the six major forensic disciplines found in a typical crime lab and describe what each one does:
Micro/Trace
Uses microscopes to examine very small items only visible with a microscope such as glass (auto, window, etc), hairs, fibers, gunshot residue, etc. Can use a comparison microscope to compare evidence samples to known samples.
List the six major forensic disciplines found in a typical crime lab and describe what each one does:
Firearms/Ballistics
Examines bullets and cartridge casings to help determine the model and caliber of weapon used in a crime. Can upload images to bullets/cartridge cases to a database to try to connect crimes where the same weapon was used. Can also compare bullets/cartridge cases recovered from a crime scene to bullets/cartridge cases fired by a known weapon to determine if that weapon was used in the crime.
In what country was the first written record of a forensic science manual discovered?
China
Why was the Renaissance Period so important to the growth of forensic medicine (and medicine in general)?
The Catholic church lifted the ban on the dissection of cadavers which greatly increased anatomical knowledge.
What is anthropometry (also known as Bertillionage)?
Anthropometry is the classification of offenders by taking a number of body measurements.
What was the MAIN problem with Bertillionage in terms of classifying offenders?
Bertillionage (anthropometry) didn’t account for the fact that a person’s measurements change as they age. Therefore, you could never have a juvenile database OR be able to compare a juvenile offender’s measurements to an adult offender’s measurement.
What forensic discipline eventually replaced Bertillionage?
Fingerprints
Describe the contributions to forensic science of the following individuals:
Erasistratus:
Greek physician who noted that his patients’ heart rates increased when they lied to him (laying the foundation for the polygraph)
Describe the contributions to forensic science of the following individuals:
Alphonse Bertillon:
Father of criminal identification; developed anthropometry (Bertillionage) which was classifying offenders by their body measurements
Describe the contributions to forensic science of the following individuals:
Mathieu Orfila:
Developed the discipline of forensic toxicology
Describe the contributions to forensic science of the following individuals:
Francis Galton:
Developed the discipline of fingerprint analysis
Describe the contributions to forensic science of the following individuals:
Calvin Goddard:
Developed the discipline of firearms analysis; also pioneered the use of the comparison microscope
Describe the contributions to forensic science of the following individuals:
Edmund Locard:
Founded the first crime lab; discovered the Principle of Evidence Exchange
Describe the contributions to forensic science of the following individuals:
Karl Landsteiner:
Discovered the ABO blood group types; considered to be the father of forensic serology and DNA analysis
Define what is meant by “Locard’s Principle of Evidence Exchange”:
Basically that every contact leaves a trace. In other words, every person that enters a crime scene will take materials with them AND leave materials behind
Is Locard’s Theory of Evidence Exchange always true in theory? Why or why not?
YES the Theory of Evidence Exchange ALWAYS occurs even if it’s at a molecular level. However, this exchange cannot always be detected by modern forensic science techniques (though it is always detected on crime TV shows which is NOT reality).
