REVIEWER IN FORENSIC MEDICINE

LEGAL MEDICINE is a branch of medicine which deals with the application of medical knowledge to the purposes of law and in the administration of justice. -legal medicine is primarily the application of medical medicine to legal cases while forensic medicine concerns with the applications of medical science to elucidate legal problems. SCOPE OF LEGAL MEDICINE The scope of legal medicine is quite broad and encompassing. It is the application of medical and paramedical sciences as demanded by law and administration of justice. NATURE OF THE STUDY OF LEGAL MEDICINE A knowledge of legal medicine means the ability to acquire facts, the power to arrange those facts in their logical order, and to draw a conclusion from the facts which may be useful in the administration of justice. Medical Jurist A physician who specializes or is involved primarily with medico legal duties. DISTINCTION BETWEEN AN ORDINARY PHYSICIAN AND A MEDICAL JURIST: 1. An ordinary physician sees an injury or disease on the point of view treatment, while a medico-jurist sees injury or disease on the point of view cause. 2. Ordinary Physician to arrive at a definite diagnosis so that appropriate treatment can be instituted. Medical jurist to include those bodily lesion in his report and testify before the court or before an investigative body; thus giving justice to whom it is due. 3. Ordinary Physician minor or trivial injuries usually ignored. Medical Jurist must record all bodily injuries even if they are small or minor because these injuries may be proofs to qualify the crime or to justify the act. BRIEF HISTORY OF LEGAL MEDICINE: IMHOTEP the earliest medico-legal expert (2980 B.C.) THE CODE OF HAMMURABI the oldest code of law included legislation on adultery, rape, divorce, incest, abortion, and violence. HASHISH was said to have been used as a narcotic in surgery about 200 B.C. ANTISTIUS the first police surgeon or forensic pathologist.

Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.) he was murdered and his body was exposed in the forum and Antistius performed the autopsy. Jusatinian in his digest, made mention that a physiscian is not an ordinary witness and that physician gives judgment rather than testimony. Constituto Criminalis Carolina the first textbook in legal medicine, which promulgated in 1532 during the reign of Emperor Charles V in Germay. Pope Innocent III (1209) issued an edict providing for the appointment of doctors to the courts for the determination of the nature of wounds. Pope Gregory IX caused the preparation of Nova Compilatio Decretalium which concerned medical evidence, marriage, nullity, impotence, delivery, caesarian section, legitimacy, sexual offenses, crime against persons and withcraft. Paulus Zacchias a papal physician, is regarded as father of forensic medicine. Severin Peneau 1598 published in Paris a work on virginity and defloration. Orfila (1787-1853) introduce chemical methods in toxicology. MEDICAL EVIDENCE: Evidence is the means, sanctioned by the Rules of Courts, of ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth respecting a matter of fact. Relevancy of evidence evidence must have such relation to the fact in issue as to induce belief in its existence or non existence. TYPES OF MEDICAL EVIDENCE: 1. AUTOPIC OR REAL EVIDENCE is an evidence made known or addressed to the sense of the court. LIMITATIONS: A. Indecency and Impropriety presentation of an evidence may be necessary to serve the best interest of justice but the notion of decency and delicacy may cause inhibition of its presentation. B. Repulsive Objects and those Offensive to Sensibilities foul smelling objects, persons suffering from highly infectious and communicable disease, or objects which when touch may mean potential danger to the life and health of the judge may not be presented.

2. Testimonial Evidence physician may be commanded to appear before court to give his testimony. A. Ordinary Witness a physician who testifies in court on matters he perceived from his patient in the course of physician0patient relationship is considered as an ordinary witness. B. Expert Witness a physician on account of his training and experience can give his opinion on a set of medical facts. 3. Medical Evidence a medical witness may be allowed by the court to confirm his allegation or as corroborated proof to an opinion he previously stated. 4. Documentary Evidence a document is an instrument on which is recorded by means of letters, figures, or marks intended to be used for the purpose of recording that matter which may be evidentially used. 5. Physical evidence PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCES: The physical evidences recovered during medico-legal investigation must be preserved to maintain their value when presented as exhibits in court. METHODS OF PRESERVING EVIDENCE 1. Photographs, audio, and or video tape, micro-film, Photostat, Xerox, voice tracing, etc. 2. Sketching - Rough sketch - Finished sketch Essential Elements must be included in a sketch; a. Measurement must be accurate. b. Compass direction must always be indicated to facilitate proper orientation on the case of crime scene. c. essential item which has a bearing in the investigation must be encluded. d. Scale and proportion must be stated by mere estimation. e. There must be a title and legend to tell what it is and the meaning of certain marks indicated therein. 3. Description this is putting into words the person or thing to be preserved. a. skin lesion b. penetrating wound c. hymenal laceration 4. Manikin method 5. Preservation in the mind of the witness

6. Special Methods special way of treating certain type of evidence may be necessary. CHAPTER II DECEPTION DETECTION Methods of deception detection which are currently being used or applied by law enforcement agencies may be classifies as follows: 1. Devices which record the psycho-physiological response: a. Use of polygraph or lie detector machine. b. Use of word association test c. Use of the psychological stress evaluator 2. Use of drugs that try to inhibit the inhibitor a. Administration of truth serum b. Narcoanalysis or narcnsynthesis c. Intoxication 3. Hypnotism 4. By observation 5. Scientific interrogation 6. Confession I. RECORDING OF THE PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE Phases of the Examination 1. Pre-test interview - before the actual testing is done, the examiner must first make an informal interview of the subject which may last from 20 t0 30 minutes. 2. Actual interrogation and recording though the instrument a. Irrelevant questions b. Relevant questions c. Control questions 3. Post-test interrogation a. To clarify the findings; b. To learn if there are any other reasons for the subjects responding to a relevant question, other than the knowledge of the crime; c. To obtain additional information and an admission for law enforcement purposes, if the results suggest deception. 4. Supplementary tests a. Peak-of-tension test b. Guilt complex test c. Silent answer test B. Used of the Word Association Test a list of stimulus and nonstimulus words are read to the subject who is instructed to answer as quickly as possible. The answers to the questions may be a yes or no. - the time of response in relation to stimulus or nonstimulus words.

C. Use of the Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE): When a person speaks, there are audible voice frequencies, and superimposed on these are the inaudible frequency modulations which are products of minute oscillation of the muscles of the voice mechanism. II. USE OF DRUGS THAT INHIBIT OR INHIBITOR A. ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRUTH SERUM Truth Serum misnomer The test, hyoscine hydrobromide is given hypodermically in repeated doses until a state of delirium is induced. B. NARCOANALYSIS OR NARCOSYNTHESIS -Psychiatric sodium amytal or sodium penthotal is administered to the subject. C. INTOXICATION WITH ALCOHOL In Vino Veritas in wine there is truth III. HYPNOSIS Is the alteration of consciousness and concentration in which the subject manifests a heightened of suggestibility while awareness is maintained. IV. OBSERVATION A good criminal investigator must be a keen observer and a good psychologist.

For Purpose of Investigation the Following are the Different types of Criminal Offenders: 1. Based on behavioral attitude a. Active aggressive offenders b. Passive inadequate offenders 2. Based on the state of mind a. Rational offenders b. Irrational offenders 3. Based on Proficiency a. Ordinary offenders b. Professional offenders 4. Psychological classification a. Emotional offenders b. Non-emotional offenders Some Techniques of Interrogation 1. Emotional appeal 2. Mutt and Jeff Techniques 3. Bluff on split-pair technique 4. Stern approach 5. The subject is given the opportunity to make a lengthy, time consuming narration. VI. Confession -is an expressed acknowledgement by the accused in a criminal case of the truth of his guilt as to the crime charged, or of some essential thereof. KINDS OF CONFESSION 1. EXTRA-JUDICIAL CONFESSION this is a confession made outside of the court prior to the trial of the case. a. Extra-judicial confession may be: (1) Voluntary extra-judicial confession (2) Involuntary extra-judicial confession TOKYO DECLARATION was endorsed by the World Medical Association in 1975 contains guidelines to be observed by physicians concerning torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment in relation to detention and imprisonment.

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND SYMPTOMS OF GUILT:

PSYCHOLOGICAL

SIGNS

AND

1. Sweating 2. Color change 3. Dryness of the mouth 4. Excessive activity of the Adams apple 5. Fidgeting 6. Peculiar feeling inside 7. Swearing to the truthfulness of his assertion 8. Spotless past record 9. Inability to look at the investigator straight to the eye. 10. Not that I remember expression V. SCIENTIFIC INTEROGATION Is the questioning of a person suspected of having committed an offense or of persons who are reluctant to make a full disclosure of information in his possession which is pertinent to the investigation.