INTRODUCTION TO

FORENSIC SCIENCE
Chapter 1
1
Intro to Forensic Science
2
Criminalistics - the recognition,
collection, identification, individualization,
and interpretation of physical evidence,
and the application of the natural
sciences to law-science matters.
Forensic science - The application of
science to those criminal and civil laws
that are enforced by police agencies in a
criminal justice system.
Intro to Forensic Science
3
Forensic science owes its origins to
individuals such as Bertillon, Galton, Lattes,
Goddard, Osborn, and Locard, who
developed the principles and techniques
needed to identify or compare physical
evidence.
History
4
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle popularized
crime-detection methods through Sherlock
Holmes
Sherlock Holmes applied the principles of
serology, fingerprinting, firearm
identification, questioned-document
examination
History
5
Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853) father of
forensic toxicology
Published the first scientific treatise on the
detection of poisons and their effects on
animals
History
6
Alfonse Bertillion (1853-1914)
father of criminal identification
Developed anthropometry, a system of
taking a series of body measurements as a
means of indistinguishing individuals.
Used for nearly two decades, until replaced
by fingerprinting.
Anthropometry
7
Figure 1 2 Bertillons system of
bodily measurements as used for the
identification of an individual.
Courtesy Sirchie Finger Print
Laboratories, Inc., Youngsville, N.C.,
www.sirchie.com.
History
8
Francis Galton (1822-1911) conducted
the first definitive study of fingerprints and
their classification.
First statistical proof supporting the
uniqueness of this method of personal
identification.
History
9
Leone Lattes (1887-1954) professor at
the University of Turin in Italy
Devised a procedure for using Landsteiners
ABO blood groups for determining the
blood type of a stain in a criminal
investigation.
History
10
Calvin Goddard (1891- 1955) US Army
Colonel
Established the comparison microscope as a
tool for comparing a bullet with one that
has been test fired from the suspect
weapon.
History
11
Albert S. Osborn (1858- 1946) developed
the fundamental principles of document
examination.
Questioned Documents considered a primary
reference for document examiners.
History
12
Walter C. McCrone (1916- 2002) the
worlds preeminent microscopist.
Advocate for applying microscopy to
analytical problems, particularly forensic
science.
History
13
Hans Gross (1847-1915) public
prosecutor and judge in Graz,
Austria.
Investigators could expect
assistance from the fields of
microscopy, chemistry, physics,
mineralogy, zoology, botany,
anthropometry, and
fingerprinting.
History
14
Edmond Locard (1877- 1966) educated in
medicine and law.
Founder and director of the Institute of
Criminalistics at the University of Lyons.
Locards Exchange Principle
15
The exchange of materials between two objects
that occurs whenever two objects come into
contact with one another.

History of Forensic Science
16
Federal Bureau of Investigation (1932)
J. Edgar Hoover organized a national
laboratory that aimed to offer forensic
services to all law enforcement agencies
in the country. The worlds largest
forensic laboratory.
Los Angeles Police Department (1923)
created by August Vollmer, oldest
forensic lab in the US.
The Crime Lab
17
The development of crime laboratories in
the United States has been characterized by
rapid growth accompanied by a lack of
national and regional planning and
coordination.
At present, approximately 350 public crime
laboratories operate at various levels of
governmentfederal, state, county, and
municipal.
The Crime Lab
18
Part of police departments, District
Attorneys Office, medical
examiner/coroners office, affiliated with
universities or independent.
Variation in services due to:
Variation in local laws
Different capabilities and functions of the
organization
Budgetary and staffing limitations
The Crime Lab
19
The ever increasing number of crime
laboratories is partly the result of the
following:
Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s
responsible for police placing greater
emphasis on scientifically evaluated
evidence.
Crime laboratories inundated with drug
specimens due to accelerated drug abuse.
The advent of DNA profiling.
Technical Support
20
The technical support provided by crime labs can be
assigned to five basic services.
Physical Science Unit incorporates the principles of
chemistry, physics, and geology to identify and
compare physical evidence.
Controlled substances (drugs), Trace (glass, paint,
explosives, soil)
Biology Unit applies the knowledge of biological
sciences in order to investigate blood samples,
body fluids, hair, and fiber samples.
Firearms Unit investigates discharged bullets,
cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition.
Technical Support
21
Document Unit provides the skills needed for
handwriting analysis and other questioned-
document issues.
Photography Unit applies specialized photographic
techniques for recording and examining physical
evidence.
Some crime laboratories may offer the optional
services of toxicology, fingerprint analysis,
voiceprint analysis, evidence collection, and
polygraph administration.
Technical Support
22
Other Services by Full-Service Labs
Toxicology Unit examines body fluids and organs
for the presence of drugs and poisons.
Latent Fingerprint Unit processes and examines
evidence for latent fingerprints.
Polygraph Unit conducts polygraph or lie
detector tests.
Voiceprint Analysis Unit attempts to tie a
recorded voice to a particular suspect.
Technical Support
23
Other Services by Full-Service Labs
Evidence Collection Unit dispatches specially
trained personnel to the crime scene to collect
and preserve physical evidence.
Pathology investigates sudden, unnatural,
unexplained or violent deaths
Anthropology identification and examination
of human skeletal remains
Entomology study of insects and their relation
to a criminal investigation
Estimate the time of death
Special Forensic Science Services
24
A number of special forensic science
services are available to the law
enforcement community to augment the
services of the crime laboratory.
These services include forensic psychiatry,
forensic odontology, computer science, and
forensic engineering.
Special Forensic Science Services
25
Forensic Psychiatry is an area in which the
relationship between human behavior and
legal proceedings is examined.
Forensic Odontology involves using teeth to
provide information about the identification
of victims when a body is left in an
unrecognizable state; also investigates bite
marks.
Special Forensic Science Services
26
Forensic Engineering is concerned with
failure analysis, accident reconstruction, and
causes and origins of fires or explosions.
Forensic Computer Science involves the
examination of digital evidence.
The Crime Laboratory
27
For admissibility of evidence examination in Texas criminal
courts by either the prosecutor or the defense, it is
required that the examination be performed in an
accredited laboratory.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 38.35 requires that
forensic analysis of physical evidence (including chemical, or
other expert examination) and expert testimony relating
to the evidence not be admissible in a criminal action if, at
the time of the analysis, the crime laboratory or other
entity conducting the analysis was not accredited by the
director. A description of the accreditation program and a
listing of the DPS accredited laboratories may be found on
Texas DPS website: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/
Skills of a Forensic Scientist
28
A forensic scientist must be skilled in applying
the principles and techniques of the physical
and natural sciences to the analysis of the
many types of evidence that may be recovered
during a criminal investigation.
A forensic scientist may also provide expert
court testimony.
An expert witness is an individual whom the
court determines possesses knowledge
relevant to the trial that is not expected of the
average person.
Skills of a Forensic Scientist
29
The expert witness is called on to evaluate
evidence based on specialized training and
experience that the court lacks the
expertise to do.
The expert will then express an opinion as
to the significance of the findings.
Forensic scientists also participate in
training law enforcement personnel in the
proper recognition, collection, and
preservation of physical evidence.
Legal Precedents
30
Frye v. United States - The court must decide whether
the questioned procedure, technique, or principle is
generally accepted by the relevant scientific
community
Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence - deals with
the admissibility of expert testimony
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - the trial
judge must ensure that an experts testimony rests on
a reliable foundation and is relevant to the case
Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael - the gatekeeping
role of the trial judge applied not only to scientific
testimony, but to all expert testimony
The Frye Standard
31
The Frye v. United States decision set
guidelines for determining the admissibility
of scientific evidence into the courtroom.
To meet the Frye standard, the evidence in
question must be generally accepted by
the scientific community.
Frye Not Absolute
32
However, in the 1993 case of Daubert v.
Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc., the U.S.
Supreme Court asserted that the Frye
standard is not an absolute prerequisite to
the admissibility of scientific evidence.
Trial judges were said to be ultimately
responsible as gatekeepers for the
admissibility and validity of scientific
evidence presented in their courts, as well
as all expert testimony.
The Daubert Criteria
33
In Daubert, the Supreme Court offered some
guidelines as to how a judge can gauge
scientific evidence:
1) Whether the scientific technique or theory can be
(and has been) tested.
2) Whether the technique or theory has been subject
to peer review and publication.
3) The techniques potential rate of error.
4) Existence and maintenance of standards controlling
the techniques operation.
5) Whether the scientific theory or method has
attracted widespread acceptance within a relevant
scientific community.
Expert Witness
34
If a witness can establish to the satisfaction of a
trial judge that he or she possesses a particular
skill or has knowledge in a trade or profession
that will aid the court in determining the truth of
the matter at issue, that individual will be accepted
as an expert witness
This expert evaluates evidence then expresses an
opinion as to the significance of the findings. The
views expressed are accepted only as representing
the experts opinion.