Key Terms: Algor Mortis Autopsy Expert Witness Livor Mortis Locard’s Exchange Principle Rigor Mortis

Key Terms:Algor Mortis

AutopsyExpert Witness

Livor MortisLocard’s Exchange Principle

Rigor Mortis

Forensic Science – An IntroForensic Science - a series of highly specialized

disciplines that rely on an array of sophisticated technology for the investigation of everything from biological fluids to fibers and drugs.

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DefinitionIn its broadest definition, forensic science is the

application of science to criminal and civil laws. The subject matter of this book emphasizes the

application of science to those criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system.

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.

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Forensic Science – An IntroForensic Science – the

application of science to the criminal & civil laws that are enforced by police in a criminal justice systemThe scientific principles and

technology to the legal process. It essentially involves the characterization and examination of evidence.

Criminalistics – the SERVICES of the crime laboratory itself.Controlled substances Serology DNA Trace Chemistry Firearms Toolmarks Questioned Documents Latent Prints Toxicology 4

Intro to ForensicScienceEncompasses many fields of science

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Forensic Science – An Intro

It may be associative in nature, which is linking people, places or objects. The well-known Locard Principle ("Every contact leaves a trace") relates to associative evidence. Associative evidence may be sub-divided, for example fingerprints or DNA.

Much of the evidence that comes from crime lab is not associative, it is inceptive. That is, it addresses the issue of whether an offence has occurred. Controlled substance analysis and alcohol testing are examples of inceptive evidence.

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Forensic science can be classified in two manners:

Forensic Science – An IntroTesting may produce evidence to exclude an

association (DNA types in recovered sperm may differ from those of the suspect). If they do not exclude the suspect then we are left with corroborative evidence that supports but does not prove the hypothesis of association.

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Forensic Science – An Intro5 Basic Services in ALL

Crime LabsBiology UnitFirearms UnitDocument UnitPhysical Science UnitPhotography Unit

Optional ServicesToxicologyFingerprint analysisVoiceprint analysisCrime-scene

investigationPolygraph

administration

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Forensic Science – An IntroHistory of Forensic Science – A Timeline/Simplified

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Forensic Science – An IntroHistory of Forensic Science – A Timeline6th century

Certain aspects of forensic medicine were first documented in China.

≈ 1247 Chinese manuscripts provided methods

to determine death by drowning or strangulation, from death by natural causes.

1600’s Francois Demelle in France reportedly published the first study on questioned document examination in 1609.

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Forensic Science – An Intro1800’s

The 1800’s saw the beginning of Questioned Document examination in Europe. At the outset, photographers who tried to broaden their expertise by incorporating document comparison conducted document examination. • Slowed acceptance of the profession as many highly

publicized mistakes were made. Only after improvements in photography in the

1800's however, did document examination gain credibility in Europe. Played major role in Jon Benet Ramsey and Hitler Diaries cases.

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Forensic Science – An Intro1800-1810

Mateu Orfila, was one of the first experts to provide reliable scientific evidence in a criminal trial, and conducted academic studies in toxicology. Toxicology is organized as a branch of forensic science.

Orfila and associates:• first chemical test to detect arsenic, • first scientific paper on the detection of poisons. • The first documented provision of legal testimony by legal

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Orfila - blood and semen identification: developed chemical tests for semen identification laying the foundations for some of today's routine tests

1830’s Henry Goddard, Scotland Yard, first used bullet comparisons to provide evidence leading to the arrest of a murderer.

1861 Rudolph Virchow reported the first forensic investigation of human hair in and determined that a questioned hair from a crime suspect was indistinguishable from that of his victim.

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William Herschel proposed the application of Fingerprinting for personal identification.

Henry Faulds, Scottish physician, residing in Japan used latent prints from a crime scene to identify a burglar.

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Dr Alexandre Lacassagne, University of Lyons Bullet Comparison:Associate bullets with a specific gun, by comparing

striations etched on the bullet recovered from a homicide victim and striations from the gun barrel from which the bullet was fired.

Blood spatter patterns-first to study their nature.

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Forensic Science – An Intro1890-1899 Juan Vucetich, Argentinean police official

Established his own fingerprint classification system, based on own research data and fingerprint pattern types described by Francis Galton.

Francis Galton, France, first published paper in Nature describing use of fingerprinting to identify someone.

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Forensic Science – An IntroVictor Balthazard, medical examiner, Paris:• Studied probability models for fingerprints• Bullet comparison, animal hairs, and blood spatter patterns• Systematic ID of fingerprints in some 30 years after Henry

Faulds. Hans Gross, Austria: furthered criminalistics by:• Applied scientific knowledge and methods for the

interpretation and analysis of physical evidence in crime investigation.

• Established a journal dedicated to forensic science.

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Forensic Science – An IntroSir Arthur Conan-Doyle published at this time

suggested that soil collected on a person at a crime scene could be used as evidence to place that person at that location.Holmes's primary intellectual detection method is deductive reasoning of the solution to a crime

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Artist rendition ofSherlock Holmes

©1904

Forensic Science – An Intro1900’s Alphonse Bertillon (1853 - 1914) - developed the most

significant and earliest personal identification system. Anthropometry: series of body and facial measurements, to identify habitual criminals. Bertillon opposed the introduction of fingerprintingFirst person in Europe to use latent prints to solve a criminal

case.

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Forensic Science – An IntroSir Edward Richard Henry: head of Scotland Yard

Implemented his fingerprint classification scheme, which eventually replaced anthropometry in Europe and North America.

Paul Jesrich: Acquired photomicrographs of bullets for comparison

purposes .

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Forensic Science – An Intro1900-1909 Dr George Popp, Germany

First recorded use of botanical evidence Presented one of the first examples of evidence in a

criminal case using botanical materialsHugo Marx, Germany, (State Medical and Prison Medical

Examiners office)Prepared a dissertation on the value of forensic hair

examination. He followed a textbook published by the founder of the Vienna School of Forensic Medicine that contained a chapter on the Investigation of Hair.

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Forensic Science – An Intro1910-1920 Edmund Locard,

First police crime laboratory in Europe, in Lyons; the location of today's Interpol.

Victor Balthazard and Marcelle Lambert Produced "Le poil de l'homme et des animaux (the Hair of

Man and Animals)" Detailed the use of microscopical analysis to compare and

observe morphological features of hair

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Forensic Science – An IntroVictor Balthazard –

first scientific article on the Significance of Bullet Markings and their relation to bullet individualization.

Leone Lattes, Italy, Institute of Forensic first developed antibody tests for the ABO blood

groups Questioned Document testimony in US courts was

eventually accepted in 1913.

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Forensic Science – An Intro1920-1929 Luke May developed and applied analyses for

toolmark comparison. First US police crime laboratory in Los Angeles was

established. Charles Waite catalogued information regarding

weapon manufacture, and with collaborative efforts by Goddard, Gravelle and FisherDeveloped Comparison Microscopy for Bullet Comparison.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe Locard PrincipalEdmund Locard:It was almost impossible for anyone to participate in

any activity without removing soil or dust particles from the site by contaminating their person or vehicle.

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Forensic Science – An Intro1930-1939 Franz Josef Holzer, Austria. Blood.

Developed the absorption-inhibition ABO typing technique that was tobecome used routinely in forensic science.

John Glaister, Scotland. Hair. 1700 photomicrographs that show thestructure of hair of humans and other mammals and their relation to criminalinvestigation.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe FBI Crime Lab was established in 1932,

Washington DC. New lab in Langley, VA opened in 2003.

Paul Kirk First academic criminalistics program in the

United States at the University of California, Berkeley in 1937

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Forensic Science – An Intro1940-1949 Karl Lansteiner 1st described Rhesus blood groups (Rh factor)

More than 20 genetically determined blood group systems known today

AB0 and Rh systems are the most important ones used for blood transfusions.

All blood groups are NOT compatible with each other. Mixing incompatible blood groups leads to blood clumping or agglutination, which is dangerous for individuals and can lead to death.

Other Groups: i.e., Kell, Lewis, Duffy, Kidd, Lutheran, MNS, P

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Forensic Science – An IntroABO Blood type antigens are found on the surface of

red blood cells. Also secreted by some people in their body fluids,

including saliva, tears, and urine. The ability to secrete them is genetically controlled.

Police agencies routinely use this so-called secretor system data to identify potential victims and criminals when blood samples are not available.

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The American Academy of Forensic Science was formed, followed by the Institution of the Journal of Forensic Science.

Hirschfield was the first to identify the polymorphic (chemical variations) nature of blood group specific component (GC)

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Culliford and Wraxal: Metro Police Lab, London. (Advanced blood testing methods)The polymorphic nature of red blood enzymes was

determined.This resulted in the development of electrophoretic (the

movement of charged particles in a colloid or suspension when an electric field is applied to them) techniques for haptoglobin (a plasma protein that combines with free hemoglobin in the blood) typing and isoenzyme testing.

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Forensic Science – An Intro1970-1979 More isoenzyme grouping systems were discovered

in the early including esterase D (ESD) and red cell Glyoxylase (GLO)

1980-1990 Sir Alex Jeffreys and colleagues developed the

techniques for profile analysis of DNA. In 1985 their achievements their were published in Nature.

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Forensic Science – An IntroAs a result of collaborative efforts between the

British Home Office Forensic Science Service, and Jeffreys, the murderer of two English schoolgirls was identified.

DNA profiling was introduced to the US criminal courts for the first time, but admissibility was challenged resulting in the development and implementation of accreditation, standardization and quality controls for DNA and forensic laboratories.

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Summarized HistoryMathieu Orfila—the father of forensic toxicology. Alphonse Bertillion—devised the first scientific system of

personal identification in 1879.Francis Galton—conducted the first definitive study of

fingerprints and their classification.Leone Lattes—developed a procedure to determine blood

type from dried bloodstains.Calvin Goddard—used a comparison microscope to determine

if a particular gun fired a bullet.Albert Osborn—developed the fundamental principles of

document examination.

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Walter McCrone—utilized microscopy and other analytical methodologies to examine evidence.

Hans Gross—wrote the first treatise describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation.

Edmond Locard—incorporated Gross’ principles within a workable crime laboratory.

Locard’s Exchange Principle—states that when a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs.

Sir Alec Jeffreys—developed the first DNA profiling test in 1984.

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Summarized HistoryForensic Science – An Intro

Forensic Science – An IntroForensic Science - The primary consideration is the

identification, individualization or classification, of physical evidence. In some cases, this may only be possible after conducting chemical or scientific tests. Types of evidence that require testing to ensure accurate identification include:

Bloodstains Body fluids Drugs Arson accelerants and other chemicals.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe earliest documented forensic specialty is forensic medicine.

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Forensic Science – An IntroMedical Forensics - Legal medicine or medical

jurisprudence Application of medicine & medical science to the legal

process. Late 1700’s, 1st appearance of legal medicine experts in the

courtroom was documented. Advances in chemistry by the end of the 18th century, led

the way for the development of modern toxicology. Forensic toxicology focuses on the identification and quantization of toxic substances in body fluids & tissues & the subsequent determination of the role any such agent may have played in contributing to or causing death.

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Forensic Science – An IntroForensic Pathologist

Conducts the autopsyMedical dissection and exam of a body

in order to determine the cause of death

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Forensic Science – An IntroRigor Mortis

Medical condition that occurs after death & results in the stiffening of muscle mass. Rigidity gradually DISAPPEARS 24 hrs. after death

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Livor MortisMedical condition that occurs after death & results in the

settling of blood in areas of the body closest to the groundAlgor Mortis

Postmortem changes that cause a body to lose heat at a rate of ~ 1-1.5 oF/hr until the body reaches the environmental temperature

Forensic Science – An IntroForensic Odontology - Uses dental records to

aid in human identification. This identification process is often called for in the identification of unrecognizable bodies, for example after a mass disaster, and in the identification and comparison of bite marks.

Forensic Anthropology - The identification of skeletal remains, & a number of databases have been developed that catalog differences in physical structure of the body as a function of sex and race.

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Forensic Science – An IntroFingerprintsMost widely used identification techniques is

fingerprinting. Bertillon is credited with being the first to use latent prints in a criminal case. He was also the first to use systematic crime scene photography for recording a scene.

The development of fingerprinting for criminal ID purposes was the initiative of William Herschel, a British civil servant living in India around 1877. Henry Faulds, a Scottish physician working in Japan around the same time, recognized the value of latent prints from a crime scene

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Forensic Science – An IntroA fingerprint classification system was developed that

would replace anthropometry in Europe and North America.

Implemented in Europe when Henry was appointed head of Scotland Yard, early 1900’s.

In the US, DeForrest initiated the first systematic use of fingerprints in personal identification.

More recently, FBI‘s Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) was introduced as a means of providing identification services to US law enforcement communities.

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Forensic Science – An IntroCriminalisticsConsidered to include all areas of trace evidence, such as

soil, glass, hairs, fibers, blood and other body fluids including, saliva, sweat, semen and vitreous humor. It also includes arson, explosives, drug identification and investigation, interpretation of pattern and imprint evidence.

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Forensic Science – An IntroBallistics and Firearm Identificationincorporates firearm identification, comparison of

bullet markings and rifling, the identification of projectiles, cartridge and shell cases, and, the determination of bullet trajectories and damage.

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Forensic Science – An IntroQuestioned DocumentsEntails the comparison and interpretation of

handwriting; materials generated from typing, printing, facsimiles and photocopying; and the analysis and aging of paper, inks and materials used to produce documents.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe Questioned Documents Unit of the FBI Crime

laboratory examines all aspects of documentary evidence including hand printing, typewriter ribbons, printers, watermarks, erasures, alterations, obliterations, safety paper, charred paper, graphic arts, plastic bags, and product tampering.

The unit maintains the database files such as the Anonymous Letter File, Bank Robbery Note File, National Fraudulent Check File, Office Equipment File, and Watermark File.

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Forensic Science – An IntroSoil ExaminationEdmond Locard - In 1929, he made the observation that

it was almost impossible for anyone to participate in any activity without removing soil or dust particles from the site as a result of contamination of ones body, clothes, tools or vehicle. Locard credited the fictional character Sherlock Holmes

with the idea that botanical or earth materials could have important evidential value.

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Forensic Science – An IntroIdentification and Association of Human Hair Rudolph Virchow-Berlin, Germany, reported the first

forensic investigation of human hair in 1861. In 1910 Victor Balthazard and Marcelle Lambert

described techniques similar to those still employed for hair comparisons. Compare morphological features.

In 1931, John Glaister. A study of mammalian hairs and wool and their relevance to criminal investigation.

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Forensic Science – An IntroDNA ProfilingEvolving from classical serology, DNA profiling could be

considered the modern day technique that revolutionized personal identification in forensic science. In the mid 1980's, Sir Alex Jeffreys developed the technique allowing the profile analysis of DNA

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Forensic Science – An IntroIn 1987, DNA profiling introduced for the first time to US

criminal courts, and after its admissibility was challenged, appropriate accreditation, standardization and quality controls for DNA and forensic laboratories were developed and introduced.

1996, the FBI DNA Analysis Unit began using mitochondrial DNA analysis. This type of analysis can be applied to small or degraded quantities of DNA from hair, bones, teeth, and body fluids, allowing the examination of evidence that previously may not have been suitable for comparison.

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Forensic Science – An IntroAccreditationFinally, over the last 30 years or so, several organizations

have emerged that have developed guidelines and regulations assuring forensic laboratory standardization, accreditation and certification. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

committee E-30 on Forensic Sciences was created in 1970, with the purpose of standardizing methods and terminology unique to the field.

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Forensic Science – An IntroEstablished in the mid 1970's, the American Society of

Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) is an international organization composed of crime laboratory directors whose mission is to promote "excellence through leadership in forensic science management".

The ASCLD laboratory accreditation board (ASCLD/LAB) is a related organization that has published minimum standards for laboratories and their personnel to achieve, allowing formal accreditation by the organization.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe American Board of Criminalistics has developed a

series of examinations allowing the certification of individual forensic scientists in their particular area of expertise. Although, individual certification processes are currently voluntary, it is likely that courts will come to expect such quality assurances as the number of certified laboratories and individuals using standard techniques continue to grow.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe Crime LabThe 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 government—federal, state, county, and municipal.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe Crime LabThe 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.

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Forensic Science – An IntroThe Scientific MethodFormulate a question worthy of investigation.Formulate a reasonable hypothesis to answer the

question.Test the hypothesis through experimentation.Upon validation of the hypothesis, it become

suitable as scientific evidence.

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Forensic Science – An IntroSkills of a Forensic ScientistA 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.

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Skills of the Forensic ScientistThe 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.

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The Frye StandardThe 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.

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Frye Not AbsoluteHowever, 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.

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Daubert Criteria For AdmissibilityWhether the scientific technique or theory can be

tested.Whether the technique has been subject to peer

review and publication.The techniques potential rate of error.Existence and maintenance of standards .Whether the scientific theory or method has

attracted widespread acceptance within a relevant scientific community.

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Evidence Collection TrainingMany crime laboratories have “evidence technicians,”

trained by the crime lab staff, on 24-hour call for evidence collection at crime scenes.

Training ensures all pertinent evidence will be recognized and collected properly.

Where no formal training exists, familiarity can be gained through lectures, tours of the lab, and evidence collection manuals.

National Forensic Academy, Knoxville, TN established Fall 2000.

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National Forensic

Academy, Knoxville, TN Established Fall 2000.