Chapter 1 Notes
History, Development, and Crime Labs
Ted Bundy
• Former law student believed to be responsible for 40 murders
between 1964 and 1978.
• Convicted for kidnapping, Bundy escaped from prison in
Colorado and killed 3 more young women in Florida.
• Confident he couldn’t be convicted, Bundy acted as his own
attorney.
• A forensic odontologist expert witness was able to match bite
marks on the victims to Bundy’s
dental records.
• He was executed in 1989.
Definition and Scope
• Forensic science is the application of the
knowledge and technology of science to the
definition and enforcement of our laws.
Definition and Scope
• Science plays an important role in the criminal
justice system.
• It is the forensic scientist’s job to supply accurate
and objective information that reflects the
events that have occurred at a crime scene.
Definition and Scope
• Think of forensic science as an umbrella
term encompassing a wide variety of
professions that aid law enforcement
officials in conducting investigations.
• The 10 basic professions associated with
forensic science are:
Definition and Scope
• 1. Criminalistics
Definition and Scope
• 2. Engineering Science
Definition and Scope
• 3. General
Definition and Scope
• 4. Jurisprudence
Definition and Scope
• 5. Odontology
Definition and Scope
• 6. Pathology/Biology
Definition and Scope
• 7. Physical Anthropology
Definition and Scope
• 8. Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Definition and Scope
• 9. Questioned Documents
Definition and Scope
• 10. Toxicology
History and Development
• One of the earliest records of applying forensics
comes from third century China (200-300 A.D.!)
• A woman claimed her husband burned to
death in an accidental fire.
• The coroner determined the husband was
dead prior to being burned because he found
no ashes in the man’s mouth.
History and Development
• The development of forensic science stalled until
the late seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries.
• Fingerprint characteristics were first noted by
Marcello Malpighi in 1686.
History and Development
• Breakthroughs in medicine led to a greater
understanding of the workings of the body.
• In 1775, Carl Wilhelm Scheele developed a reliable test
for arsenic presence in corpses.
History and Development
• In 1806, a chemist named Valentin Ross developed a
more precise method for detecting arsenic in corpses.
History and Development
• In 1814, Spanish scientist Mathieu Orfila published a treatise
on the detection of posions in the body.
• He is considered the father of forensic toxicology.
History and Development
• 19th century advances:
• Polarizing microscope
• Microscopic sperm detection
• Toxicological evidence admitted to trial.
History and Development
• In 1879, Alphonse Bertillon developed a
systematic procedure of taking body
measurements used to distinguish one individual
from another.
History and Development
• Bertillon’s system was considered the most accurate
identification system available until fingerprinting was
fully developed in the early 1900’s.
History and Development
• Forensic science rose to popularity in the 19th
century as a more well known field with the
fictional character Sherlock Holmes, created by
Arthur Conan Doyle.
History and Development
• 20th century advances:
• Blood typing
• Document examination
• Locard’s Exchange Principle
• Widespread use of the
microscope
History and Development
• Locard’s Exchange Principle states: When two
objects come into contact with each other, a
cross-transfer of materials occurs.
History and Development
• Modern day advances:
• Chromatography
• Spectrophotometry
• Electrophoresis
• DNA
Crime Laboratories
• Advances in forensic science and technology led to the
establishment of facilities dedicated to analysis of
criminal evidence, known as Crime Labs.
Crime Laboratories
• In 1932, the FBI organized a national laboratory that
offered forensic services to all law enforcement agencies
in the country.
• It is now the largest in the world and performs more than
one million examinations every single year.
Crime Laboratories
• Most local law enforcement jurisdictions each
operate their own independent crime labs.
Crime Laboratories
• With recent advances in science and a staggering
increase in crime rate, there has been a rapid increase in
the number of crime labs over the last 40 years.
• The most common investigative tool is no longer
confessions-it is forensic science.
Crime Laboratories
• There are four major federal crime labs in the U.S.:
• The FBI Crime Laboratory
• The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Laboratories
• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Laboratories
• The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Laboratories
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Physical Science Unit
• Applies principles and techniques of chemistry,
physics, and geology to the identification and
comparison of crime scene evidence
• Examines items such as drugs, glass, paint, explosives,
and soil.
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Biology Unit:
• Identifies and performs DNA profiling on dried
bloodstains and other body fluids, compare hairs and
fibers, and identifies and compares botanical materials
such as wood and plants.
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Firearms Unit:
• Examines firearms, discharged bullets, cartridge cases,
shotgun shells, and ammunition of all types.
• Also examines firearms discharge residue and the
approximate distance from a target at which a weapon
was fired.
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Document Examination Unit:
• Studies the handwriting and typewriting on
questioned documents to ascertain authenticity
and/or source.
• Analyzes paper and ink and indented writings,
obliterations, erasures, and burned or charred
documents.
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Photography Unit:
• Examines and records physical evidence.
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Toxicology Unit:
• Examines body fluids and organs to determine the
presence or absence of drugs and poisons
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Latent fingerprint unit:
• Processes and examines evidence for latent
fingerprints when they are submitted in
conjunction with other laboratory
examinations.
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Voiceprint Analysis Unit
• Uses voiceprinting, a technique that visually displays sound as a
graphic, to tie suspects to telephoned threats or tape recorded
messages.
Services of the Crime
Laboratory
• Crime-scene investigation unit
• Collects and preserves physical evidence that will later
be processed at the crime laboratory.
Other Forensic Science
Services
• Forensic psychiatry:
• Examines the relationship between human behavior
and legal proceedings
• Performs tasks such as determining whether an
individual is competent to make decisions about
preparing a will, settling property, or refusing medical
treatment.
Other Forensic Science
Services
• Forensic Odontology:
• Helps identify victims based on dental evidence when the body is
left in an unrecognizable state.
Other Forensic Science
Services
• Forensic Engineering:
• Completes failure analysis, accident reconstruction,
and causes and origins of fires or explosions.
• Answer questions such as: How did this accident
occur? Were the parties involved responsible?
Other Forensic Science
Services
• Forensic computer and digital analysis:
• Identifies, collects, preserves, and examines
information derived from computers and other digital
devices such as cell phones.
• Work might involve recovering deleted or overwritten
data from a computer’s hard drive and tracking
hacking activities.
The Functions of the Forensic
Scientist
• Analyzing of Physical Evidence
• Determining Admissibility of Evidence
• Judging Scientific Evidence
• “Gatekeeping”= trial judges assume the ultimate
responsibility for judging the admissibility and
reliability of scientific evidence presented in court.
The Functions of the Forensic
Scientist
• In Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, the
Supreme Court ruled that the “gatekeeping” role
of the trial judge applied not only to scientific
testimony but to all expert testimony.
The Functions of the Forensic
Scientist
• Providing expert testimony
• Expert witness= an individual whom the court
determines to possess a particular skill or
knowledge in a trade or profession that is not
expected of the average person and that will
help a court determine the truth.
The Functions of the Forensic
Scientist
• http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/3801/3892550/
DNACD_mod13-2-01.swf
The Functions of the Forensic
Scientist
• Furnishing training in the proper recognition,
collection, and preservation of physical evidence.
REVIEW
• 1. Which of the following people did not make a contribution
to forensic toxicology?
•
•
•
•
A. Valentin Ross
B. Alphonse Bertillon
C. Carl Wilhelm Scheele
D. Mathieu Orfila
REVIEW
• 2. Locard’s Exchange Principle states that when two objects
come into contact with each other, a ________ of materials
occurs.
•
•
•
•
A. Cross-transfer
B. Contamination
C. Destruction
D. Disappearance
REVIEW
• 3. The _____ unit of a Crime Lab performs DNA profiling on
dried bloodstains and other body fluids, compares hair and
fibers, and identifies and compares botanical materials such as
wood and plants.
•
•
•
•
A. Physical Science Unit
B. Document Examination Unit
C. Biology Unit
D. Firearms Unit
REVIEW
• 4. The current system of crime laboratories in the United
States can best be described as
•
•
•
•
A. Centralized
B. Regional
C. Decentralized
D. National
REVIEW
• 5. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the wide
variation in services offered by crime laboratories in different
communities?
• A. Variations in local laws
• B. Varying local approaches to crime scene investigation
• C. Different capabilities and functions of the organization to
which a laboratory is attached.
• D. Budgetary and staffing limitations.
REVIEW
• 6. In Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that the “gatekeeping” role of a trial judge
•
•
•
•
A. was restricted to scientific testimony
B. applied only to cases involving capital crimes
C. was subject to appeal by a higher court
D. applied to all expert testimony