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The Role of Forensic Sciences in Criminal and civil cases
Usefulness of forensic scientists in criminal investigations
Chapter 2 forensic science
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In 1964 Marcy Sullivan moved into Cape Cod, only to be found dead within days. Several years later Alberto DeSalvo confessed to the rape and murder of Marcy Sullivan and ten other women, only to recant his confession leaving the world in doubt as to whom the real Boston Strangler was. Despite the fact that Albert DeSalvo was not convicted of the murders of the Boston Strangler he was sentenced to life in prison for other rape charges. Later on, whilst in prison he was stabbed to death, taking the truth of his actions to the grave. Fifty years later forensic scientists were able to use seminal fluid found at the crime scene to prove that DeSalvo was in fact the perpetrator that raped and murdered Marcy Sullivan as well as the other ten women. As technology advances, so do the techniques available to prosecute criminals, such techniques include DNA fingerprinting and carpet analysis.
For the forensic evidence found at a crime scene to even matter in a legal court of law a Forensic Experts must be employed through federal, state, or local laboratories. When Forensic Experts are hired they may be called upon to give expert advice, give a third opinion on the evidence presented or serve as an expert witness. Regardless of whoever hires a forensic expert, the expert must be made available to make a testimony in court over their findings. This is due to the fact that in 2009 the U.S Supreme Court ruled that forensic scientists who test evidence must make a testimony in court. Nonetheless, whatever the purpose that the Forensic Expert is hired to serve they must go through a specific process which involves testing the evidence, but while doing so they must follow lab protocol. Once they have done so they must turn their findings into a r...
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...issing Persons and Unidentified Remains: The Nation's Silent Mass Disaster." NIJ Journal Issue No. 256, January 2007. Office of Justice Programs, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .
Ritter, Nancy. "Untested Evidence: Not Just a Crime Lab Issue." NIJ Home Page NIJ Home. Office of Justice Programs, 26 May 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. .
Ritter, Nancy. "Solving Sexual Assaults: Finding Answers Through Research." NIJ Home Page NIJ Home. Office of Justice Programs, 18 June 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. .
Willis, Doris. "In Brief: Law 101: Legal Guide for the Forensic Expert." NIJ Home Page NIJ Home. Office of Justice Programs, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .
McCormick, Charles T. Handbook of the law of evidence. 2nd ed. St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1972. Print.
At least 99 percent of the time, forensic science is reliable and deem accurate. Although four experts that matched Brandon Mayfield’s fingerprint to the fingerprint on a bag at the crime scene, they in fact misidentified the evidence and Spanish police found out that the latent fingerprint actually belong to be an Algerian. This shown that forensic experts and attorneys can definitely be wrong; furthermore, it convey that not all evidence presented in the case is subjected to be infallible and there is a possibility for committed error. Leah Bartos, a UC Berkley graduate student with a Journalism degree, conducted an experiment to understand the process of becoming a certified forensic consultant. She had no prior knowledge in the forensic discipline, but became certified after she passed the open book exam and sent ACFET her bachelor degree, resume, and references. The ACFET exam have a 99 percent pass rate; therefore, it is criticized for creditability of its certified graduate and branded a diploma milling organization for-profit. Attorney can argue the weakness of the forensic evidence presented, hence forensic science call for bad science and can definitely be misuse in our adversarial legal
Roesch, R., Zapf, P. A., & Hart, S. D. (2010). Forensic psychology and law. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.
Therefore, the criminal justice system relies on other nonscientific means that are not accepted or clear. Many of forensic methods have implemented in research when looking for evidence, but the methods that are not scientific and have little or anything to do with science. The result of false evidence by other means leads to false testimony by a forensic analyst. Another issue with forensic errors is that it is a challenge to find a defense expert (Giannelli, 2011). Defense experts are required to help the defense attorneys defend and breakdown all of the doubts in the prosecutors scientific findings in criminal cases. Scientific information is integral in a criminal prosecution, and a defense attorney needs to have an expert to assist he/she in discrediting the prosecution (Giannelli,
Forensic psychology is a continually adapting sphere. It is hard to have one solid definition for the field, as there are so many aspects that interlock. Within each attribute of the forensic psychology has roles and responsibilities to sustain. The rapid growth and emerging importance of this field volumes of information will be developed in the next decade.
Rape, murder, theft, and other crimes almost always leave a devastating mark on the victim. More often than not, it would be impossible to identify the perpetrator a crime without forensic science and the technology it uses. Forensic science allows investigators to unmask the secrets of the crime scene. Evidence gathered at the crime scene helps to identify the guilty party, murder weapon, and even the identity of the victim (Harkawy, 1991: 276). The new technologies enables the forensic experts to have better and faster access to accumulated information, to be more accurate in the identification of victims or delinquents, and minimizes the possibility of wrongful accusations. New technology has improved the methods and techniques that forensic scientists and law enforcement investigators use, in order to provide a safer environment for other people. Information technology is one of the most important aspects in forensic science. It is very important for the forensic experts to receive the undisturbed evidence, such as fingerprints left at the crime scene, as quickly as possible, for more accurate readings. Thus using space technology, such as satellite communication, enables the forensic experts to "gather and digitize evidence at the crime scene, enter it into an on-site computer, and beam the data to a crime lab for swift analysis" (Paula, 1998: 12). Therefore, due to the use of this technology, forensic experts in laboratories can examine the evidence in short time, and the possibility of damage or unlawful manipulation of the evidence before the trial is minimal (Paula, 1998: 12). More often than not, "criminals" wear gloves at the time of the crime, thus to obtain a fingerprint...
For this study forensic evidence can be considered DNA evidence and/or trace evidence of any kind, included to but not limited to tire tracks, bullet casings, glass shards, fingerprints, and hair samples. Although this study proposes the idea that forensic evidence is more important it currently is not used frequently in the justice system. A study found that out of the cases they examined forensic evidence was collected in 37% of cases but only 18% of those cases were examined (Peterson, Hickman, Strom, Johnson, 2013). Another study found that 38% of participants said forensic evidence was hard to come by while 62% said they had spent time on victim credibility (Menaker, Campbell, Wells, 2016). This shows us that forensic evidence is not used frequently, and more time is spent on making a victim credible instead of finding evidence. It is the purpose of this study to determine if forensic evidence is more important than circumstantial evidence and eye witness testimony. If this can be determined than less time can be spent on things like victim credibility for testimonies, and more time can be spent on analyzing forensic
Forensic psychology is an area of psychology that has been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years. Entertainment media’s fascination with the intersection of crime and psychology has fueled the growing interest in the field. According to Jane Tyler Ward, PhD, forensic psychology can be defined as psychology that “emphasizes the application of research and experimentation in other areas of psychology to the legal arena.” Although forensic psychology is popular right now, it was not until 1962 that a court case set the precedent that properly trained psychologists could provide expert testimony (Page 20). Additionally, forensic psychology was not APA (American Psychological Association) certified until 2001 (Page 16). The field of forensic
Bonnie, S. F., Francis, T. C., & Michael, G. T. (2000) The sexual victimization of college women. U.S. Department of Justice.
This case started on July 25, 1984, with the death of a nine year old girl by the name of Dawn Hamilton. The story plays out as follows: Dawn approached two boys and an adult male that were fishing at a pond in a wooded area near Golden Ring Mall in eastern Baltimore, Maryland. Dawn asked the boys to help her find her cousin, they declined the adult male however agreed to help her look. This was the last time anyone saw Hamilton alive. Hamilton’s body was found to have been raped, strangled and beaten with a rock. The police collected a boot print at the scene and DNA that was found in Hamilton’s underwear. The police also relied on the witness testimonies and line-ups, which in this case was the photo array. With the five eye witness testimonies and a tip the believed to be suspect was found. Kirk Noble Bloodsworth a prior U.S. Marine with no prior criminal record was taken into custody and charged with intentional first degree murder, sexual assault and rape. Bloodsworth was basically convicted on the eye witness testimonies. The state requested the death penalty. Bloodsworth was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. (BLOODSWORTH v. STATE, 1988)
The overall goal of a forensic scientist is to determine the facts using all the available resources they were given. They give their expert opinion to the attorneys, judge, and jury, and depending on how well prepared they are, can sway the jury to either a guilty or innocent verdict (Thinkquest 2014). In general, a forensic expert must keep impeccable records of all that has b...
Brigham John C., What is Forensic Psychology Anyway? , Law & Human Behavior, Vol. 23, No.3, pg. 274-275, 1999.
the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial. National Institute of Justice, 10, 15. Retrieved from, https://www.ncjrs.gov/
When arriving at the crime scene Geberth (1997) notes that there are certain procedures the investigators and forensic teams must abide by. When they arrive they have to document just about every thing, especially the important things. They have to go through a checklist, like the time of day, the weather, and interviews with officers, suspects, witnesses, and family members. When examining the body the forensic investigators record name, address, and the sex of the victim, determine the death, and they have to take pictures. Also they must stabilize the scene with barriers of rope or whatever is necessary. Collecting evidence is also important. They must make sure they do not get their fingerprints and other things like hair, saliva, etc… on the evidence. There is a whole lot to do when arriving, but those are the main and important ones.
Forensic science has been in practice for centuries; the first textbook on forensic science was printed in China during the 1200's; in the early 1800's, a technique was developed the first test to identify arsenic in the blood stream; the early 1900's lead to the development of using fingerprinting to identify victims and suspects. While these discoveries where important in criminal investigation, they were only the beginning. Only recently has forensic science significantly refined its techniques and accuracy. Today scientists can locate, identify and trace the tiniest of particles, and identify victims and suspects, beyond a reasonable doubt through DNA analysis. This evolution in forensic science is a prosecutor's dream; while a defense attorney's nightmare. Forensic science has made great strides.