Forensic Science Midterm

Forensic Science

is the application of science to the criminal justice system

Mathieu Orfilia

published works on poisons and how they affect animals. He was the first recorded for forensic toxicology

Franci Galton

Studied fingerprints and developed a methodology for their classification.

Dr. Leone Lattis

Figured out a way to determine a type of blood from a blood stain. BEgan applying this method towards criminal investigations

Calvin Goddard

Found a way of using comparison technique to better match bullet casings from a fired gun

Edwin Locard

His principle states that their is an exchange of materials when two objects come in contact with each other. THe issue of cross contamination

Testimony

Verbal statement given under oath

An expert witness

Someone who the court deems has special knowledge that the court deems not common

Pathology

Science that deals with disease

Autopsy

A dissection and examination of the body to determine why the person died

Forensic Pathology

The study of sudden unexplained violent deaths to determine the cause of death of an individual

Rigormortus

AS this rigidty is know, occurs within 24 hours after death, and goes away after about 36 hours. It is when the muscles of the body relax and become rigid

Liver mortis

This condition in the body happens when the blood stops pumping through the body, and settles in parts lower to the ground, this occurs within the first 12 hours after death

Algor Mortis

The gradual cooling of the body after death, helps to determine TOD

Forensic Anthropolgy

specializes in the identification and specialization of skeletal remains, they may also be called to help identify victims of disasters where bodies may be burned or mutilated in some way

Forensic pyschology

focuses on the relationship between human behavior and criminal justice

Forensic Entemology

Uses the study of insect to help criminal investigators, helps to determine TOD

Forensic odontology

Provides insight into the identification of individuals through their teeth

Physical Evidence

anything that can establish a crime that has happened and anything that links the crime and the criminal

crime scene

place where a crime occured

first responder

is the first person who arrives at the scene and it is their responsibility to care for any individual that may be present at the scene and arrest the perpetrator if there person is still on the scene

Overview photographs

show the crime scene in wide angles

intermediate photographs

are closer to the evidence, but still show the area surrounding the evidence

Close up photograph

may focus on an injury, a weapon, or a piece of evidence

ROugh sketches

show the location of evidence and contain accurate accounts of the distances between them and the dimensions of crime scenes

finished sketch

a precise representation of the scene is produced

secondary crime scenes

additional sites where crime activity might have happened

chain of custody

a list of all persons who had possession of the evidence during the crime investigation

questioned sample (unknown sample)

a sample of physical evidence collected at the crime scene

known sample

comes from a particular person or place to compare to a questioned sample

Trace evidence

small evidence, often hard to find

Forth Ammendment

protects from unlawful searches

Physical evidence

includes tangible objects, including weapons, trace evidence such as, hair, blood, of fibers, and fingerprints.

documentary evidence

any type of written or recorded evidence, such as a recording of a telephone conversation or a video recording of a crime.

demonstrative evidence

evidence that is used to recreate or illustrate a crime

testimony

evidence given by a witness at trial

identification

is the process of determining the chemical or physical characteristics of a piece of evidence with as much certainty as possible

comparison

the process of testing a suspect sample with a known sample to prove whether or not they share a common origin

Probability

the frequency of an event

indivdual charecteristics

evidence with characteristics that can be traced back to an individual item or person

ridge characteristics (minutiae)

are the ridge endings,enclosures, and other details that make up a fingerptint

classs charecteristics

are those that can only be assoiated with a griup not a single source

physical properties

are those that describe a substance or object without refering to any substance

chemical properties

are those that describe what happens when a substance reacts with another substance

radial fractures

are those that extend outward from the point of impact, like spokes on a wheel

concentric fractures

fractures that form a circle around a point of impact

soil

is thought of as a surface material from earth both natural and artificial

morphology

its form and structure

medulla

is a set of cells that run through a hair

nuclear DNA

is found in the nucleus of a cell and is inherited from both biological parents

mitochondiral DNA

is found in small structures outside the nucleusof a cell and is inherited from the biological mother

A-B-O system

this system catagrized the properties of blood into three diffrent types

Kastle-Meyer color test

mixes a sample of the dried substance (blood) with the chaemical phenophthalein and hydrogen proxide

Hemoglobin

a protein that tansports pxygen and goves blood ots red coloring

Luminol

a very sensitive test that can show blood when dialated
up to 300,000 times

precpitin test

detrmins of blood is human or animal, with an antiserum

Herbert L. Mac Donell

he discovered that blood patterns can show the angle the blood fell at

Loop fingerprints

characterized by ridge lines that enter one side, loop around, and exit on the same side
60-65 percent of people have

whorl fingerprints

they have ridge patterns that are circular in shape with two deltas
30- 35 percent of people have

Arch fingerprints

have ridge lines that start on one side and exit another
about 5 percent has this fingerprint

latent fingerprints

made by oil and perspiration that is deposited on the surface

visible fingerprints

created when a surface is touched after the finger has been in contact with another substance, such as, blood, ink, or paint

plastic prints

created when the finger touches a soft material or putty

(RUVIS) reflected ultraviolet imaging system

aims UV light at areas where fingerprints may be