Transcript Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury
How TV crime dramas effect
American court rooms
Outline
• Breakdown of the different fields and
sensors used in forensics
• TV versus Real Life
– Case Study CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
• Effects of TV on the Court Room
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Forensic Science
• The application of a broad range of
sciences to answer legal questions
• Used for both criminal and civil cases
• Usually referred to as simply ‘forensics’
• Dates back to Aristotle
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Forensic Psychiatry
• A sub specialty of psychiatry that focuses
on the legal aspects of the profession
• Two major areas of criminal evaluation
– Competency to stand trial
– Mental state at time of offense
• Not guilty by reason of insanity
– in this case insanity is a legal and not a medical term
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Trace Evidence
• Evidence found at a crime scene in small
but measurable amounts
– Hairs
– Fibers
– Gunshot residue
– Arson accelerants
– Botanical materials
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Trace Evidence Sensors
• Compound polarized
light microscope –
most commonly used
• Scanning electron
microscope
• Gas chromatography
• Mass spectrometry
• Infrared spectroscopy
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Fingerprints
• Imprint made by the pattern of ridges on
the pad of the human finger
• No two fingerprints are exactly the same
• Dactyloscopy is the science of comparing
fingerprints
• Three basic patterns: arch, loop, and
whorl
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Fingerprint Sensors
• Dusting power and
brush
• Magnifying glass
• Computer image
enhancement
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Forensic Engineering
• Investigation of materials, products,
structures, or components that fail or do
not operate as intended
• Much more common in civil cases than
criminal
– Locate cause of problem for improvement
– Insurance companies for liabilities
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Forensic Engineering Sensors
• Optical and Scanning
electron microscopes
• Spectroscopy
• Simple hand lens
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Forensic Chemistry
• Application of chemistry principles to law
enforcement
• Explosives
• Poisons
• Controlled substances
– Weight
– Positive identification of substance
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Forensic Chemistry Sensors
• Gas chromatographmass spectrometer
– Traveling time
– Ion presence
• Fourier Transform
infrared
spectrophotometer
– Drug fingerprint
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Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
• Combines biology, chemistry, math, and
physics to produce strong and solid
evidence
• Can be used to determine several
characteristics of the crime committed
• Variety of blood pattern categories
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Bloodstain Pattern Categories
• Passive bloodstains,
force: gravity
– Passive drop, gravity
alone
– Drip pattern, blood
dripping into blood
– Flow pattern, change
in flow due to gravity
or movement of an
object
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Bloodstain Pattern Categories
• Projected bloodstains,
force: energy
transfer
– Low, Medium, High
Velocity Impact
Spatter
– Cast-Off
– Gushing
– Back Spatter
– Expiratory Blood
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Bloodstain Pattern Categories
• Transfer/contact
bloodstains,
force: touch
– Wipe, object moves
through existing stain
altering its appearance
– Swipe, transfer from
moving source and the
direction of travel may
be determined by the
feathered edge
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Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
• Can be used to determine
– Mechanism that created the stain
– Direction of travel
– Area of origin
– Basic type of object used
– Minimum number of blows
– Positioning of victim, suspect, and objects
– Sequence of events
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Bloodstain Pattern Sensors
• Center around
principles of physics
– Determine
• Angle of impact
(software)
• Point of convergence
(2D)
• Area of convergence
(2D)
• Area of origin (3D)
• Generally collected
using photography
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DNA
• Sometimes called
“the genetic
fingerprint”
• Inherited from both
parents, so biological
connections can be
confirmed
• 1986 - First used to
convict an criminal of
murder in England
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DNA and Sensors
• Computerized
databases
• Ultraviolet scanners
• Microarray scanner
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OJ Simpson and DNA
• Simpson was not the only thing on trial
• It was also the most public trial of DNA
fingerprinting
• Most jurors actually did not consider the
DNA results when reaching their verdict
• Prosecution used two different labs with
eight markers being tested
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Forensic Anthropology
• Applying physical anthropology and the
study of the human skeleton in a legal
setting
• Usually applies to criminal cases when the
remains are skeletonized or
unrecognizable due to decomposition,
burning, or mutilation
• Cannot legally determine the cause of
death but help identify the victim
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Forensic Anthropology Sensors
• Measurement
instruments
• Microscopes
• X-rays
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Forensic Facial Reconstruction
• Process of recreating the face of an
unidentified individual from skeletal
remains through artistry, anthropology,
and anatomy
• Does not meet the Daubert Standard
• Only used to reach a positive identification
for the remains
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Forensic Facial Reconstruction
• Two-dimensional reconstructions
– Portrait drawings based on radiographs, ante
mortem photographs, and the skull
– FACE and CARES computer software can now
produce facial approximations quickly and can
be edited easily
• Three-dimensional reconstructions
– Casts of remains and modeling clay
– Can be enhanced with computer imaging
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Forensic Facial Reconstruction
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Information Forensics
• Investigation into systemic processes that
produce information
• Tends to focus on business, technology,
and legacy systems
– Fraud
– Abuse
– Mistakes
– Sabotage
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Information Forensics
• Bioinformatics
• Cryptography
• Musicology
• Trace
• Major Specialty area:
Forensic Accounting
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Forensic Entomology
• Appling the study of insects and arthropods to
legal issues
• Arthropod involvement in various crimes
including
– Murder/Suicide
– Rape
– Physical abuse
– Contraband trafficking
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Forensic Entomology
• Most insects involved in criminal
investigations are necrophagous
• Four primary insect orders
– Diptera – first on the scene
– Coleoptera
– Acari
– Hymenoptera – last, normally eat insects
eating the corpse
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Forensic Entomology Sensors
• Dissection microscope
• Electron light
microscope
• Variety of Lenses and
chemicals
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Case Study: CSI
• One of the most watched shows in
television history
• Has several spin off shows all of which are
usually in the top spot in their time slot
• Different from other crime dramas such as
Law and Order because it follows the story
more through forensics than it follows
people and the court proceedings
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Case Study: CSI
• Benefits produced by CSI
– Increased or even created public interest in
forensic science
– Majors relating to forensics are some of the
fastest growing in the nation
• Some institutions have even added forensic depts
– Improved understanding of the importance of
science in our every day lives
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Case Study: CSI
• Problems created by the program
– However, several myths have been created
and reinforced through the popularity of the
show
– Myths range from the actual responsibilities of
the criminalists to the speed at which results
can be produced
– Influencing real court rooms in what’s termed
“The CSI Effect”
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Case Study: CSI
• Myth 1: Laboratory Personnel can
examine evidence as soon as it gets to the
lab
• Usually takes months before time permits
an examination of the evidence due to
back logs and quality control procedures
– Only exception are “high priority” cases
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Case Study: CSI
• Myth 2: One person can examine all types
of evidence
• There are no ‘generalists’ in today’s
forensics
• The expertise required for each section of
forensics sometimes requires one piece of
evidence to be examined by more than
one individual
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Case Study: CSI
• Myth 3: Fingerprints susceptible to testing
and identification are always found
• Finding identifiable fingerprints that can
be collected and are of a high enough
quality to do an automated search are rare
• Normally fingerprint comparison must be
done by ‘hand’
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Case Study: CSI
• Myth 4: Testing for drugs and chemicals
in blood is quick and easy
• Numerous drugs, botanicals, chemicals
that can be presented at any given crime
scene
• Numerous instruments to identify these
various compounds
• Process often takes weeks or months to
complete
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Case Study: CSI
• Myth 5: The cooperative crime scene
• The ‘perfect’ evidence is rarely there
• Technology has greatly improved evidence
collection but no technological
advancements can find nonexistent
evidence
• Time between occurrence and discovery of
the crime is the biggest factor
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Case Study: CSI
• Myth 6: The fully equipped crime lab
• TV forensic labs are always fully equipped
with the most up to date technology
• Even the labs with the largest budgets
cannot afford to have the same lab quality
as the labs on TV dramas
• Shortages occur with building space,
funds, equipment and proficient personnel
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Case Study: CSI
• Myth 7: Use and availability of some
sensors
• Some of the sensors used are actually
prototypes still in the developmental
stages and are not on the market yet
• The accuracy and power of some sensors
has been enhanced beyond what they are
currently capable of detecting
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CSI and the Courtroom
• Experts have noticed the rise of the “CSI
Effect” in courtrooms
– Trend in which TV shows increase the
expectations of victims’ and jury members’
concerning forensic evidence and the level of
crime scene investigation
– Trials are being presented differently at trial
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CSI and the Courtroom
• From the criminal’s perspective
– Increase in crime scenes where the evidence
has been tampered with or completely
destroyed
• Burning scenes
• Using bleach
• Vacuuming carpet and removing the vacuum
cleaner
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CSI and the Courtroom
• Criminal Perspective: Case Study
– Murder Case in Trumbull County, OH
• Mother and daughter murdered
• Used bleach to wash hands
• Covered car interior with blankets preventing
transfer
• Burned bodies, clothes, and other potential
evidence
• Attempted to sink remaining evidence in a lake
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CSI and the Courtroom
• Juror perspective
– Expect to see solid physical evidence
indicating the defendant
• Likely to ignore circumstantial evidence
– Always assume DNA evidence should be
found at the scene
• If physical evidence is found, it is now much less
likely to be questioned by jurors
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CSI and the Courtroom
• Juror Perspective: Case Study
– Robert Blake Case
• Quote from juror “I would have liked more of the
kind of evidence I have seen in the cases on ‘CSI’,
I just expected more”
• Dismissed circumstantial evidence
• More often than not, there is little physical
evidence linking defendant directly to the crime
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