Runaway Jury

1
Runaway Jury

• How TV crime dramas effect American court rooms

2
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

3
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

5
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 chromatograph-mass 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 whats 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 todays 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 criminals 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