What Evidence would YOU Collect???

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What Evidence would YOU Collect???
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FORENSIC SCIENCE

• Collecting Evidence
• and
• The Law!

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Evidence Technician

• Will help the other team collect evidence
• Have the necessary equipment
• Forceps
• Bags--paper and plastic
• Envelopes
• Jars and Q-tips
• Gloves
• Properly collect
• all evidence!

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Evidence Characteristics

• Class--common to a group of objects or persons
• (By itself, is not enough to hold up
  in court)
• Individual--can be identified with a particular
  person or source. (Can alone hold up in court)

ABO Blood Typing
Blood DNA Typing
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Forensics Dogma

• Thanks to Edmond Locard this is one of the most
  important concpets in Forensics.
• Evidence can be found in 3 major places.
• The crime scene
• The body/victim
• The suspect
• Being able to connect the three is essential!

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Physical Evidence

• Transient Evidence--temporary easily changed or
  lost usually observed by the first officer at
  the scene
• Odor--putrefaction,perfume, gasoline, urine,
  burning, explosives, cigarette or cigar smoke
• Temperature--of room, car hood, coffee, water in
  a bathtub cadaver
• Imprints and indentations--footprints teeth
  marks in perishable foods tire marks on certain
  surfaces
• Markings

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Biological Evidence

• Blood
• Semen
• Saliva
• Sweat/Tears
• Hair
• Bone

• Tissues
• Urine
• Feces
• Animal Material
• Insects
• Bacterial/Fungal

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Chemical Evidence

• Fibers
• Glass
• Soil
• Gunpowder
• Metal
• Mineral
• Narcotics
• Drugs

• Paper
• Ink
• Cosmetics
• Paint
• Plastic
• Lubricants
• Fertilizer

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Physical (impression)

• Fingerprints
• Footprints
• Shoe prints
• Handwriting
• Firearms

• Printing
• Number restoration
• Tire marks
• Tool marks
• Typewriting

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Miscellaneous

• Photography
• Stress evaluation
• Psycholinguistic analysis
• Vehicle identification

• Laundry marks
• Voice analysis
• Polygraph

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Medical Examiner vs the Coroner

• A medical examiner is a medical doctor, usually a
  pathologist and is appointed by the governing
  body of the area. There are 7 medical examiners
  in the state of Missouri and 400 forensic
  pathologists throughout the U.S.
• A coroner is an elected official who usually has
  no special medical training. In four states the
  coroner is a medical doctor.

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Medical Examiners Responsibilities

• Identify the deceased
• Establish the time and date of death
• Determine a medical cause of death--the injury or
  disease that resulted in the person dying
• Determine the mechanism of death--the
  physiological reason that the person died
• Classify the manner of death
• Natural
• Accidental
• Suicide
• Homicide
• Undetermined
• Notify the next of kin

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An Example
One can die of a massive hemorrhage (the
mechanism of death) due to a gun shot wound
through the head (cause of death) as a result of
being shot (homicide), shooting yourself
(suicide), dropping a gun and it discharging
(accident), or not being able to tell which
(undetermined). All of which are manners of
death.
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THE BODYRigor Mortis
Temperature Stiffness
Time Since of body of body
Death

• Warm
• Warm
• Cold
• Cold

• Not stiff
• Stiff
• Stiff
• Not stiff

• Not dead more than 3 hrs
• Dead between 3 and 8 hrs
• Dead 8 to 36 hours
• Dead more than 36 hours

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THE BODYLivor Mortis

• Livor mortis is the settling of the blood,
  causing the skin to change colors.
• Lividity indicates the position of the body after
  death. When lividity becomes fixed, then the
  distribution of the lividity pattern will not
  change even if the bodys position is altered.
• Lividity usually becomes fixed between 10 and 15
  hours after death.

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THE BODYAlgor Mortis

• Algor mortis is body temperature. At a crime
  scene, it can be obtained in two different ways.
• Rectal temperature
• Liver temperature

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Cadaver Dogs

• Dogs with a sense of smell 100 times better than
  humans can sometimes find what would be
  overlooked.
• They are specially trained to locate injured,
  lost and/or deceased individuals.
• They are trained as air scent dogs or article
  (cloth) scent dogs.

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Cadaver Dogs

• Dogs are trained to locate human body fluids
  including blood, hair, teeth, urine, and semen.
• The dog on the left in a training exercise is
  trying to locate clothing with blood.
• There are other types of scent dogs trained to
  find other items/evidence.

www.moregionck9search-rescue.com
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MAINTAINING THE CHAIN OF CUSTODY?

• CONTINUITY OF POSSESSION (chain of custody) must
  be established whenever evidence will be
  presented in court
• Every person who handled the evidence must be
  accounted for!
• Collectors initials,
• date of collection
• Location
• Record of a transfer whenever it occurs
• Should be kept to a minimum

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Back at the lab - CONTROLS?

• WHEN POSSIBLE, any collected evidence should be
  compared with a control (known sample) from the
  actual crime scene.
• One example, bloodstain evidence must be
  accompanied by whole blood or buccal swab
  controls from all relevant crime scene
  participants.

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Law

• Once a crime has been committed and discovered
  the 1st officer to arrive must secure the crime
  scene and establish a chain of custody.
• The investigators collect information and with
  the evidence from the scene, a report is filed to
  prove probable cause for a warrant to search a
  suspect.
• Any evidence at the scene must be removed in
  compliance with the 4th amendment privileges!

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Your Rights

• Amendment IV
• The right of the people to be secure in their
  persons, houses, papers, and effects,
• against unreasonable searches and seizure, shall
  not be violated, and no Warrants
• shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported
  by Oath or affirmation, and
• particularly describing the place to be searched,
  and the persons or things to be
• seized.
• Allowances for a warrant-less search
• 1) The existence of emergency circumstances
• 2) The need to prevent the immediate loss or
  destruction of evidence
• 3) A search of a person or property within the
  immediate control of the person committing the
  crime
• 4) A search made by consent of the parties
  involved

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Your Rights

• Amendment V
• No person shall be held to answer for a capital,
  or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
• presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except
  in cases arising in the land or naval
• forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service
  in time of War or public danger nor shall
• any person be subject for the same offence to be
  twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor
• shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a
  witness against himself, nor be deprived
• of life, liberty, or property, without due
  process of law nor shall private property be
• taken for public use without just compensation.
• Amendment VI
• In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
  enjoy the right to a speedy and
• public trial, by an impartial jury of the State
  and district wherein the crime shall
• have been committed which district shall have
  been previously ascertained by
• law, and to be informed of the nature and cause
  of the accusation to be
• confronted with the witnesses against him to
  have compulsory process for
• obtaining witness in his favor, and to have the
  assistance of counsel for his
• defense.

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Miranda Rights

• During an arrest of a suspect, their Miranda
  Rights are read. This must be done!
• You have the right to remain silent.
• Anything you say can be used against you in
  court.
• You have the right to a lawyer before questioning
  and have him/her present with you while you are
  being questioned.
• If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be
  provided for you before any questioning.
• Do you understand each of your rights?

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What is Good Evidence for Court?

• It proves that a crime has been committed
• It corroborates testimony
• It links a suspect with a victim and/or with a
  crime scene
• It establishes the identity of persons associated
  with a crime
• It allows reconstruction of events of a crime

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Rules of Evidence

• Those Rules of Evidence define what is acceptable
  (admissible) and how it can be used in court.
• Evidence must be relevant (probative) and address
  the issue of the crime (material).
• Evidence is admissible if it is reliable and the
  presenter of such evidence is credible and
  competent (thru background, experience, and
  credentials).

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Scientific Evidence in the Courtroom(2 legal
decisions that have largely governed
admissibility of evidence)

• 1993
• Daubert Ruling
• (Daubert v. Dow)
• Admissibility is determined by
• Whether the theory or technique can be tested
• Whether the science has been offered for peer
  review
• Whether the rate of error is acceptable
• Whether the method at issue enjoys widespread
  acceptance.
• Whether the opinion is relevant to the issue

• 1923
• Frye Standard
• (Frye vs. United States)
• Scientific evidence is allowed into the courtroom
  if it was generally accepted by the scientific
  community.

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who?

• Mincey v. Arizona
• undercover officer killed during pretext of
  buying drugs
• 4 days they gathered evidence w/o warrant
• Mincey appealed court agreed that they had time
  to get a warrant since Mincey was in custody
• Michigan v. Tyler
• Fire in evening police couldnt search due to
  smoke and darkness,
• Police searched the next morning, collected and
  removed evidence
• 4, 7, 25 days later more evidence w/o warrant
• Convicted Tyler and partner of arson
• Supreme Court overturned 1st evid. OK, but all
  other evid. NOT

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PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

• You can lead a jury to the truth but you cant
  make them believe it. Physical evidence cannot
  be intimidated. It does not forget. It doesnt
  get excited at the moment something is
  happening--like people do. It sits there and
  waits to be detected, preserved, evaluated and
  explained. This is what physical evidence is all
  about. In the course of the trial, defense and
  prosecuting attorneys may lie, witnesses may
  lie,the defendant certainly may lie. Even the
  judge may lie. Only the evidence never lies.
• --Herbert Leon MacDonell, The Evidence Never
  Lies