Introduction
Forensics is directly defined as something “used in the court of law” (Komar, Buikstra, 2008, p.44). Although forensics is defined in this manner, there is an ever-growing conflict between the needs of the law (e.g. the criminal justice system) and the capabilities of particular fields in forensics, specifically forensic science. Forensic science is currently at the forefront of importance in assisting law enforcement in solving crimes; yet it is a field that is constantly altering and advancing in procedures and mechanisms e.g., the technological advancements that have added to the aptitude of forensics and also established a ‘new’ field within forensics (Murphy 2007). Although, forensic science comes at great assistance to law enforcement it has become an issue within recent years because of a constant clash between the legal system and forensic sciences.
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the needs of law enforcement conflict with the ability and advances made in Forensic Science. This will be implemented by discussing particular advancements, including the ideal of “new forensics”, the various methodologies used and there critiques in regards to the Daubert and Frye Rulings (Meaney, 1994). Lastly, this paper will analyze the varying viewpoints of scholars regarding this issue and the various ways they believe this issue could be resolved.
As stated previously, both the law and forensic science are used to solve crime but each area has a dissimilar way of solving crimes although they mutually rely upon one another (Metzgar, 2012). Forensic Science is persistently developing and shifting, these modifications, continue to create more questions of how to establish consistency and measure validity; as ...
... middle of paper ...
...h Forward. Professional Safety, 57(1), 32-33
Moreno, J. (2010). C.S.I. BULLS#!T: The National Academy of Sciences, Melendez-Diaz V. Massachusetts, and Future Challenges to Forensic Science and Forensic Experts. Utah Law Review, 2010(2), 327-365.
Murphy, E. (2007). The New Forensics: Criminal Justice, False Certainty, and the Second Generation of Scientific Evidence. California Law Review, 2007, 95(72), 721-745
Roberts, P. (2013). Renegotiating Forensic Cultures: between Law, Science and Criminal Justice. Studies In History And Philosophy Of Biological And Biomedical Sciences, 44(1), 47-59.
Robertson, J. (2012). Forensic Science, an Enabler or Dis-Enabler for Criminal Investigation? Australian Journal of Forensic Science, 44(1), 83-91
Toom, V. (2012). Bodies of Science and Law: Forensic DNA Profiling, Biological Bodies, and Biopower. Journal of Law & Society, 39(1)
Preservation of Crime Scenes and Evidence. (2013, November 18). Retrieved from Correctional Service Canada: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/politiques-et-lois/568-4-cd-eng.shtml
Since the airing of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the other televised series that followed have led jurors to compare fiction with reality. The shows have changed the view on the real world of forensic science as the series have a world of forensic science of their own. For this paper the televised series titled Bones by forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs will be used as an example for comparison. In the series Bones Dr. Temperance Brenan arrives at the scene of the crime to examine the skeletal remains found in the scene of the crime equipped with one or more forensic kits. Upon momentarily examining the skeletal remains Dr. Brenan is able to determine the gender, ethnicity, and age. When this type of scenario is compared to nonfictional
Fulero, S. M., & Wrightsman, L. S. (2009). Forensic psychology. (3rd ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Lyman, D. Michael; Criminal Investigation, The Art and Science; 3rd edition, 2002 Prentice Hall. Pgs. 188-200.
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 such a complex sub-discipline of psychology, and this complexity makes it difficult to define. The simplest way to define forensic psychology would have to be: sub-di...
Forensic Science, recognized as Forensics, is the solicitation of science to law to understand evidences for crime investigation. Forensic scientists are investigators that collect evidences at the crime scene and analyse it uses technology to reveal scientific evidence in a range of fields. Physical evidence are included things that can be seen, whether with the naked eye or through the use of magnification or other analytical tools. Some of this evidence is categorized as impression evidence2.In this report I’ll determine the areas of forensic science that are relevant to particular investigation and setting out in what method the forensic science procedures I have recognized that would be useful for the particular crime scene.
Quinsey, V. (2009). Are we there yet? stasis and progress in forensic psychology. Canadian Psychology, 50(1), 15-15-21.
Review, PubMed PMID: 19543886. Saferstein, R. (2011). Criminalistics: An introduction to forensic science (10th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Forensic evidence can provide just outcomes in criminal matters. However, it is not yet an exact science as it can be flawed. It can be misrepresented through the reliability of the evidence, through nonstandard guidelines, and through public perception. Forensic science can be dangerously faulty without focus on the ‘science’ aspect. It can at times be just matching patterns based on an individual’s interpretations. This can lead to a miscarriage of justice and forever alter a person’s life due to a perceived “grey area” (Merritt C, 2010) resulting in a loss of confidence in the reliability of forensic evidence.
The collection, custody and preservation of forensic evidence is a vital aspect of evidence integrity, without proper adherence to these procedures, crucial evidence that could potentially have great impact on a court case could be rendered useless. In the case of criminal proceedings, a skilled defence lawyer will look to scrutinise every step taken by forensic practitioners’ involved within the case in regards to the continuity of the evidence, in doing this they attempt to undermine the practitioner’s ability to properly carry out strict evidence collection, protection and preservation procedures and also look to find fault in the techniques they used to carry out these procedures.
Forensic science has now been recognized as an important part of the law enforcement team to help solve crimes and cold cases. The advances in technology are being used each day and we must continue to strive to develop better advances in this field. The recent discovery of using DNA in criminal cases has helped not only positively identify the suspect, but it has helped exonerate hundreds of innocent individuals. “With new advances in police technology and computer science, crime scene investigation and forensic science will only become more precise as we head into the future.” (Roufa, 2017) Forensic science and evidence helps law enforcement officials solve crimes through the collection, preservation and analysis of evidence. By having a mobile crime laboratory, the scene gets processed quicker and more efficiently. Forensic science will only grow in the future to be a benefit for the criminal justice
Gaensslen, R. E., Harris, H A., & Lee, H. (2008). Introduction to Forensic Science and Criminalistics. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. .
· Evans, Colin: A Question of Evidence – The Casebook of Great Forensic Controversies, from Napoleon to O.J., John Wiley & Sons Inc., New Jersey, 2003
“The word ‘forensics’ means “connected with the courtroom”; so forensic science is, therefore, concerned with gathering hard evidence that can be presented in a trial” (Innes 9). Forensic science is a science that is applied specifically to legal matters, whether criminal or civil. “Few areas in the realm of science are as widespread and important as forensic science” (Hunter 12). Forensics is the one science that is most commonly used in everyday life. It is also a branch of science that incorporates other branches of science such as biology, chemistry, and etc. Since it is used almost every day “No one can dispute the importance of the contributions to society made by forensic science; the ability to solve crime is undeniably important” (Hunter 13). Forensic science has given criminal investigation a new edge. “Advances in science have opened the door for more effective evidence discovery, howev...