Criminal Justice & Law Basics Forensic Science

Why Law & Justice? Forensic Science Application of science to help resolve matters of 1) Criminal Law 2) Civil Law

Criminal Justice and the Law Different Types of Law The Constitution – supreme body of laws, overrules state constitutions Statutory Law – “law on the books” – written law by Congress – based on the Constitution Common Law – decisions made by judges in courts – precedents are set Civil Law – private law – deals with contracts and property Equity Law – remedial or preventative (i.e. protection from abuse) Administrative Law – rules established by agencies like the IRS or SSI Criminal Law

More Laws… Criminal Law – public law – deals with offenses deemed offensive against society or individuals Felony – a major crime such as rape, murder, armed robbery, serious assaults, dealing illegal drugs, auto theft, or forgery Penalties usually 5 years to life in jail Misdemeanor – Minor crime such as theft, minor assault, battery, or possession of illegal drugs Penalties usually less than one year in jail and a fine of $250 - $2500 Infractions – Petty crime such as jay walking, littering or traffic violations Penalties are typically a small fine

Individual Rights Guaranteed by the BOR Bill of Rights The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty The right not to be searched unreasonably, either on one’s person or in one’s home The right not to be arrested without probably cause The right against unreasonable seizure of personal property The right against self-incrimination The right to fair questioning by police The right to protection from physical harm throughout the justice process The right to an attorney The right to trial by jury The right to know any charges against oneself The right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses The right to speak and present witnesses The right not to be tried again for the same crime The right against cruel and unusual punishment The right to due process The right to a speedy trial The right against excessive bail The right against excessive fines The right to be treated the same as others regardless of race, gender, religious preference, country of origin, and other personal attributes

Steps in Criminal Procedure to Pursue Justice These steps may vary slightly in different jurisdictions but here is a generic version of events. 1) A Crime is committed! EEEE GADS! 2) The police investigate – information is collected 3) Crime scene is documented and searched for evidence (This is our job as a forensic Scientist) 4) A suspect may be identified 5) All information is put into a report 6) If there is enough evidence – an arrest warrant is issued 7) Suspect is arrested – the person is booked (define) and read their Miranda Rights (define) 8) Person is brought in for arraignment (define) within 72 hours – person is informed of charges and plea’s GUILTY, NOT GUILTY or NO CONTEST (define) 9) A person then goes to a preliminary hearing - if they plead GUILTY or NO CONTEST … they receive their sentence. If they plead NOT GUILTY … the judge or grand jury decides on if there is enough evidence for trial, sets bail and a court date. ** Plea bargaining (define) can occur at many places in this process – 90% of cases are plea bargained

Federal Rules of Evidence These rules govern what evidence is admissible and how it can be used in court. The evidence must be : probative – it must prove something material – it must be relevant and significant to the crime *** hearsay is not admissible – it is what others have said being restated by someone…Gossip!!!!

Science Science has the dangerous power of being able to explain observations Bear protector Bill Nye Reasons to be Scientifically Literate

Dragons 1. My neighbor and I think that dragons are real. 2. Science has no evidence about dragons. 3. Science cannot prove that dragons do not exist or that they do exist. 4. My neighbor, who is a receptive person, has seen a dragon in his backyard, although he has not plausible evidence on it, except his skill to remember what he has seen. I have never seen a dragon. 5. Then, dragons exist and scientists are conspirators who try to occult the existence of dragons to conquer the world.

Scientific Evidence Two legal decisions have influenced what scientific evidence is allowed in courts The Frye Standard – (1923) the scientific evidence must be generally accepted as true by the community as a whole to be acceptable in the court of law. The Daubert Ruling – (1993) Scientific evidence is getting to complex so guidelines were offered The scientific theory must be testable Other experts must be able to review the theory to be sure it is valid The rate of error must be given (percentage error) The technique must follow standards The court must decide whether the theory has widespread acceptance inside a specific scientific community

Forensic Scientists use crime labs to evaluate evidence They are broken into different departments such as… Physical Science labs examine drugs soil, glass, paint, blood spatter patterns, trace evidence Ballistics lab examine tool marks, weapons, firearms and bullets Document Examination lab examines handwriting, typewriting, word processing, computer applications, paper and ink Biological Lab examine body fluids, DNA, blood factors, hair, fibers, and plant life Photography Unit Toxicology unit Fingerprint unit Polygraphs unit Arson unit Bigger labs have Forensic Labs (Crime Labs)

~ found at the federal, state and local levels ~ most labs within a state are used for regions within state ~ larger cities have their own labs (examples New York, Los Angelos ) Interesting facts ~ FBI is the largest crime lab in the world ~ Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) runs a lab for Dept of Justice ~ Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) runs a lab for Dept of Treasury ~ US Postal Service runs a lab handling crimes in the mail ~ US Fish and Wildlife runs a crime lab Forensic Labs