Studied by 4 peopleWhat is the primary forensic science professional organization?
AAFS: American Academy of Forensic Science
What types of “pseudoscientific” or poor forensic science techniques should no longer be used today?
Bite Mark Analysis, Hair Analysis (when used for identifying one individual based on phenotype), Shaken Baby Syndrome Analysis, Cranial Sutures
What is the ABO blood system?
The absence/presence of antigen A or antigen B on RBCs
What 4 types of blood types?
A, B, AB, O
What is the rhesus system?
Positive or negative, “Polymorphism of the RHD gene”
What are the limitations of the ABO blood system for forensic purposes?
Can’t point to one individual - can exclude some suspects if they don’t match (Let me know if either of you think of somethin better- this is a guess)
What is serology?
Range of lab tests to detect, classify, and study bodily fluids
What are three types of blood stain patterns and what causes each?
Transfer: Smears or blood transferred from one surface to another
Passive: Pools, drops, flow
Projected/spatter: Caused by a projection of blood caused by impact
What causes blood spatter/low vs. high force produces what?
Low force: Largest in size
Medium force: Smaller patterns than passive patterns from blunt/sharp force trauma
High force: Mist-like patterns, smallest
Court precedents – State v. Goode, Holmes v. State
Goode: NC supreme court said “Bloodstain Pattern Analysis is admissible as expert testimony”
Holmes: Texas said “A detective who attends a 1 week long Bloodstain Pattern Analysis workshop is good enough to testify as an expert witness”
Which state has an accreditation requirement?
Texas
What is DNA profiling?
Approach used by forensic scientists to distinguish between individuals of the same species based on their DNA
Who invented DNA fingerprinting?
Sir Alec Jeffreys
Who was the first conviction using DNA?
Colin Pitchfork
(everyone in the city had to submit a DNA sample, he got his friend to turn in one for him)
What is amelogenin? How is it useful?
Sex-typing gene used in STR typing, can help distinguish between XX (females, has 1 peak) and XY (males, has 2 peaks)
Traditional DNA testing requires a reference – know what kind for each
Forensic: Crime scene evidence compared to a suspect
Parentage: Child compared to alleged father
Mass Disaster: Victims remains compared to biological relative
Armed Forces: Soldier's remains compared to DNA dog tag
What can DNA phenotyping tell us?
Predicts genetics ancestry, eye/hair/skin color, freckles, and face shape
Investigative Genetic Genealogy uses what kind of data base?
Genetic genealogy databases
What makes up the biological profile?
Sex, Age, Stature, Ancestry
What is the best bone/aspect of the skeleton for estimating sex?
Pelvis
Why are aging methods more accurate for subadults?
The part in tooth development that the remains are at can give an estimate between a few months or a year apart, this can’t be used once the teeth are done growing
Why is stature estimation not as important as other parts of the bio profile?
Stature varies a LOT, is only really helpful for very tall or very short individuals
What is the most difficult part of the bio profile to estimate?
Ancestry estimation (due to variation and admixture)
What are loops, arches, and whorls?
The 3 main classes of fingerprints (you better know what these look like or ELSE)
What is ACE-V?
__A__nalysis, __C__omparison, __E__valuation, __V__erification
What is AFIS?
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (fingerprint database)
Three types of fingerprints
Patent: Transferred from a liquid (blood) to a different surface
Plastic: Impression- found in something malleable
Latent: Invisible to the naked eye (ew put some clothes on)
Who is Brandon Mayfield?
Lawyer who was accused of the Madrid Train Bombings- had two false identifications (fingerprints)
What is evidence?
Any type of physical evidence, documents, or testimony
Search warrant vs. arrest warrant
Search warrant: Probable cause that a judge agreed upon and issued a warrant for a search
Arrest warrant: Sufficient cause that a person has committed a crime and can be arrested
4th amendment & exceptions
4th amendment: Right against unreasonable search and seizures
Exceptions: Consent searches, after an arrest, plain view, if you run
Frye standard
General acceptance by scientific community
Federal Rules of Evidence
A witness who is qualified as an expert can testify their opinion
Daubert standard
Reliable and reproducible
Expert witness testimony
Opinion, NO absolute certainty
Note
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