Ethics and Prof Practice: Study Guide for Final Exam
Arlene has severe back pain and decides to ingest some of the unknown white powder she is processing. The drug alleviates her pain, which causes her to develop a habit and ultimately costs Arlene her job as a chemist in the crime laboratory. This is an example of:
Bad action/ Bad consequence
False positives lead to which of the following?
Both c and d
The nature of science involves all of the following except:
Competition
_______ arises when a scientist with deeply held personal views is asked to review projects whose nature is offensive to his or her viewpoints.
Conflict of conscience
In the Harry Snyder and Renee Snyder case study, the major area of misconduct cited was:
Conflict of interest
Which is not one of the basic steps of the scientific method?
Consult with experts in the field to maintain scientific integrity
These professionals teach innovative methods for dealing with ethical dilemmas in industry and management
Creative experts
The American Bar Association has a general rule detailing which specific actions represent conflicts of interest to prevent this unethical act from occurring in the court of law.
False
The National Forensic Center is a regulatory body and compliance with its code of ethics is mandatory by all forensic experts.
False
The most frequent infractions are usually the ones addressed by a code of ethics.
False
True (a) or False (b). Competence of an expert witnesses is determined by the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney.
False
True (a) or False (b). It has been shown that ethics courses can persuade an unethical person with bad intentions to do the right thing.
False
Uncertainty is not negative but it is uncommon and typically not expected in science.
False
Using the ethical decision making frameworks, when making a choice loyalty should come before honesty because it is an inherent good.
False
While ethics stem from instinct, feeling, environment, and faith, morals are based on rational analysis and professional duty.
False
The primary unethical behavior that was found in the Ray Cole case study was:
Falsification of credentials
In the case study of Evan Thompson, which of the following were not errors encountered?
Falsifying management signatures for report review
In the case study of David Petersen, after his initial misconduct of stealing drugs, __________ became a powerful motivator for further unethical behavior.
Fear
Which of the following are not types of unethical behavior that prosecutors and defense attorneys may both employ?
Filing charges at their discretion
Which of the following is not Guiding Principles for Forensic Science?
Forensic scientists' primary objectives should be to support law enforcement efforts in court since they are their clients
Some of the developments in the field that should not have an impact on ethical codes include:
Global Positioning Systems
Which represents the Hierarchical Order of Virtues from highest to lowest?
Human, American, and professional
Which of the following processes is used to recognize and states what something is?
Identification
Which of the following are not core values in teaching ethics?
Independence
Which of the following is not a technical standard of performance?
Independence
Which of the following does not help to decrease the dissemination of junk science?
Introducing new ideas in a court of law to set precedence
What type of science that is consistent with generally accepted scientific views and needs to be eliminated from society?
Junk
Which is not a major limitation of the peer review process?
Lengthy review process slows down the dissemination of valid science
The "Least Published Unit" describes:
Publishing the same study repeatedly in different forms
Which of the following factors do not influence change blindness:
Socio-economic status
An example of a conflicts of effort may arise when a scientist has pressure to present lectures, serve on boards and panels, or teach, all of which are usually encouraged activities.
True
Ann Chamberlain ran a test on her husband's underwear in the crime laboratory, where she was employed since 1999, to determine if he was cheating represents an example of abuse of authority.
True
As a general rule, anything that dehumanizes a person is unethical because human beings are conscious of their actions and employ free will in making choices.
True
Determinism means that all thoughts and actions are beyond human control.
True
In the case study of Michael West, he stated that he did not believe in scientific certainty as an appropriate standard and that the gut instinct should be used.
True
It is the duty of both prosecutors and defense attorneys to be moral agents.
True
Many people are actually in support of nepotism.
True
Many public defenders had varied views on the severity of Joseph Kopera's infractions and how they might affect his case work.
True
Practitioners who blatantly behave unethically will not be dissuaded by a code of ethics.
True
Proficiency testing is a major preventative measure to unethical behavior.
True
Science fiction is one media in which science is communicated to the public.
True
Some groups did not want to employ codes of ethics to avoid lawsuits or because they expected other safeguards to take care of problems.
True
Some limitation of data access may be necessary to protect scientific data or keep information safe.
True
The Daubert Ruling set a precedent for the admissibility of expert witness testimony.
True
The public has more unreasonable expectations for the field of forensics due to the CSI Effect.
True
True (a) or False (b). It is often difficult for laypersons to believe that forensic scientists remain objective based on the nature of the cases in which they work.
True
Trust between science and society has declined in the last decade.
True
An expert's moral and social obligation to decline services that do not support the honest interpretation of facts most closely exemplifies which of the following professional responsibilities?
Understanding the scope and nature of service
________ are defined as "enduring beliefs that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable"
Values
In the case study of Gary Veeder, which of the following is not a true statement?
Veeder tampered with and stole evidence for personal gain.
During this process, a person's knowledge, skills, experience, education, and training are established for a judge in which of the following ways?
Voir dire
________ occurs when a person who reports unethical or illegal conduct or wrongdoing outside of normal internal communication to publicly expose problems faced by an organization regarding ethics, legality, or safety.
Whistle- blowing
Which of the following is ethics not?
all of the above
In the case study of Kathleen Lundy, she admitted to suffering from the ________ factor, which led her to make statements beyond her reasonable certainty.
Adrenaline
Factors that contribute to unethical behavior include:
All of the above
In the case study of Joyce Gilchrist, what ultimately led to her unethical behavior?
All of the above
Pressures faced by expert witnesses include which of the following?
All of the above
Which of the following is not a general ethical guideline?
As an expert, you may have to advocate for things that you do not support.
In the Duke Lacrosse Team case, what type of exculpatory evidence was withheld from the jury?
DNA evidence
Which of the following is not one of the three branches of ethics?
Dogmatism
A personality trait where an individual is committed to one answer and will not change their mind is:
Dogmatist
In the Duke Lacrosse team case study, which of the following were not a major issue of misconduct?
Evidence tampering
What is the acronym for the organization which offers a uniform curriculum in ethics in accredited degree programs in forensic science?
FEPAC
Ethical decision making involves all of the following components except:
Factoring in how a decision will directly affect the decision maker
A type II error is much worse than a type I error.
False
Allegations of unethical behavior need to be brought, investigated, and resolved by the professional organization for the primary function of getting rid of "bad apples"
False
Although they have varying functions, both forensic science and the law serve the interests of their clients.
False
As a result of the CSI Effect, It is now the responsibility of the expert witness to impress the jury and create a "TV-like" experience.
False
Codes of ethics should be considered as absolute documents.
False
Cole misrepresenting himself does not directly affect his credibility as an expert witness.
False
Digital media is one of the safest forms of evidence because it provide stable, long-term storage of images, which allows unequivocal proof of the source and authenticity.
False
Eye witness testimony is considered as a reliable source of evidence?
False
False positives-describe a negative result for something that is not correct.
False
Forensic science and criminal justice share the same standards for conduct, beliefs, and obligations.
False
Greed represents one of the top dilemmas of law enforcement.
False
If the attorney knows testimony is false, he or she must ethically refuse to offer such testimony in trial, and if he or she "reasonably believes" the testimony is false, then it also must not be offered to ensure a conservative approach.
False
In respect to racism, people deserve treatment as means rather than ends.
False
In the case study of the Houston Police department, problems surfaced after an audit revealed that technicians were stealing and selling drugs from drug lockers.
False
In the full review of the Los Angeles city fingerprint analysis unit, it was found that all the infractions noted stemmed from one bad apple (unethical individual).
False
It is unethical for attorney to make attempts to discredit the expert witness since the expert is there to support the attorney.
False
Laws are ever constant, whereas ethics are ever changing.
False
Most laboratories in the U.S. are private.
False
One good reason for unethical behavior is that many scientists are responsible for their own training and continuing education because resources are not provided or available through agencies.
False
One major drawback to the CAC code is its brevity and lack of specificity is that it has little value as a guide to proper action in a particular circumstance.
False
Since all humans make mistakes, people should only take ethical responsibility for actions they intend to occur.
False
In criminal justice, an officer may coerce a suspect into providing a statement but tell the supervisor that the statement was made of free will is an example of:
Malicious
Information published on a given project should include all except which of the following?
Materials and methods written in a vague way to prevent plagiarism/ copycats
___________ describes the ability to interpret situations, recognize the ethical issue, and understand consequences.
Moral Sensitivity
The CSI Effect leads to all of the following common misconceptions of forensic Science except:
Most forensic scientists are really dedicated to their work
A ______ occurs when tests are run on a sample that is known not to be a particular substance and the result is negative.
Negative control
When deciding what is right vs. what is wrong, which of the following are not used to make judgements?
None of the above
Which of the following are not sociological factors within the Police Culture that may influence professionalism?
None of the above
Which of the following is not one of the most common forms of misconduct cited for scientists from the Fanelli Study (2005):
None of the above
_______ occurs when a person shifts the attention from his or her acts of misconduct to the motives and behaviors of those who allege misconduct has occurred.
None of the above
Which case has been described as a pivotal moment for forensic science that led to more public awareness and scrutiny?
O.J. Simpson
Which of the following is a factor that selection of law enforcement is based on:
Polygraph testing
What type of evidence was the focal point of the precedent set with the Frye v. United States Ruling?
Polygraph tests
Public servants, who act in the interest of the state, and because of the rules for discovery, have no responsibility for confidentiality
Prosecutor