FSC 606 Midterm - Science

American Board of Forensic Toxicology

ABFT

ANSI National Accreditation Board

ANAB

American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board

ASCLD/LAB

rough sketch

a draft representation of all essential information and measurements at a crime scene

chain of custody

a list of all people who came into possession of an item of evidence

serology

a medical science dealing with blood serum, especially in regard to its reactions and properties

finished sketch

a precise rendering of the crime scene, usually drawn to scale

Kastle-Meyer test

a presumptive blood test using phenolphthalein and hydrogen peroxide - if blood is present, the indicator immediately turns pink

scientific method

a process that uses strict guidelines to ensure careful and systematic collection, organization, and analysis of information

satellite stain

a smaller bloodstain that originated during the formation of the parent stain as a result of blood impacting a surface

Hemastix

a strip that has been coated with tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and will produce a green or blue-green color with the presence of hemoglobin

buccal swab

a swab of the inner portion of the cheek; cheek cells are usually collected to determine the DNA profile of an individual

confirmatory test

a test that specifically identifies one substance

projected pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from the ejection of blood under hydraulic pressure, typically from a breach in the circulatory system

drip tail

bloodstain pattern resulting from the movement of a source of drip stains between two points

drip stain

bloodstain resulting from a falling drop that formed due to gravity

pool

bloodstain resulting from an accumulation of liquid blood on a surface

spatter stain

bloodstain resulting from an airborne drop created when external force is applied to liquid blood

transfer stain

bloodstain resulting from contact between a blood-bearing surface and another surface

insect stain

bloodstain resulting from insect activity

saturation stain

bloodstain resulting from the accumulation of liquid blood in an absorbent material

flow pattern

bloodstain resulting from the movement of a volume of blood on a surface due to gravity or movement of the target

swipe pattern

bloodstain resulting from the transfer of blood from blood-bearing surface onto another surface, with characteristics that indicate relative motion between the two surfaces

California State Division of Criminal Identification and Investigation

first state forensics laboratory

Teichmann test/Hematin test

presumptive test for blood, consists of heating dried blood in the presence of glacial acetic acid and a halide, crystals are observed microscopically (rhombic in shape)

Takayama/hemochomogen test

presumptive test for blood, reagent contains water, saturated glucose solution, 10% sodium hydroxide, and pyridine, hemochromogen crystals are observed microscopically

Phaedebas test

presumptive test for saliva detection, detects alpha amylase

acid phosphatase test

presumptive test for semen

chemiluminescence

process by which light is emitted as a product of a chemical reaction; no additional light is required for the reaction to take place

class characteristics

properties of evidence that can be associated only with a group and not with a single source

individual characteristics

properties of evidence that can be attributed to a common source with an extremely high degree of certainty

Mathieu Orfila

- "founder of forensic toxicology" -published his first paper on poisons at 26 -realized that soil can contain arsenic -One of the first people to give scientific testimony in court

Hans Gross

- Coined the term "criminalistics" -Published "Criminal Investigation" (1893) -Started the journal, "Kriminologie"

Alphonse Bertillon

-"father of anthropometry" -first forensic scientist in Europe to use fingerprints to solve a case

Dr. Paul Kirk

-"father of criminalistics" -wrote Crime Investigation chapter "Blood: Physical Investigation" - 1955 testified in Ohio v. Samuel Sheppard -recognized drying times, voids, and cast off patterns

12 Sections of AAFS

-Criminalistics -Digital and Multimedia Sciences -Engineering Science -General -Jurisprudence -Odontology -Pathology/Biology -Physical Anthropology -Psychiatry/Behavior Science -Questioned Documents -Toxicology -Forensic Nursing Sciences

Edmond Locard

-Trained in both law and medicine -Established a forensic lab in Lyon, France -Founder of the Institute of Criminalistics at University of Lyons -His success served as impetus for police labs in Berlin, Vienna, Sweden, Finland, and Holland - the "father of forensic science" -"Every contact leaves a trace"

Ouchterlony double diffusion

-carried out in an agar gel -holes are punched -antiserum is placed in center well -different stain extracts around -incubate ~24 hours -precipitate lines will form if antibody-antigen complex is present -confirmatory

Calvin Goddard

-credited with establishing the scientific exam of firearms in the US -army physician and gun enthusiast -joined the Bureau of Forensic Ballistics -named the director of the Scientific Detection Crime Laboratory at Northwestern University

Albert S. Osborn

-developed the fundamental principles of document examination -responsible for acceptance of documents as scientific evidence by the courts -wrote first scientific text in the field called "Questioned Documents" (1910)

Dr. Edward Piotrowski

-earliest known significant study of bloodstain interpretation -"Concerning Origin, Shape, Direction, and Distribution of the Bloodstains Following Head Wounds Caused by Blows"

examiner certification

-individual is certified by a particular certifying body -requires certain education and training levels -may require a test for certification -usually requires continuing education or other active involvement

Leone Lattes

-intrigued by Karl Landsteiner's blood groups -Devised a procedure for determining blood groups of dried bloodstains

Victor Balthazard

-medical examiner in Paris -helped advance fingerprints, firearms, and hair analysis -developed probability models -wrote "The Hair of Man and Animals" with Marcelle Lambert -testified using photographs and comparison techniques to identify bullets involved in a fatal shooting -studied bloodstain trajectories and patterns -recognized the trigonometric relationship between the length and width of a bloodstain

4 basic components of blood

-red blood cells -white blood cells -platelets -plasma

lab accreditation

-requires proper education and training of examiners -requires proficiency testing of examiners -requires continuing education for examiners

Sir Francis Galton

-started collecting thumbprints in 1988 -credited with developing the first classification system of fingerprints -Wrote "Finger Prints" (1892)

Walter C. McCrone

-world's preeminent microscopist -educated thousands throughout the world in the application of microscopic techniques

College of American Pathologists

CAP

National Association of Medical Examiners

NAME

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NIST

Organization of Scientific Area Committees

OSAC

LAPD

Oldest forensic laboratory in the US

President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

PCAST

void

absence of blood in an otherwise continuous bloodstain or bloodstain pattern

wipe pattern

altered stain resulting from an object moving through a preexisting wet bloodstain

perimeter stain

an altered stain that consists of its edge characteristics, the central area having been partially or entirely removed

expert witness

an individual whom the court determines to possess the knowledge relevant to the trial that is not expected of the average layperson

physical evidence

any and all objects that can establish that a crime has or has not been committed or can link a crime and its victim or a perpetrator

parent stain

bloodstain from which a satellite stain originated

contact/transfer pattern

bloodstain pattern created when an object with blood on it touches one that does not have blood on it

splash pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from a large volume of liquid blood falling onto a surface

drip pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from a liquid that dripped into another liquid, at least one of which was blood

impact pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from an object striking liquid blood

cast-off pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from blood drops released from an object due to its motion

back spatter pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from blood drops which can be produced when a projectile creates an entrance wound

forward spatter pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from blood drops which can be produced when a projectile creates an exit wound

expiration pattern

bloodstain pattern resulting from blood forced by airflow out of the nose, mouth, or a wound

directionality

characteristic of a bloodstain that indicates the direction blood was moving at the time of deposition

SALIgAE

confirmatory test for saliva, detects human salivary amylase and the substrate will turn yellow for a positive result

RSID saliva test

confirmatory test for saliva, uses monoclonal antiHSA antibodies

RSID semen test

confirmatory test for semen using seminal vesicle specific antigen

p30 test

confirmatory test for semen when used along with acid phosphatase

forensic serology

examination and analysis of body fluids

bloodstain pattern analysis

examination of the shapes, locations, and distribution of patterns of bloodstains in order to provide an interpretation of the activities that produced them

Hematrace

immunochromatographic test for human hemoglobin

Quantico

largest crime lab in the world

ALS

light that can be used to view semen stains, stains will fluoresce when viewed under the light with an orange or yellow filter, can also be used to view saliva, urine, and vaginal fluids

sequence variations

mitochondrial sequencing/SNPs

fluorescence

occurs when a chemical substance is exposed to a particular wavelength of light and light energy is emitted at longer wavelengths

standard/reference sample

physical evidence whose origin is known, such as fibers or hair from a suspect, that can be compared to crime-scene evidence

Christmas tree stain

staining test that confirms the presence of sperm, contains nuclear fast red (NFR) and picoidigocarmine (PIC)

PCR

technique used to increase the amount of a specific section of DNA in a sample using thermal cycling

presumptive test

test that presumes the presence of the questioned substance; also called a screening test.

angle of impact

the acute angle (alpha), relative to the plane of a target, at which a blood drop strikes the target

forensic science

the application of science to the criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice ssytem

probative value

the degree to which a particular item of evidence is useful in, and relevant to, proving something important in a trial

comparison

the process of ascertaining whether two or more object have a common origin

identification

the process of determining a substance's physical or chemical identity

area of origin

the space in three dimensions to which the trajectories of spatter can be utilized to determine the location the spatter producing event

area of convergence

the space in two dimensions to which the directionalities of spatter stains can be retraced to determine the location of the spatter producing event

substrate control

uncontaminated surface material close to an area where physical evidence has been deposited

length polymorphisms

variation in the number of repeat units, STRs

high dose hook effect

when the excess antigen causes false negative result

Locard's exchange principle

when two objects come into contact with one another, there is exchange of materials between them