forensic - Answers place of debate
science - Answers knowledge
deductive observation - Answers specific outcomes from known general rules
inductive observation - Answers general rules from specific outcomes
scientific method - Answers theory-prediction-experiment-observation
Mathieu Orfila - Answers father of toxicology
specialization - Answers over time science becomes specialized
crime scene investigation - Answers -first people to hold evidence
-deals with identification, collection, and preservation of evidence
-process actual crime scenes
-may be sworn officers or civilians
criminalistics - Answers -deals with physical and trace evidence (things transferred during a
crime)
pathology - Answers -aka forensic medicine (medical doctors, coroners, medical examiners)
-determine damage to the body
-cause and manner of death
-time of death
-malpractice-was it caused by another doctor?
-autopsy
odontology - Answers -identification of human remains through dentition (teeth pattern)
-teeth are harder than bone
-unique patterns
-antemortem x-rays can be used for comparison
-bitemark identification
toxicology - Answers -identification of exogenous chemical compounds in the body
, -understand effects of compounds
-understand the breakdown/metabolism of chemicals (blood alcohol content)
anthropology - Answers -examination of human skeletal remains
-sorting victims in mass fatalities
-identification of individuals
entomology - Answers -study of insects involved with legal matters
-establish minimum post-mortem interval based on identity and activity of insects on a
decedent
engineering - Answers -examination of structures, material or processes that fail
-often involved in civil suits
-when something goes wrong...why?
ex.) Twin Towers after 9/11
behavioral sciences - Answers -psychology: a branch of science dedicated to human behavior
-profiling & cognitive biases
-psychiatry: a branch of medicine dedicated to diseases of the mind
criminology - Answers -crime from a social perspective
-tries to explain causes of crime
crime lab - Answers scientific lab where different types of evidence collected at the crime scene
are examined
early crime - Answers -required eyewitnesses or other discrete proof
-dubious torture
-torture & spectral evidence
-some crimes left behind evidence but no meaning because science was not advanced
prima facie - Answers type of evidence that directly shows the fact to be true
circumstancial - Answers type of evidence that could have arisen for non-criminal
corroborating - Answers type of evidence that strengthens or confirms other evidence