Q1: Branches of Forensics and

Observational Skills

What is Forensics?

FORENSICS: The study and application of science to matters of law

Matters of law = Crimination investigation and trial

This is one of the NEWEST Sciences in the United States

In 1987, Florida rapist Tommie Lee Andrews became the first person in the U.S. to be convicted as a result of DNA evidence; he was sentenced to 22 years behind bars.

Depts. of Forensics (11)1. PATHOLOGY: Study of disease and injury

A.k.a. Medical Examiners and Coroners Conduct Autopsies

Depts. of Forensics cont…

2. ODONTOLOGY: The study of teeth and bite mark analysis

3. ENTOMOLOGY: The study of insects

Dept. of Forensics cont…

4. SEROLOGY: Study of bodily fluids

Semen Saliva Blood/Bloodsplatter analysis

5. BALLISTICS: Study of the motion, behavior, and effects of projectiles

Depts. of Forensics cont…

6. DOCUMENT EXAMINATION: Handwriting Analysis Authenticity of Certifications, Wills, Paychecks, etc

7. POREOSCOPY: Study of Fingerprints

8. ANTHROPOLOGY: Study of skeletal remains Facial reconstruction Mass Disasters

Dept. of Forensics cont…

9. POLYGRAPHY: Study of Lie Detection

10. TOXICOLOGY: Drug analysis DUI Overdose Lethal Drug combinations Poison

11. PSYCHIATRY: Study the relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings

Sane enough to stand trial Recommendation for sentencing Create profiles based on behavioral patterns Wills, settling property, refusal of medical treatment

What do Forensic Investigators need to be able to do?

1. Observe Identify evidence

2. Interpret Determine the significance of evidence

3. Report Recreating the series of events

What is Observation?

OBSERVATION: What a person perceives using his or her senses

Every single moment we are gathering and processing information around us Sight Taste Hearing Smell Touch

PROBLEM!We cannot pay attention to everything at once. Constant flow of data would clutter our

thoughts Brain selects what is important Unconsciously apply a filter

Paying attention to detail takes a CONSCIOUS EFFORT!Example: Where did I put the Tennis Ball?

Example: Where did I put my pen?

PROBLEM: Looks are decieving

How information is processed in our brains

Information from our senses

What we payAttention to

PerceptionShort-Term

Memory

Short-TermMemory

Long-Term Memory

Observational Activity

Everyone get into a group of 3-4 students

Write all your names on 1 sheet of paper and number that paper 1-16

All questions are worth 1 point

Team with the highest point total will get 1 point on Quiz #1

Lets see if you were REALLY paying attention

Old School Movie Clip1. How much money is Vince Vaughn worth that “the government does know

about?

2. There were red and white banners hanging above Snoop Dog when he was rapping. What did that banner say?

3. What kind of soda does Will Ferrell have in his hands before he starts drinking beer?

4. What is the picture of on Will Ferrell’s shirt?

5. What are the 3 letters on the back of Snoop’s hoodie?

6. What is the name of the party they were at?

7. What state is the license plate of Frank the Tank’s wife from?

Round 2

Now you are prepared and know I will be asking you questions so your observational skills should be better because you are making a CONSCIOUS EFFORT!

10 seconds to study the next picture

Each is still worth 1 point

Race Start Line

1. There is a man standing in the center of the starting line holding all the runners back. What is he standing on?

2. What deodorant is sponsoring the race?

3. What color is the truck in the background?

4. What color are my shorts?

5. What is the name of the race? (On the sides of the black inflatable barrier)

Q Wedding Photo

1. How many people in the picture are currently teaching at McMahon?

2. What color is Coach Albano’s shirt?

3. Which teacher is standing farthest right?

4. How many fingers is Grillo holding in the air?

Perceptual Fallacies

FALLACY: A mistaken belief (error/delusion)

What is important to us is decided by various factors “Our normal perceptions do not correspond directly to reality.

Things we perceive are not entirely determined by what our senses detect RATHER they are influenced by what we expect, know, and believe.”

Bertino, 2008

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? THAT SEEING IS NOT NECESSARILY BELIEVING!!

Count the number of Black Dots

Old Hagor

Young Lady

Size Consistency: Bambuti Tribe

Looking for Clarity in

Vagueness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqYihGFDC6o

Judgements

Jurors Can Be Influenced As Well

 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

Jen Wilbanks, Runaway Bride (2005)

Have you ever flown on a plane next to one of these? SCARY!!!

Awwww! Look at this cute, sweet looking old man!

Albert Fish

Child rapist and cannibal

1870-1936

Caylee Anthony

The Innocence Project

Legal organization committed to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing

Notable stats: 70% of wrongful convictions were a result of incorrect

witness identificationSort between FACT and OPINION

Project has freed 311 wrongfully convicted people18 of which were on death row

Average sentence served was 13 years 27 states have passed laws to compensate

wrongfully convicted people

Don’t get me Wrong…

See something say something

FBI stops attacks everyday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsuccessful_terrorist_plots_in_the_United_States_post-9/11

Definitions

EXONERATE: To release someone from duty or an obligation

LAW: A statement or assertion of information that can be verified

OPINION: Personal belief founded on judgment rather than on direct experience or knowledge

Evidence

Evidence: Anything that tends to prove or disprove a fact

2 Types of Evidence Direct Evidence Physical Evidence

Direct EvidenceDIRECT EVIDENCE: A statement under oath. What is said in court by a competent witnessEyewitness accounts of crime-scene events vary considerably from one person to another.

What you observe depends on: Level of interest Concentration Amount or kind of distraction present Prejudices Personal beliefs Motives

Innocent Bystander Effect

• INNOCENT BYSTANDER: a social physiological phenomenon where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the victim when other people are present.

• The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help.

• This happens because the bystander is less likely to interpret the incident as a problem, and less likely to assume responsibility for taking action

Notice Anything? (+1)

Important Points to Consider with Eyewitness Testimony

1. Type of crime and how witness saw itVictims have more accurate memories

The more serious crime = more accurate the memory

The more serious crime = longer memory exists

Why is this? Threats may sharpen recall Stress narrows focus

Donald Thompson

Australian eyewitness expert Donald Thomson appeared on a live TV discussion about the unreliability of eyewitness memory. He was later arrested, placed in a lineup and identified by a victim as the man who had raped her. The police charged Thomson although the rape had occurred at the time he was on TV. They dismissed his alibi that he was in plain view of a TV audience and in the company of the other discussants, including an assistant commissioner of police. Eventually, the investigators discovered that the rapist had attacked the woman as she was watching TV - the very program on which Thompson had appeared. Authorities eventually cleared Thomson. The woman had confused he rapist's face with the face the she had seen on TV. (Baddeley, 2004).

Important Points to Consider with Eyewitness Testimony

2. Characteristics of Witness/VictimPeople are better at remembering certain things (hair, gender) than others (age, race, height)

A witness who is physically similar to the offender is more likely to give an accurate description

Children don’t remember as well as adults

Age effects eyesight

Learning disabilities, alcohol and drug problems, head injury

Important Points to Consider with Eyewitness Testimony

3. Interviewing TechniquesType of Crime/Witness recall (see #1)

Research suggests that eyewitnesses are better at remembering what happened versus providing a description of the offender

Open-ended questions often get better answers Ask “what was he wearing” rather than “what color was

his shirt”

Important Points to Consider with Eyewitness Testimony

4. Relationship between the

witness and the accused Parents defending their children or vice versa Vengeful and bitter ex’s Enemies

False testimony clinched Rosenberg spy trial

Memories of one of the most controversial episodes of the Cold War, the trial and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg as Soviet spies, have been revived with the confession of a key witness that he lied in court to protect himself. David Greenglass, the younger brother of Ethel Rosenberg and himself a convicted spy, said he felt no remorse over his action which may have sent his sister to the electric chair.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who always denied the charges of espionage, were executed in New York in 1953, despite numerous protests in the United States and abroad.

"I would not sacrifice my wife and my children for my sister. I sleep very well," said the 79-year old.

Important Points to Consider (with eyewitness testimony)

5. Time Passed Memory changes over time. Most notable effects

includeEyewitnesses incorporate information learned after the event into memory.

May talk to another witness and use information from the conversation to fill in their reconstruction of the events.

May do this by combining two memories into one or by using bias or expectations of what probably was seen

As people recall an event over and over, they drop details from earlier versions and add new ones.