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Forensic Intro
Unit 1 Forensic Science
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Michigan v. Tyler | a trial in which the verdict affirmed that a search warrant must be obtained quickly before a search can commence |
| Mincey v. Arizona | a trial in which the verdict affirmed that search warrants must be obtained if there is reasonable time to obtain them |
| Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals | the 1993 court case that made judges the gatekeeper of the admissibility of evidence into a court proceeding; often referred to as the Daubert standard |
| Frye v. United States | the 1923 court case that established the principle that scientific evidence is admissible only when it is accepted as reliable according to current scientific standards; is often referred to as the Frye standard |
| S I base unit | an SI unit that is not the result of the combination of other SI units; also known as a metric base unit; SIbase units are the basic, fundamental physical measurements |
| Locard's exchange principle | a key idea of criminalistics that states that whenever two objects come in contact with each other, there is a transfer of material between them |
| International System of Units (SI) | the international system, formed from the metric system of units, which is the standard of units in scientific and technical pursuits; in French, Systeme International d'Unites |
| microscopic crime scene | refers to the immediate, localized area of the place where a crime took place |
| laser scanning technology | a photography technique that allows for 3-D reconstruction of crime scenes |
| forensics | a shortened version of the term forensic science; the application of scientific processes to determine the facts of a crime |
| first responder | the police officers who initially appear at the crime scene |
| SI derived unit | an SI unit that is the result of the combination of two or more SI base units; also known as a metric derived unit |
| accuracy | Accuracy means how close a measurement is to the size of the object being measured. |
| adipocere | a soapy, waxy product of fat decomposition in dead bodies |
| chain of custody | the progression of signature accounting that follows evidence from crime scene to storage and states who has had custody of the evidence and when |
| comparison microscope | a modified compound or dissecting microscope that allows the observer to see a side-by-side comparison of two magnified images |
| coroner | a person who examines a corpse to determine cause of death |
| crime scene investigator | a forensic scientist who specializes in searching for evidence, collecting it, and preserving it |
| crime scene photographer | the person responsible for documenting a crime scene (or accident scene) with various forms of photographs |
| crime scene reconstruction | a hypothesis describing the sequence of events before, during, and after the crime was committed |
| criminalistics | the application of scientific principles to the identification, analysis, and evaluation of physical evidence. Criminalistics more precisely describes what happens in a crime laboratory than forensic science |
| detective | a police officer who investigates crimes, surveys the crime scene, interviews witnesses, arrests and interrogates suspects, writes reports, and testifies in court |
| duty to preserve | a sworn obligation to the courts to preserve and protect the evidence for a long time |
| evidence | a thing, or information, used to form a conclusion or make a judgment |
| forensic photographer | a profession involving taking crime scene, criminal identification, disaster, and engineering- or product-failure photographs and giving advice on legal matters involving photography |
| forensic photography | the application of photography to legal issues |
| forensic science | the profession that uses science-based activities and procedures to resolve questions and handle evidence involving criminal (and often civil) incidents |
| fraud | an intentional lie or deception done for personal gain and to the harm of others; a category of crime |
| front directional lighting | a lighting technique used by crime scene photographers to visualize untreated fingerprints on glass surfaces; also called axis lighting |
| inquest | a judicial inquiry into the cause of death |
| low-angle lighting | a photographic lighting technique in which an object is illuminated from the side to create shadows that show details |
| macroscopic crime scene | refers to the entire environment of a crime scene, not limited to the precise location of the crime |
| medical examiner | a doctor certified to determine the cause of death and provide other medical evidence in crimes |
| oblique lighting | a photographic lighting technique in which an object is illuminated from the side to create shadows that show details; also called low-angle lighting |
| paramedic | people who provide emergency medical treatment to stabilize a patient for transport to a hospital |
| precision | an indication of how exact a calculation or measurement is |
| primary crime scene | the site where a crime was first committed |
| secondary crime scene | location related to a crime, but not where the initial crime took place |
| significant figures | the number of digits that are meaningful in a measurement or quantity, based on the precision of the instruments used for measurement |