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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 |