UNIT 1:Introduction, Overview and Background

Introduction and definitionThe Oxford English Dictionary lists one of the first uses of the phrase forensic science to describe a mixed science. The early days of forensic science could certainly be called mixed, when science served justice by its application to questions before the court. Forensic science has grown as a profession from the early 1880s and into a science in its own right in the early twenty-first century.

Given the publics interest in using science to solve crimes, it looks as if forensic science has an active, even hectic, future.

The application of science and technology to criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system is called forensic science.orForensic science describes the science of associating people, places, and things involved in criminal activities; these scientific disciplines assist in investigating and adjudicating criminal and civil cases. The discipline has two parts to it divides neatly, like the term that describes it.

Science is the collection of systematic methodologies used to increasingly understand the physical world. The word forensic is derived from the Latin forum meaning public.

In ancient Rome, the Senate met in the Forum, a public place where the political and policy issues of the day were discussed and debated; even today, high school or university teams that compete in debates or public speaking are called forensics.

More technically, forensic means as applied to public or legal concerns. Together, forensic science is an appropriate term for the profession which answers scientific questions for the courts.

Scope of forensic science:

1-Offers the knowledge and technology of science for the definition and enforcement of laws. 2-It cannot offer final and authoritative solutions, however, Forensic Science does play an important and unique roll in the criminal justice system. 3-It uses the scientist's ability to supply accurate and objective information that reflects the events of a crime.

Major Sciences Involved in Forensics:Biology: Examines the biological properties of substances found at the crime scene.Chemistry: Examines the chemical makeup of substances found at the crime scene.Geology: Examines the earths components when important to the crime scene investigationPhysics: Examines the movement or impact of materials at the crime scene.

Important Moments in the History of the Forensic SciencesThe origins of forensic science can be traced back to the 6th century with legal medicine being practiced by the Chinese.

1810 Euge`ne Francois Vidocq, a noted wily criminal, convinces the Paris police to exchange a jail sentence to become an informant in Paristoughest prison. Vidocq would eventually establish the first detective force, the Su rete of Paris.

1828 William Nichol invents the polarizing light microscope, revolutionizing the study of microscopic materials.

1835 Adolphe Quetelet, he work on the criminology of Caesare Lombroso, postulates that no two human bodies are exactly alike.

1835 Henry Goddard performs the first forensic bullet comparison. Goddards work implicates a butler who faked a burglary to commit murder based on similar flaws in a questioned bullet and the mold that made it.

1838 William Stewart of Baltimore murders his father and is convicted based on bullet evidence, making it the first case solved by forensic firearms examination in the United States. 1856 Sir William Herschel, a British officer working for the Indian Civil service, uses fingerprints on documents to verify document signatures, a practice recognized in India but not forensically. 1863 The German scientist Christian Schonbein discovers the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide when exposed to hemoglobin. The foaming reaction is the first presumptive test for blood. 1880 Henry Faulds, a Scottish physician working in Tokyo, publishes a paper in the journal Nature suggesting that fingerprints could identify an individual involved in a crime.

1883 Alphonse Bertillon identifies his first recidivist based on his system of Anthropometry (The measurement of the human individual for the purposes of understanding human physical variation)

1887 Arthur Conan Doyle publishes the first Sherlock Holmes story.1891 Hans Gross publishes Handbook for Examining Magistrates, the first comprehensive text that promotes the use of science and microscopy to solve crimes.1892 Francis Galton publishes Fingerprints, the first text on the nature of fingerprints and their use as a forensic method. 1894 Alfred Dreyfus of France is convicted of treason based on a faulty handwriting identification by Bertillon. 1896 Sir Edward Henry develops a classification system for fingerprints that becomes the standard taxonomy in Europe and North America. 1900 Karl Landsteiner first discovers human blood groups (the ABO system); he is awarded the Nobel prize for this in 1930. Landsteiners work on blood forms the basis of nearly all subsequent forensic blood work.

1901 Henry DeForrest pioneers the first systematic use of fingerprints in the United States in the New York Civil Service Commission.

1903 The New York State Prison system begins the systematic use of fingerprints for United States criminal identification. 1910 Victor Balthazard, professor of forensic medicine at the Sorbonne, with Marcelle Lambert, publishes the first comprehensive hair study, Le poil de lhomme et des animaux. In one of the first cases involving hairs, Rosella Rousseau was convinced to confess to murder of Germaine Bichon.1910 Edmund Locard, successor as professor of forensic medicine at the University of Lyons, France, establishes the first police crime laboratory. He attributed an important basic principle of forensic science, this in essence being that every contact leaves a trace.

1913 Victor Balthazard, professor of forensic medicine at the Sorbonne, publishes the first article on individualizing bullet markings. 1915 International Association for Criminal Identification (later to become The International Association of Identification [IAI]) is organized in Oakland, California.1923 Frye v. United States, polygraph test results were ruled in admissible. The federal ruling introduces the concept of general acceptance and states that polygraph testing does not meet that criterion (An instrument that measures and records several physiological responses such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, breathing rhythms, body temperature and skin conductivity).

1932 The FBI establishes its own forensic laboratory. 1950 August Vollmer, chief of police of Berkeley, California, establishes the School of Criminology at the University of California at Berkeley. Paul Kirk presides over the major of Criminalistics within the school. 1950 The American Academy of Forensic Science is formed in Chicago, Illinois. The group also begins publication of the Journal of Forensic Science.1953 Kirk publishes Crime Investigation.1971 Brian Culliford publishes The Examination and Typing of Bloodstains in the Crime Laboratory, establishing protocols and standard methods for typing of protein and enzyme markers.1977 The use of infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) is adapted for use in the forensic laboratory. The FBI introduces the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) with the first digitized scans of fingerprints.

1984 Sir Alec Jeffreys develops the first DNA profiling test. He publishes his findings in Nature in 1985.1986 In the first use of DNA to solve a crime, Jeffreys uses DNA profiling to identify Colin Pitchfork as the murderer of two young girls in England.1983 The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is first conceived by Kerry Mullis. The first paper on the technique is not published for two years.1987 DNA profiling is introduced for the first time in a U.S. criminal court. 1987 New York v. Castro is the first case challenging the admissibility of DNA. 1991 Walsh Automation Inc. (now Forensic Technology, Inc.) launches the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, or IBIS, for the automated comparison of fired bullets and cartridge cases. This system is subsequently developed for the United States in collaboration with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).

1992 The FBI sponsors development of Drug fire, an automated imaging system to compare marks left on fired cartridge cases. 1993 In Daubert et al. v. Merrell Dow, a U.S. federal court refines the standard for admission of scientific evidence. 1996 In Tennessee v. Ware, mitochondrial DNA typing is first admitted in a U.S. court.1998 The National DNA Index System (NDIS), enabling interstate sharing of DNA information to solve crimes, is initiated by the FBI. 1999 IBIS and Drugfire are integrated by the FBI and ATF, creating the National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network (NIBIN).

Major Crime Laboratories:

FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation (Department ofJustice)Largest crime lab in the worldCapable of investigating a broad range of crimesprovides analyses of physical evidence ranging from blood and other biological materials to explosives, drugs, and firearms.More than one million examinations are conducted by the FBI laboratory every year.DEA - Drug Enforcement AdministrationPrimary focus: analysis, production, sale, & transportation of illegal drugsATF - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Primary focus: analysis of alcoholic beverages, tax law documents, weapons, explosive devices and enforcesGun Control Act of 1968Organized Crime Control Act of 1970

USPS - U.S. Postal Service:The U.S. Postal Service is not strictly a federal agency, it is considered to be a quasi-federal agency. (Washington, DC)

Supports the Services efforts to combat postal fraud. It does this through the analysis of questioned document, fingerprints, and trace evidence (hairs, fibers, particles, etc.).

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS):

The USFWS Laboratory performs animal-oriented forensic analyses and its mission is to support the efforts of the Services investigators who patrol the National Parks.

The Laboratory supports the FWS Agents in their investigations of poachers and people who kill or injure endangered species.

The Laboratory examines evidence involving animals and has specialized expertise in the identification of hooves, hairs, feathers, bone, and other animal tissues.

Georgia LawRequires that an ME (Medical Examiners) investigate cause of any death which appears to result from Violence, suicide or casualty When unattended by a physician When an inmate of a state hospital or state, county or city penal institution When ordered by a court having criminal jurisdiction After birth but before 7 years of age if the death is unexpected or unexplained In any suspicious or unusual manner, with particular attention to those persons 16 years of age and under As a result of an execution carried our pursuant to imposition of the death penalty

Principal Questions: What is the cause of death? Due to, or as a consequence of, blunt force head trauma, Due to, or as a consequence of, a fall from a height What is the manner of death? Natural Homicide Suicide Accident Undetermined

The Organization of a Crime Laboratory

Crime Labs:Range in size and number of staff members

Can be classified under several jurisdictionsFederalStateCountyMunicipal

Can be under the direction ofThe Police DepartmentThe Prosecutors or District Attorneys OfficeThe Coroner or Medical Examiners OfficeUniversities as independent testing facilities

Growth of the Crime Lab or Factors determining lab numbers increasing:

There are approximately 320 public crime labs operating in various jurisdictions

These crime labs range being able to perform a diversity of tasks to very specialized scientific testing

Some Reasons:Courts placing greater emphasis on scientific evidenceEmphasis on thorough and complete police investigationsIncrease in modern technology and types of testing that can be completed

Major Reasons:The increased number of drug-related arrestsAll seizures must be sent to the lab for confirmation of chemical composition of the substance More drug arrests = Larger case loads of drug-related specimens

Also the advent of DNA profiling has caused the increase in labs & is the dominant factor in explaining how general public perceives the crime lab.

Services of the Crime LaboratoryServices of the Crime Laboratory:There are many different services available in different crime labs

Reasons:Variations in local lawsDifferent capabilities and functions of the organization in which the lab is attachedBudgetary and staffing limitationsOften the sole purpose for crime lab creation has been to process drug specimens.

Basic services provided by full- service crime labs:

Physical science unit: applies principles and techniques of chemistry, physics & geology to evidence evaluation; examinations of soil, drugs, glass, paint, explosives etc are examinedBiology unit: Staffed with biologists and biochemists that apply their knowledge and techniques to the identification of biological aspects of a crime scene.Examples:Identification and DNA profiling of dried blood stains and other bodily fluidsHair and fiber comparisonIdentification of plant material

Document Examination Unit:

Studies the typewriting and handwriting on questioned documents to determine authenticity and/or sourceExamples:Handwriting identificationAnalysis of ink or paperIndentationsErasure marksDocument charred or burned

Firearms Unit:

Responsible for the examination of firearms, discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition of all types

Examples:Examination of ammunition casingsFirearm or gunpowder residueTarget lengthTool marksPhotography Unit:

Used to examine and record physical evidence.Examples:Digital imagingInfrared imagingUltraviolet imagingX-ray photography techniques make invisible information visible

Optional services provided by full- service crime labs:

Toxicology unit: body fluids & organs examined determine presence or absence of drugs & poisons often this is shared with the medical examiners or coroners office.

Latent fingerprint unit: examination of latent fingerprints submitted with other lab examinations.

Polygraph unit: polygraph or lie detector used primarily as a tool of the criminal investigator.

Voiceprint analysis unit: cases involving telephone threats, tape-recorded messages may use unit to identify personsSound patterns are suppose to be unique to the person & and are captured on a voiceprint.

Evidence-collector unit: special trained personnel collect & preserve physical evidence collected at the crime scene

Other forensic science services:Forensic pathology:

Field that involves the investigation of sudden, unnatural, unexplained, or violent deaths

Involve the Medical Examiner or Coroner and generally perform autopsies on victimsAutopsy: the medical dissection and examination of a body in order to determine the cause of death.Must answer the questionsWho is the victim?What injuries are present?When did the injuries occur?Why and how were the injuries produced?

Must determine the manner of death of the victimManners of deathNatural HomicideSuicideAccidentUndetermined

Forensic Anthropology:

Concerned with the identification and examination of human skeletal remainsExamination of skeletal remains reveal their origin, sex, approximate age, race, skeletal injuryUsed to identify victims of mass disasters.

3. Forensic Entomology:

The study of insects and their relation to a criminal investigation.As decomposition occurs, insects arrive on the carcass in a regular time interval. (Blow flies first arrive when body starts to decompose; eggs are laid, and maggots or fly larvae. This larvae consume tissue & organs.)Used to estimate the time of death when it circumstances surrounding crime unknown.Results may be effected by geographical location, climate, and weather conditions.

4. Forensic Odontology:

Forensic dentistry or forensic odontology is the proper handling, examination and evaluation of dental evidence, which will be then presented in the interest of justice. The evidence that may be derived from teeth is the age (in children) and identification of the person to whom the teeth belong.

Provide information about the identification of victims when the body is left in an unrecognizable state.Use dental records such as x-rays, dental casts or photograph of persons mouth comparison made between dental remains & suspect victim.

Forensic dentists are responsible for six main areas of practice:Identification of found human remainsIdentification in mass fatalitiesAssessment of bite mark injuriesAssessment of cases of abuse (such as child, spousal or elder abuse)Age estimation

5. Forensic psychiatry

Area in which the relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings examined; Civil cases determine people competent to make decisions about wills, settling property or refusing medical treatmentCriminal cases- evaluate behavioral disorders and determine if people are competent to stand trial; also behavioral patterns of criminals determine profile

6. Forensic Engineering:

Concerned with failure analysis, accident reconstruction, and causes and origins of fires or explosions

Focus mainly on the logical sequence and main cause of an accident or crime

Also attempts to determine who or what is responsible for the cause of an accident or crime

Function of any forensic science laboratory:

Receiving, managing, and returning evidence is a central function of any forensic science laboratory.

Function of any forensic science laboratory:

Receiving :- This process starts with, police officer or an investigator submitting the Evidence to the evidence unit and filling out paperwork describing the evidence and the type of examinations requested.

Managing :- After receiving the evidence, the laboratory will assign a unique laboratory number to the case in modern laboratories, this is done through a computerized Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). Each item of evidence is labeled with the unique laboratory number, along with other identifying information, such as the item number.

When evidence is transferred from one scientist to another, the first scientist lists the items to be transferred, prints his or her name, writes the date and time of the transfer, and signs the form.

The person receiving the evidence prints their name and also signs theform; the chain of custody form permanently accompanies the laboratorycase file. LIMS uses computerized systems that help laboratories keep track ofevidence and information about analyses.

Function of any forensic science laboratory:

Returning :- Once the analysis of the evidence is completed and all of the examinations requested by the chief investigator are fulfilled, the evidence is returned to the custody of court of law along with the detailed analysis report which is automatically generated by LIMS.

Functions of the Forensic Scientist:

Must be skilled in applying the principles and techniques of the physical and natural sciences to the analysis of many types of evidence that may be recovered at a crime scene.

Must have a firm, scientific foundation and follow specific procedures in order for evidence to be admissible in court.

To gather evidence, analyze evidence, collaboration and describing their findings.

NATURE OF EVIDENCEEvidence:

Evidence can be defined as information, whether oral testimony, documents, or material objects, in a legal investigation, that makes a fact or proposition more or less likely.

In an investigation, evidence can provide leads, clear suspects, or provide sufficient cause for arrest.

Evidence is central to an investigation and subsequent trial.

It lays the foundation for the arguments the lawyers plan to offer.

It is viewed as the impartial, objective, and sometimes stubborn information that helps a judge or jury make their conclusions.

Example:

Someone is seen leaving the scene of a homicide with a baseball bat and it is later shown by scientific examination that blood removed from the bat came from the victim. This could be considered evidence that the accused person killed the victim. Having the association of the blood to the bat makes the proposition that the accused is the murderer more probable than it would be if the evidence did not exist. As will be evident later, context is crucial to a correct interpretation.

If the blood was found on a shirt instead of a baseball bat, in the absence of other information, the interpretation would not change. If investigators were told, however, that the accused shirt owner had performed first aid on the bloodied victim, the significance ofthe evidence would need to be reconsidered.

Kinds of Evidence:Circumstantial evidence:- it is a evidence based on inference and not on personal knowledge or observation. Most evidence (blood, hairs, bullets, fibers, fingerprints, etc.) is circumstantial.Exculpatory evidence:- Evidence, such as a statement, tending to excuse, justify, or absolve the alleged fault or guilt of a defendant.

Basis of Evidence:Transfer and Persistence:- When two things come into contact, information is exchanged. These exchanges of information occur even if the evidence is too small to be found or identified. The results of such a transfer are proxy data. Forensic science reveals associations between people, places, and things through the analysis of proxy data.The conditions that effect transfer amounts include the following:the pressure of the contactthe number of contactshow easily the item transfers material (mud transfers more readily than does soil)the form of the evidence (solid, liquid, or gas)the amount involved in the contact

Evidence that is transferred from a source to a location with no intermediaries is said have undergone direct transfer.

Indirect transfer involves one or more intermediate objects. It can become complicated and can pose potential limits on interpretation.

The second part of the transfer process is persistence. Once the evidence transfers, it will remain, or persist, in that location until it further transfers(and, potentially, is lost), degrades until it is unusable or unrecognizable, or is collected as evidence.

Evidence persistence depends on the following:what the evidence is (such as hairs, blood, tool marks, gasoline)the location of the evidencethe environment around the evidencetime from transfer to collectionactivity of or around the evidence location (a living person vs. a dead body)

B) Identity, Class, and IndividualizationIdentification:- It is the examination of the chemical and physical properties of an object and using them to categorize the object as a member of a group. What is the object made of? What is its color, mass, and/or volume? The following are examples of identification:Examining a white powder, performing one or two analyses, and concluding it is cocaine is identificationDetermining that a small colored chip is automotive paint is identificationLooking at debris from a crime scene and deciding it contains hairs from a black Labrador retriever is identification (of those hairs)

Class:- Class is a scalable definitionClassification of the evidence based on which group it belongs to. The same items can be classified differently, depending on what questions are being asked. Classes are defined by the number and kind of characteristics used describe them.

Individualization of Evidence:- To individualize evidence means to be able to put it into a class with one member.

If a forensic scientist can discover properties (normally physical) of two pieces of evidence that are unique, that is, they are not possessed by any other members of the class of similar materials, then the evidence is said to have been individualized.

An example would be a broken ceramic lamp: If the broken pieces of the lamp found at the crime scene can be fit with the a piece of ceramic in the burglars tool kit, for example, then it is reasonable to conclude that those pieces of ceramic were previously one continuous piece. This conclusion implies that there is no other piece of lamp in the entire world that those broken pieces could have come from.

Individualization occurs when at least one unique characteristic isfound to exist in both the known and the questioned samples. Individualization cannot be accomplished by identification alone.

C) Relationships and ContextRelationship:- The relationships between the people, places, and things involved in crimes are central to deciding what to examine and how to interpret the results.

Context:- It sets the stage for what evidence is significant, what methods may be most effective for collection or analysis, and what may be safely ignored.Using context for direction prevents the indiscriminate collection of items that clog the workflow of the forensic science laboratory.D) Comparison of EvidenceThe questioned evidence is compared with objects whose source is known. The goal is to determine whether or not sufficient common physical and/or chemical characteristics between the samples are present. If they do, it can be concluded that an association existsbetween the questioned and known items.

The strength of this association depends upon a number of factors, including the following:

kind of evidenceintra- and inter sample variationamount of evidencelocation of evidencetransfer and cross-transfernumber of different kinds of evidence associated to one or more sources

Legal procedures and use of courtOr Legal procedures in medico-legal cases

Offences:

Definition: an act punishable by law or a breach of a law or rule

The offenses may be:

1. Cognizable2. Non-cognizable

Cognizable offense refers to an offense in which a police officer can arrest a person without warrant from the Magistrate. Examples are rape, murder, dowry death, ragging etc.

non-cognizable offense are those criminal infractions, which are relatively less serious. For arrest of a person, a warrant from the Magistrate is necessary without which a police officer cannot arrest a person. Examples of non-cognizable offences include Public Nuisance, Causing Simple Hurt, Assault, Mischief etc.

Different Types of Cases:The cases may be:1. Criminal cases: Criminal cases: are related with commission of crimes and are tried in criminal courts. The cases may be of following types:Cognizable cases: related with cognizable offensesNon-cognizable cases: related with non-cognizable offensesWarrant cases: the offenses punishable with death, imprisonment for life or for a term exceeding two years are treated as warrant case.Summons cases: these are the cases where the punishment for offense does not exceed more than two years.Complaint case: it is case not instituted by police or on police report but initiated by an individual or individuals in a court.

2. Civil cases: These are the cases related with disputes between two individuals or parties and tried in civil courts. These cases are not related to offense or crimes.

The individual who lodges the complaint is called as complainant and the other individual (the opposite party) is known as respondent.

In this type of case there is no provision of punishment, as no offence has been committed. The dispute is settled in the court justly. When one party has suffered loss, compensation or damages is allowed, if the loss can be so compensated.

Witness:

Witness is a person who gives sworn testimony or evidence in the court of law in relation to matters of fact under inquiry.

Types of witness: There are two types of witnesses and they are:

Common witness: Common witness is one who testifies or gives evidence to the facts observed or heard or perceived by him. The common witness cannot draw inferences or form opinions.

2. Expert witness: An expert witness is a person who, by virtue of his professional training, is capable of forming opinions or draws conclusions from the facts observed by him or noticed by others.

Examples are doctor, handwriting expert, fingers print expert, ballistic expert, and chemical analyzer.The Indian Medical Council Act 1956 in section 15 (2)(C).

3. Hostile Witness: A hostile witness is one who purposely makes statements contrary to facts or does not give his evidence fairly and with a desire to tell the truth to the court. OrA witness who willfully or with some motive tells lie. Suppresses facts partly or fully in a court as a witness may be declared as hostile witness.

Note:

Perjury: Perjury means willful utterance of falsehood by a witness under oath. It is false evidence tendered by witness and he fails to tell\ what he knows or believes to be true (Section 191 of IPC). A witness is liable to be prosecuted for perjury under section 193 of IPC.

Medical Evidence:

These are the evidences such as medical reports or certificates a doctor prepares and issues.

Medical evidence is of following types:1. Documentary evidence2. Oral evidence

1. Documentary evidence: It comprises of documents produced before the court and includes:Medical certificateMedico-legal reportDying declaration Dying deposition

Medical certificate: These are the certificates issued by the doctor regarding ill-health (sickness certificate), unsoundness of mind, death certificate, birth certificate, fitness certificate etc.These certificates are the simplest forms of documentary evidence.Only certificates given by registered medical practitioners (RMP) registered with state medical council are accepted in the court of law as evidence.Doctors should exercise due care while issuing such certificates. Issuing a false certificate is an offense.

b) Medicolegal reports: Medicolegal reports are the documents prepared and issued by doctors on the request of the investigating officer (Police or Magistrate), usually in criminal cases such as assault, rape, murder etc.Examples of such reports are: Injury certificate, age report, postmortem reports, reports regarding examination of exhibits such as weapons, clothes etc.Generally these reports are made of three parts viz.:1. Part I Introduction (Preamble): Comprising of preliminary data such as name of person, age, sex, address, identification marks, date and time of examination etc.2. Part II Examination (Observation): Consisting of the findings observed and recorded by doctor and entered in the report.3. Part III Opinion (Inference): Consisting of opinion or inference drawn by the doctor from the medical examination.

The report should be written with great care and should bear the signature and name of the examining doctor.Any exhibits, e.g. clothes or weapons etc. sent for medical examination should be described in detail with appropriate diagram/sketches whenever applicable then these articles should be properly sealed, labeled and returned to the investigating officer.C) Dying Declaration: A dying declaration is a statement, verbal or written, made by a person as to the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death.Whenever such patients are admitted and who are going to die, the doctor should call the Magistrate to record dying declaration. Before recording the statement, doctor should certify that the person is conscious and have sound mind (compos mentis). If the dying person is serious and there is no time to call the Magistrate, then doctor should record the dying declaration.

d) Dying Deposition: It is a statement or deposition made by a dying person on oath. The Magistrate in the presence of accused or his lawyer records it. The procedure of dying deposition is not followed in India. Dying deposition has more value then dying declaration in the court as it is recorded by the Magistrate in presence of accused.

2. Oral evidence: All statements which the court permits or requires to be made before it by a witness (i.e., doctor) in relation to matters of fact under inquiry.

Note:

Corpus Delicti: A dead body findings on which or appearance of which suggests that illegal act has occurred .

Summons or Subpoena: A summons is a writ compelling the attendance of the witness in a court of law, at a specified place and time, and for a specified purpose under penalty (Subpoena, sub = under, poena = penalty).These are of two types and are:1. Subpoena adtestificandum: it is a type of summons where a person is directed to appear personally before court to give evidence.2. Subpoena duces tecum: it is a type of summons served to witness only to submit a document. it is issued in duplicate. When served to the witness, he should send one copy back to the issuing court retaining the other copy with him. The returned copy should bear his signature authenticating the receipt of the other copy.It is served to witness through the police or through somebody from the court.

Duties and responsibilities of each forensic laboratory unit:

Physical Science unit- The duties of Physical science unit is to identify and compare the crime-scene evidence by applying the principles and techniques of physics and chemistry. It is staffed by criminalists who have the expertise to use chemical tests and modern analytical instrumentation to examine items as diverse as drugs, glass, paint, explosives, and soil. Analysts in this unit are responsible to:

Conduct chemical analyses. Perform physical examinations and comparisons. Provide expert testimony in court. Process crime scenes. Interact with other forensic science professionals.

Biological Unit- The biology unit is staffed with biologists and biochemists whose duty is to identify and perform;

Examination of blood and bloodstainsExamination of other body fluids and their stainsHair and fiber examinationDiatom examination (Drowning case)Skeleton examinationHistological examination of tissuesIdentification of woodsAnalysis of paperPoisonous plantPsychotropic plants and their derivativesIdentification of foodstuffs and their stainsParentage testingDNA testingAnthropology and odontology examinationsWildlife evidences examination

Some of the responsibilities are:To analyze body fluids and/or other human tissues;Provide assistance to forensic examiners in handling and analysis of physical evidence;Provide expert testimony in court. Process crime scenes. Interact with other forensic science professionals.

C) Firearm unit- The duties of firearms unit is to carry out examinations related to firearms and ammunitions of all types. Garments and other objects are also examined to detect firearms discharge residues and to approximate the distance from a target at which a weapon was fired. The basic principles of firearms examination are also applied here to the comparison of marks made by tools. The scientists examine effectiveness of a firearm, whether a particular firearm was used for firing or not. In this unit test fire cartridges and bullets are compared to establish that the cartridge and bullet were fired from the suspected firearm or not. The unit also undertakes examination of the Gun Shot Residue collected from the hands and apparels of the firer.Exhibits are also sent to this unit to determine distance and direction. of firearm used.

Firearm unit has following responsibilities;

To examine firearms and ammunition both branded and improvisedTo examine gunshot holes, gunshot wounds, gunshot residues, gunshot powders, targets of different types, gunshot velocity analysis, tool marks analysis, mode of firing and range analysis; Explosives and residues analysis.Provide expert testimony in court. Process crime scenes. Interact with other forensic science professionals.

Documentation Examination unit- The document examination unit studies the handwriting and typewriting on questioned documents to ascertain authenticity and/or source. Related responsibilities include; Analyzing paper and ink and examining indented writings (the term usually applied to the partially visible depressions appearing on a sheet of paper underneath the one on which the visible writing appears), obliterations, erasures, and burned or charred documents.

Examination and comparison of handwritings with standards to fix authorship, signatures or detection of forgeries, type writings/typescripts, printed matters, rubber stamp impressions and seal impressions

Examination of, erasures (physical or mechanical & chemical), obliterations, addition, alteration, substitution, interpolation of writings writing materials paper, pen, ink, pencil, type writing ribbons, invisible and secret writings, anonymous letters and indented writings

Examination of genuine currency notes, counterfeit currency notes, lottery tickets, passport/visa, build-up documents, reused stamps, torn-documents, serrated edges and their matching. Determination of the age of documents paper, writings and type writings Examination and stabilization of charred/burnt-documents and semi-burnt documents Provide expert testimony in court. Process crime scenes. Interact with other forensic science professionals.

Crime laboratory organization structure

***********First police crime lab in the world France in 1910 by Edmond LocardFirst police crime lab in the U.S. 1923 in Los AngelesThe Scientific Crime Detection Lab Evanston, Illinois in 1929The first FBI crime lab opened in 1932**Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 - It prohibits the creation or management of a gambling organization involving 5 or more people if it has been in business more than 30 days or accumulates $2000 in gross revenue in a single day.

Gun Control Act of 1968Enacted after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. It primarily focuses on regulating firearms by prohibiting interstate transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers.

Under the GCA, firearms possession by certain categories individuals is prohibited.Anyone who is under the age of 18, except with the written permission of their parent or guardian. Anyone who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year, excluding crimes of imprisonment that are related to the regulation of business practices. Anyone who is a fugitive from justice. Anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance. Anyone who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution. Any alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States or an alien admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa. Anyone who has been discharged from the US Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions. Anyone who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his or her citizenship. Anyone that is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner. Anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

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