Essay Instructions: 1)There are a number of skills, aptitudes and talents required of a good forensic scientist or specialist that transcend the traditional scientific education and training. One of those attributes is having some knowledge of the law.
Describe the court case Michigan v Tyler in some detail. Then describe what you think the fire investigators did wrong and what could have happened to evidence at the scene over 25 days. What should investigators do since the decision? (Keep in perspective the difference of investigator attitudes between then and now regarding warrants based on court decisions since Tyler.)
2)You are a criminalist who has been asked to review the report of the forensic expert from the opposing attorney. You may not perform a re-analysis because the opposing expert used up the entire sample.
The relevant circumstances of the case are as follows:
A white powder was found by the crime scene team on the top of a bureau in a paper towel near a deceased male victim in the bedroom of his condominium. The evidence was properly collected, packaged, stored, and submitted to the laboratory.
The report contains the following information:
The powder weighed approximately 15 milligrams. The conclusion of the report was that the analyzed sample contained:
- Table salt (sodium chloride)
- Potato starch
- Sand grains
The report states that the forensic expert used only a gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometer detector to arrive at these results.
Using the information in the text reading, the information from the Topics, the Virtual Classroom, and the Internet:
- Discuss why the analyst could not have arrived at the conclusion they did using the instrument they claim that used
- Explain what you would have used to arrive at those results
3)Identity theft is rapidly becoming the number one new type of crime in our society. This crime has come about because of the much easier access to information about each one of us and our lifestyles.
In the past, this type of information was relatively private. Discuss "Identity Theft", the advantage of using paper for transactions with an emphasis in handwriting, the relationship of the crime to forgery and document falsification.
What is or should be the role of forensic science and the forensic document examiner in fighting this new type of crime.
4)DNA profiling methods are becoming increasingly more sensitive. It as been reported that the DNA spread can be so tiny that person A touches person B. Person C touches person B and receives detectable amounts of the DNA of person A.
What are the implications of DNA analysis without knowing the source of the DNA? Should forensic DNA analysts be required to identify the source of the DNA (saliva, blood, fingerprint oils, etc.) that their sample originated from? What if the identification of the sample source required more sample than required for DNA analysis? Should there be a limit on the smallness of the sample size permitted to be analyzed? Should we go back to using RFLP? Make suggestions for resolution of this dilemma.
5). You are on the witness stand in a driving under the influence of alcohol trial. During the direct examination, the prosecutor provided the following information:
* that the subject was weaving in their lane and speeding,
* appeared to have the odor of an alcoholic beverage about them,
* failed the walk and turn and the one-leg stand field sobriety tests.
The opposing attorney on cross examination asks you a hypothetical question about the number of drinks an average person would have if they registered a 0.17% blood alcohol level, were male, weighed 160 pounds, and consumed the drinks within the last hour before leaving a friend’s place. The blood test was taken within an hour after the suspect was stopped by the police.
What issues or assumptions should be brought up in order to render an opinion on the question? Could a person of that description only have 4 beers (alcohol content 3.5%) and be at a 0.17%? How many 4-ounce glasses of wine (alcohol content approximately 12%) would be required to be at the 0.17%?
6)You are called by a defense attorney that wants you to answer some questions and generally discuss a situation. The client’s driving was erratic, they failed the field sobriety tests, and the blood alcohol level was at a 0.34% and taken against their will, although in a medically accepted manner and without unreasonable force.
The defense attorney has read that many publications indicate above 0.30% people are unconscious. The defense attorney asks you how a person could be driving at 0.34% and what is your opinion about the drawing of the blood? Include in the discussion the role of toxicity and any laws or case decisions supporting the drawing of blood in driving under the influence cases.
These sites may be of some assistance.
http://www.health.org/nongovpubs/bac-chart/
http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/publications/iprc/factline/alcdoses.html
http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com/general/bac.htm
Not an endorsement of any business or website.
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7)A man’s housekeeper found him with a gunshot wound to the head. She called police.
He was married, middle-aged, right handed, and a stockbroker living in an upscale home. The body was seated on a desk chair in front of a computer on the desk situated toward the center of the spacious room facing away from the door. The computer was still on when the investigators reached the scene. A small amount of blood spatter was observed on the computer screen. The man was shot in his left temple and was found with his head and a portion of his torso resting on the computer and desk. Blood is present where his head lay on the desk. Sooting but no tattooing or stippling is observed. The apparent entrance wound has a stellate pattern. No exit wound is observed. A 38-caliber revolver was found on the floor slightly to the left and behind the victim.
Your task is to list all the evidence you would collect. Describe the methods that you would use in order to determine the cause, manner, and the time of death. What questions about the crime have to be and have yet to be answered? Assume you have the multiple role of criminalist, scene investigator, and coroner’s investigator to answer this.
Focus on the evidence but integrate your answers with questions that the scene (not coroner) investigator might ask others or activities they may accomplish. This is NOT your opportunity to become a mystery writer! Stay with the facts, the questions, the answers, and the evidence. [ No Messages ]
8)A rape took place in a house under construction. The DNA was inconclusive but there were several varieties of trace evidence present in the evidence submitted from the victim, suspect, and from the scene. The analyst identified the following:
o Particles from three different woods,
o Several different plant/botanical parts,
o One color of spray paint particles,
o Wallboard,
o Copper metal particles of a particular size range,
o Other metal fragments (possibly from brazing of copper metal),
o A waxy and sticky substance,
o Hairs from two different animals,
o Two different caulking compounds,
o Three different fibers, the dye on one was unusual.
The suspect was caught shortly after the crime. Careful examination of the scene and the clothing from both suspect and victim was conducted. The specific identification of some of the items was not performed but comparison between like objects showed they appeared to have a common source. Trace evidence from the suspect was transferred to the scene and to the victim, based on the clothing of the suspect submitted. Some trace evidence from the scene was deposited on the victim and suspect. Some evidence from the victim transferred to the suspect and the scene. Essentially two and three way transfers of trace evidence.
Be sure you read the above and use only the provided information for your answer.
1. Describe the value (or lack thereof) of trace evidence from this scene. Could you say that the suspect was at the scene? Would you go so far as to say the suspect committed the rape based on cross transfer of physical evidence and the victim’s story?
2. How would finding suspect pubic hair (by microscopic examination – no nuclear DNA containing material attached to the hair and mitochondrial destroys the hair) in the victim’s pubic hair combing change your opinion? [ No Messages ]
9)Scenario 2
At noon you walk into a convenience store, purchase an item and thank the clerk for the change. From your mouth while talking was deposited a small amount of saliva and Buccal cells onto the counter top. Later that day a robbery occurs in the store. A smudged fingerprint is deposited by the suspect over the tiny, dried droplet of saliva on the counter. All the clerk remembers was that someone wearing clothes similar to yours was in the store and the front end of the handgun. Unknown to you, your DNA was detected at the location the clerk says the suspect placed his hand. A proper substrate sample is taken by the crime scene specialist.
Express your thoughts and feelings about whether you would like to be “inconvenienced” by being arrested for having your DNA in a place where “its not supposed to be?” Could you be implicated in a crime in which you were never a part? Keep in mind the “power” of DNA analysis in the minds of the general public. [ No Messages ]
10)A homicide took place inside a residential building during a mild rainstorm. A shoeprint in blood of an apparent basketball type athletic shoe providing excellent resolution and detail was discovered on smooth tile in the entryway to the location of the body in the crime scene area. The photographer took only overall and perspective photographs of the shoe print and is refusing to take comparison quality images stating that the photographs taken are sufficient. The coroner’s investigator has just arrived and declared that they were going to transport the body through the tiled area (where the shoe print is currently).
You have not been able to take the proper photographs nor remove the tile for transport back to the laboratory. The body transport service is approaching the tiled area with a gurney and all appear to be dripping wet. The scene investigator wants to show you “something pretty important”. What do you do next? How do you preserve the shoe print that everyone else seems to be ignoring? Discuss the potential significance of the shoe print.
