FORENSIC SCIENCE
(AN INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD)
Today’s Panel
 SPECIAL AGENT LELAND CABINESS
 FORENSIC TRACE CHEMISTRY
 PROF CLEMENT SMETANA
 FORENSIC DNA SEROLOGY
 DR DANIEL J JACKSON
 CRIME LAB DIRECTOR & CHEMIST

SPECIAL AGENT RANDALL LOVELY


FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
PROF PAMELA MCKENZIE-RUNDLE

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
TOPICS
DEFINE FORENSIC SCIENCE
INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF FORENSIC
SCIENCE
SOURCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
WHAT IS
FORENSIC SCIENCE?
IT IS NOT
CSI !!!
FORENSIC SCIENCE
WORKING DEFINITION
“THE APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE,
ATTAINED FROM STUDY OR PRACTICE,
TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE”
INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF
FORENSIC SCIENCE
INTERDISCIPLINARY
MULTIPLE FORENSIC FIELDS
POST ANALYSIS
FORENSIC SCIENCE
SOME EXAMPLES
FORENSIC PATHOLOGY
FORENSIC DENTISTRY
FORENSIC NURSING
FORENSIC CHEMISTRY
FORENSIC BIOLOGY
FORENSIC FIREARMS
FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY
FORENSIC SCIENCE
SOME EXAMPLES
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY/ PSYCHIATRY
FORENSIC ECONOMICS
FORENSIC ENGINEERING
FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY
FORENSIC URINE ANALYSIS
FORENSIC METEOROLOGY
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
FORENSIC SCIENCE
SOME EXAMPLES
FORENSIC SEROLOGY
FORENSIC LATENT PRINTS
FORENSIC QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS
FORENSIC AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
FORENSIC VIDEO TECHNOLOGY
FORENSIC ELECTRONICS
POST ANALYSIS
(COMMUNICATION SKILLS)
Written Report
Testimony
Training
References
CRIMINALISTICS
AN INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC SCIENCE
BY RICHARD SAFERSTEIN
www.aafs.org
www.ascld.org
http://www.crimesceneinvestig
atoredu.org/
Trace Evidence
Locard Exchange Principle
The theory that anyone, or
anything, entering a crime
scene both takes something
of the scene with them, and
leaves something of
themselves behind when
they leave.
Types of Trace Evidence
Fibers
Hairs
Glass
Arson
Lubricant
Makeup
Soil
Explosives
Paint
Filament
GunShot
Residue
Mechanical
Match
Identification and Comparison
1. IDENTIFY:
What is the Unknown Exhibit (glass, hair, paint, soil,
fibers, metal, etc.)
2. COMPARISON:
Obtain a control sample
Comparative Examinations of the Unknown Exhibit
with a Control Sample to see if they originated from
different sources.
Conduct all possible comparative examinations.
Conclusion: could the two samples have originated
from a common source
Testify as an Expert Witness
 Report: The end fragment of tape removed
from the roll of tape found at the residence of
the suspect (Exhibit #12) and the tape
fragment removed from the knife (Exhibit #5)
were at one time an integral unit.
 GUILTY
Its role in forensic science and the Hannah Graham Case
HANNAH GRAHAM
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA STUDENT
MISSING STUDENT
“Person of Interest” in Hannah Graham case
JESSE “LJ” MATTHEWS MET WITH POLICE THEN SPED OFF;
LATER APPREHENDED
DNA Under Fingernails links suspect to 2005 case
Oct. 29 :REMAINS FOUND ARE HANNAH GRAHAM
MATTHEWS AWAITS TRIAL
What Do They Actually Do?
• Criminal Profiling
• Forensic Interviews/ Interrogation
• Forensic Polygraph/ Hypnosis
• Trauma Counseling
• Competency Evaluation
• Forensic Treatment Counseling
• Criminalist/ Cold Case Files
• Psychological Autopsy
Hanna Graham Suspect
Gentle Giant or Sexual Predator
• Likely Sociopathic- Impulse Control History
• Profile that of a Control Type Rapist
• Known to be Awkward with Women
• History of Explosive Rage & Multiple Allegations of Sexual
Assault
• Parental History of Alcohol Abuse and Public Indecency
• Competent to Stand Trial – Yes
• Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity – No Basis
Forensic Photography
Forensic Photography
MAKES THE VISIBLE CLEARER
MAKES THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE
The Forensic Photographer
 Must be familiar with different Styles of Photography
 Must understand a wide variety of photographic principles
 Must be familiar with all other types of examination in a crime
laboratory.
11:50 p.m. Friday — Graham last seen by friends at Camden Plaza Apartments, in the
200 block of 14th Street NW.
12:45 a.m. Saturday — Graham seen on surveillance video outside of McGrady’s Pub
on Grady Street.
12:55 a.m. Saturday — Graham seen on Shell station surveillance video on Preston Ave.
1 a.m. Saturday — Witness reports seeing Graham on Downtown Mall
1:06 a.m. Saturday — Video captures Graham in front of Sal’s, continuing to walk east
along the mall.
1:08 a.m. Saturday — Graham seen in front of Tuel Jewelers.
1:20 a.m. Saturday — Graham sends a text to friends saying she was lost in the area
around 14th and Wertland Streets.
Hannah Graham Video
References
CRIMINALISTICS
AN INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC SCIENCE
BY RICHARD SAFERSTEIN
www.aafs.org
www.ascld.org
http://www.crimesceneinvestig
atoredu.org/
References
CRIMINALISTICS
AN INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC SCIENCE
BY RICHARD SAFERSTEIN
www.aafs.org
www.ascld.org
http://www.crimesceneinvestig
atoredu.org/