Essay about Jurors and Prosecution: Forensics in Pop Culture

In The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice it discusses the consequences of reality programs have on the public. One particular show called America’s Most Wanted, was giving information about a fugitive named Don Moore who was wanted for having different sexual interactions with fifth-grade students. What happened was that a worker named Richard Maxwell was thought to be identified as Moore even though his description was not very close to the actual suspects. The police officers arrested him in his workplace in front of his other coworkers and went to the police station to fingerprint him and was found innocent and allowed back to work. He sued “the city whose police officers had compounded the process initiated by the reality programming”(Kappeler and Potter 16). What the court also had found was that the police officers never asked any questions or his consent to the fingerprinting. They “had no grounds for suspecting Maxwell” (Kappeler and Potter 17). This sort of mistake can lead to reputations being destroyed and can affect their future employment.

In 2006, over 100 million people in the United States tuned in to watch either CSI or any if the other forensic and criminal investigation related television show each week (CJSG). Since then, the number of viewers has increased rapidly, as well as the amount of television shows with the same type of theme. As a result of the increase of these television programs, researchers are discovering a new phenomenon called the ‘CSI Effect’ that seems to be fueling an interest in forensic science and criminal investigations nationwide. This effect is actually the ability of criminal justice themed television shows to influence and increase victims’, jurors’ and criminals’ ideas about forensics, DNA testing and methods, and criminal investigations

Nearly anyone you ask would be familiar with the television show CSI. The crime lab is colorful and high-tech with all of the fun toys and machines that analysts use to test the ever abundant amount of forensic evidence from every crime scene. It makes for an exciting drama that you cannot help but get immersed in—it also gives us a false illusion, however, creating what has been dubbed as the “CSI effect” (Baskin, 2011). This effect describes the idea that crime shows such as CSI generate unreal expectations, making viewers believe that forensic evidence should be existent in all criminal trials, therefore affecting their overall perspective on a case (Baskin, 2011). But in reality, forensic labs are not that glamorous. In fact, the

Forensic Science has contributed to our world a great deal. People often misunderstand Forensic Science and believe it is much more capable than it really is. As a matter of fact what you see on T.V. is around 80% false or over exaggerated in some way. To Start of, Criminal Investigation is the largest and most known form of Forensic Science. Some of the more known areas include; Fingerprinting, Ballistics, DNA Identification, Fiber Samples, Computer Animation, Documentation analysis, etc. To get this out of the way in the beginning, what you saw on last night’s law and order is far from the truth. Things they do in a matter of hours take months at a time, and most of the time aren’t even plausible concepts.

If you search through your television guide, you will see at least three of these shows on at the same time on different channels, many even having all-day marathons for you to enjoy on Saturday morning. Simon Cole and Rachel Dioso-Villa have analyzed that many of these fictitious programs attempt to make science “sexy,” which may be the reason why we are so attracted to them. The scientists look stylish at all times; wearing nice suits or dresses out on the field or in the laboratory, having normal work days, finding everything they need, having all of the state-of-the-art equipment and staff they need, and more importantly, they get everything done quickly and effectively. This glamorous, action-packed lifestyle gives a false sense of what the career itself actually entails, which includes giant lab coats, numerous court sessions, understaffed laboratories, no gun, and an abundance of paperwork.

Have you ever watched a crime scene drama on television and now believe you are a forensic science expert? This is what you call the “Crime Scene Investigation Effect (CSI)”. It came into light in the early 2000’s. In 2008, Monica Robbers, an American criminologist, defined the CSI Effect as, “the phenomenon in which jurors hold unrealistic expectations of forensic evidence and investigation techniques, and have an increased interest in the discipline of forensic science”. (Economist 2010) Millions are watching these CSI drama TV shows. In 2012-13, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, was named the most popular watched television program in America, bringing in more viewers than Sunday Night Football according to Mancini, author of The "CSI Effect" In an Actual Juror Sample: Why Crime Show Genre May Matter.

The definition of forensic science is any scientific research, method, or theory used to analyze evidence in an attempt to solve legal cases (Cho). In recent years, there has been growing public interest in forensic science, arguably because of the numerous television programs that glamorize its practices. This phenomenon is part of what is known as the CSI effect, or the process through which devoted fans of popular crime dramas develop unrealistic notions of forensic science methods, practices, and their applications in real life cases (Mancini 544; Stevens 37; Ley, Jankowski, and Brewer 52). The CSI effect has had more negative impacts on forensic science and society than positive impacts, especially in regards to what goes on in the

Both the prosecutors and barrier lawyers are feeling the should be more exhaustive where they didn't should be some time recently, regardless of the way that the additional exertion is generally not required. As indicated by a late article in USA Today, "some resistance legal counselors say that CSI and comparable indicates make members of the jury depend too intensely on investigative discoveries, and are unwilling to acknowledge that those discoveries can be traded off by human or specialized blunders". Prosecutors are additionally feeling the impact; they say shows can make it more troublesome for them to win feelings in the substantial larger part of cases in which investigative proof is immaterial or truant. Another issue with the show is that it frequently utilizes innovation that is either profoundly adapted, exploratory, or is non-existent. A few members of the jury anticipate that both sides will utilize this sort of innovation, the issue being that the majority of the times this innovation doesn't meet the Frye Standard, an arrangement of strategies utilized as a benchmark for general acknowledgment of the way the confirmation was tried by mainstream

There is a television in most ever persons home worldwide in 2015, and in America specifically, the problem at hand is a transparent falsity. That problem being, how criminal cases are solved and prosecuted. The founding fathers created a document that Americans see as the greatest constitution of all time, based on the longevity, until now. In the quote from the constitution above, the founding fathers set forth the right for a speedy trial, by an impartial jury, in the district of the crime committed, to be confronted by the witnesses against him (U.S. Const. Amend. 6). Unfortunately, due to what is called “The CSI Effect”, these stipulations have fallen short. According to Byers, Author/editor of The CSI Effect: Television, Crime, and Governance, the CSI effect is defined as a belief in the near-infallibility of forensic science and its ability to solve all crimes. At the 2002 conference of the American Association for the advancement of Science, forensic anthropologist Max Houck described the CSI effect as an “infallible Juggernaut” which leads people to believe that science, as portrayed on television, can determine guilt or innocence beyond the shadow of a doubt ( Byers, p. 3). The name “CSI effect” specifically comes from the television show CSI that depicts exactly what Byers described above. CSI is the child of many other shows on television that show seemingly

True crime and journalism often serves as a cultural purpose, it gives people a chance to become a detective for a little and it allows the audience to explore what happened in someone else's life. By doing a multitude of things, true crime and journalism, can explore one’s feelings on the topic that is being presented and entertain people in a way that they are not entertained by the news. It gives people a different perspective on the why and the how of a certain incident. Through “The Hossack Murder” by Susan Glaspell and the 48 Hour episode “Nightmare in Napa” there are some differences that show how through journalism and true crime things can be presented in a variety of ways and can also leave unique impacts on their audience. There

Television crime dramas have been able to influence the American public by showing the importance and dedication of hard work in law, order, and justice. The significance of television crime dramas is that people can learn

I have always loved suspenseful whodunit television shows, movies, and books that use forensic science to crack the cases. My favorite television show is The First 48, my favorite movie is The Silence of the Lambs, and my favorite book is The Body Farm. Therefore, I was excited to have the opportunity to take this course and learn even more about the subject of forensics. This essay gives a summary of N. E. Genge’s book, The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation, and includes the things I disliked and liked about the book.

Through our research, we have discovered that TV shows such as Prison Break, can sometimes twist reality and exaggerate it. We see that

Forensic (criminal) psychology is a job field that deals with both psychology and law. The field has experienced dramatic growth in recent years due to the role of popular movies, television programs and books popularizing the field. Often these individuals are depicted as vivid components in solving vicious crimes or timing out a criminal’s next home. While these depictions of certainly entertaining, yet these portrayals are not necessarily precise. Forensic psychologists play an instrumental role in the criminal justice system while applying psychological principles to the legal system. The crossover of the two spheres is best decided in the Encyclopedia of Psychology,

Forensic Files is an American documentary styles series talks about how forensic science is used to solve violent crime, mysterious accident, and even outbreaks of illness. I am a real fun of this program, been watching it for almost one year now and still watch it till this date. One of the important parts I like about this show is the producer. I find it more interesting of how they are able to condense every story and cover up all the details in just thirty minutes. In this program, violent is used as the main plot. In this show, Crimes that have taken place are often violent crime, or people are being poisoned by thallium; arsenic or anti-freeze. This show is based on a true story that has taken place all over United States and some part of Canada.