Uses for Trace Evidence in Forsensic Science

To the case, the shoes and footprints are important because the shoe impression of the shoes could prove that Hernandez was directly involved in the murder. Hernandez pleaded not guilty back then. 6. Muddy Shoe Print leads to Arrest in Marijuana Case: Type of Trace Evidence Used: Impressions Date of Case: 2010 Location of Case: Illinois, U.S. Summary of Case: A man that fled from police and left a car harboring 3.5 lbs of marijuana behind. Police found an abandoned car and shoe impressions in the mud near the abandoned vehicle and compared it to the shoes that the man was wearing.

Francois Demelle of France published the first treatise on systematic document in 1609. One of the first documented events of physical matching used in a court case was in Lancaster, England when John Toms was found guilty of murder just by using a torn edge of newspaper in the murder weapon (a pistol) that matched newspaper in his pocket in 1784. Over time in the 1800’s the field of forensic science saw substantial progress. In 1832 chemist James Marsh was asked to test coffee for the poison arsenic by the prosecutor in order to prove the defendant, John Bodle had killed his grandfather using this method. Even though after trial the defendant later confessed, the jury wasn’t convinced of the accuracy of the test at the time so they acquitted him. This angered and infuriated James so much he was determined to come up with a better way to test for arsenic. He successfully came up the Marsh Test which actually made arsenic poisoning murder rarer because the fear of being caught was more likely to happen. In 1880 William James Herschel and Henry Faulds published a paper in the British scientific journal Nature describing the uniqueness of each person’s

However, back in the 1980s, detailed studies were done to try to accomplish this task. One specific comprehensive study was done in 1984 by Peterson et al. In this study, the analysts found that physical evidence was discovered in only about twenty to thirty percent of serious crimes (Peterson, 2013). When each of the crimes were studied separately, however, they found that only crimes such as homicide, drug, or rape resulted in a large chance of physical evidence being found at the crime (Peterson, 2013). Cases such as attempted murder, burglaries, and robberies yielded lower chances of the retrieval of physical evidence from the crime (Peterson, 2013). When considering all of these possible crimes, the most commonly collected evidence were controlled substances, and then in lesser amounts, there was other physical evidence such as blood, hair, firearms, and fingerprints (Peterson, 2013).

“Forensic science has become in the early 21st century what the space race was in the 1960s- an accessible and inspiring (Gaensslen) into the world of science” (Gaensslen ix). This may be true but forensic has not always existed forever. Many people began hearing about forensic science during the 1990s when many of crime shows became popular. In actuality forensic science goes as far back as ancient China. Sculptors used fingerprints to identify their artwork from that of others. This may not be what forensics has evolved into but it had to begin somewhere. The first text reference of forensics first showed up in Hsi Duan Yu, which was published in about 700 CE (Hunter 18). It noted that many bodies have various characteristics that make them different. Many of the early forensic advances took place in the 1700 and 1800s. In 1784 the physical matching of evidence began. It was first used in the case of John Toms to link him and a piece of pistol wadding to a murder (Lotter). From then on forensics began to grow exponentially. “A major landmark in forensic science, the discovery that

The idea of using the science has been started before the debuting of Sherlock Holmes in 1887, who had introduced about the forensic science to help criminal investigation. In history, the work of forensic scientists was performed by medical personnel. Until the end of eighteenth century, the attempts of French medical jurist Antoine Louis, crime solving Chinese book “ Hsi Duan Yu”(the washing way of wrongs), etc gave ideas about determining time of death, analyzing blood stain, identifying chemical used in crime, etc. After eighteenth century, the modern chemistry paved new way of identifying crime like the idea of measuring height, length of right ear and outstretched

Forensic science has become the greatest collective method for intelligence gathering of human identifiers. The forensic sciences are used around the world to resolve civil disputes, to justly the enforcement of criminal laws and government regulations, and to protect public health. Over the years, judges have trusted forensic methods without a second thought. DNA analysis is the most reliable method that forensic has, but how reliable is it? (Jonathan Jones, pbs). According to a group called The Innocence Project, “Misapplication of forensic science is the second most common contributing factor to wrongful convictions, found in nearly half (46%) of DNA exoneration cases” (Innocence project).

There are times when certain forms of evidence, such as blood and fingerprints, need to be obtained before the accused has time to destroy them (Inabau 2).

Forensic science in the 1940s - 1970s is still being used today to determine the suspect of a crime. During the late 1900s, Forensic scientist began to determine different pieces of evidence that could lead them to the suspect of a crime. Scientist began to realized that they could use technology to help them identify suspects of a murder. According to Elkins Kelly, “ Forensic science is a broad field that includes the discipline of pathology, psychiatry, engineering, computer science, toxicology, odontology, anthropology, and botany, as well as the chemical, physical and biological sciences.”(Kelly,1). Scientist have identified new ways to determine the suspect of crimes. Voice recordings became very essential in the 1940s -1970s as evidence

Crime scenes are known to have many clues left behind. The obvious would be a the body or bodies, clothing, and sometimes even the murder weapon. While these are great way to solve a case there's another kind of evidence; trace evidence. Trace evidence are small pieces of evidence that are laying around a crime scene. There are many types of trace evidence some of them include metal filings, plastic fragments, gunshot residue, glass fragments, feathers, food stains, building materials, lubricants, fingernail scrapings, pollens and spores, cosmetics, chemicals, paper fibers and sawdust, human and animal hairs, plant and vegetable fibers, blood and other body fluids, asphalt or tar, vegetable fats and oils, dusts and other airborne

In the United States, crimes are constantly being committed. Some of the crimes that are committed are simple, and other crimes are extremely complex. Every complex crime comes with its own challenges in distinguishing material evidence. Some evidence can be tiny as a hair, or a fiber that can be located on a piece of clothing or carpet. Even though, the size of the evidence is not important, the information that it provides investigators is crucial to finding the suspect of the crime. With the assistance of trace evidence, investigators can obtain the small particles that can transfer from two objects come together. Collecting material from any crime scene can yield a plethora of information. However, by properly collecting material evidence like the tire print impression, pubic hairs, multiple dog hairs, and foreign fibers. Investigators, were able to convict Cecil Sutherland for kidnapping, sexual assault, and three counts of murder.

Forensic science is helpful for three prime reasons it helps exonerate the innocent, prove the guilty, and helps identify individuals.

Fingerprinting was still in the process of being developed. A classification scheme appeared in 1901 and first used in a trial in the UK in 1902. Dental records were non-existent and blood grouping only developed after the identification of the different types in 1901. From that it became possible to serologically identify other body fluids. DNA was not discovered until 1953 and the unique identification of individuals by DNA profiling did not follow until 1985. In 1910, an important principle of forensic science was established by Edmund Locart who suggested that every contact leaves a trace; a criminal will always carry away with him some trace from the scene of the crime and will leave behind some trace of his presence. This is the very foundation of forensic science that has led to the

A segment of the Forensic Science in the Criminal equity organization that the vast majority acquainted with these days, however, few individuals know how this particular science came to be. Overall, legal science is intended to utilize experimental standards to clarify obscure parts of a wrongdoing. Through the utilization of uncommon tests and lab gear that permits researchers to recognize decisively different parts of a bit of confirmation in an illegal behavior. On the off chance that you occupied with finding out about how this procedure came to fruition, you have to peruse the recorded data underneath. Here is a brief history

Today, more than ever, the quality of evidence in criminal cases is scrutinized because of contamination. Contamination is the introduction of something that physically corrupts a substance at a crime scene that was not previously there; it comes in many forms and most often times comes from the humans who investigate a crime scene. It is imperative that prevention of cross-contamination is implemented when gathering evidence. Several of the more sensitive forensic techniques such as trace analysis, bloodspatter interpretation, and DNA comparison are not being used to their fullest potential. Items of physical crime scene evidence are not always visible to the naked eye and may be easily overlooked so deliberate and methodical approach to collection and preservation of evidence is essential. Prosecutors have lost cases due to crime scene contamination; this could be prevented by simple and productive behaviors. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a leading case on physical evidence, stated:

Evidence plays a major role usually in trail of a case. Several types of evidence can be used. Evidence can be divided into two categories – Testimonial evidence and Physical evidence. Physical evidence is one type of such evidence; this evidence can be brought to court room for observation during trails. This is the most important evidence. Physical evidence is also known as real evidence, they consist tangible article from tiny microscopic to macroscopic evidence from large building to molecules in air. It can be in solid, gas or liquid form. Advances in forensic science have increased the use of physical evidence