Forensic Justice

Forensic Justice PDF Author: Beulah Shekhar
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040017320
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 519

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Book Description
Forensic science is playing an increasingly important role in criminal investigations, as it provides scientific methods and techniques to gather and analyse evidence from crime scenes. Forensic evidence can be crucial in identifying suspects, linking them to the crime scene, and helping to secure convictions in court. In this sense, forensic science is seen as an aid to criminal investigation, providing reliable and objective evidence that can be used to uncover the truth behind criminal activities. The integration of forensic science with law and criminology is creating a new era of progressive thinking, where advanced techniques are being developed to better understand the nature of crime and the behaviour of criminals. With the help of forensic science, investigators can obtain speedy justice and bring criminals to book. However, this requires appropriate measures to be taken for the efficient execution of forensic investigations, including the use of modern technology and the training of professionals in the latest forensic techniques. Given the importance of forensic science in the criminal justice system, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of its different aspects. This includes the collection, preservation, and analysis of forensic evidence, as well as the interpretation of this evidence in the context of criminal investigations. This book covers these topics in detail, providing valuable insights for professionals, practitioners, academics, and students of the related fields.

Introduction to Forensic DNA Evidence for Criminal Justice Professionals

Introduction to Forensic DNA Evidence for Criminal Justice Professionals PDF Author: Jane Moira Taupin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 143989910X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
The use of DNA profiling in forensic cases has been considered the most innovative technique in forensic science since fingerprinting, yet for those with limited scientific knowledge, understanding DNA enough to utilize it properly can be a daunting task. Introduction to Forensic DNA Evidence for Criminal Justice Professionals is designed for nonsc

Forensic Science and Law

Forensic Science and Law PDF Author: Cyril H. Wecht
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420058118
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 728

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Book Description
Forensic science has undergone dramatic progress in recent years, including in the areas of DNA collection and analysis and the reconstruction of crime scenes. However, too few professionals are equipped with the knowledge necessary to fully apply the potential of science in civil, criminal, and family legal matters. Featuring contributions from renowned experts in the forensic, scientific, and legal professions, Forensic Science and Law: Investigative Applications in Criminal, Civil, and Family Justice communicates the wide range of methods and approaches used for achieving justice in these circumstances. A solid grounding in the underlying principles of our legal system provides a context for understanding how these methods are applied. The book brings together the words and thoughts of diverse professionals whose common goal is to uncover the truth. About the editors... Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D., is actively involved as a medical-legal and forensic science consultant, author, and lecturer. Currently coroner of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, he is certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology and is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. Dr. Wecht is a Clinical Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Graduate School of Public Health, an Adjunct Professor at Duquesne University Schools of Law, Pharmacy and Health Services, and a Distinguished Professor at Carlow University. He is a past president of both the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Dr. Wecht is the author of more than 500 professional publications and has appeared as a guest on numerous national television and radio talk shows. John T. Rago, J.D., is Assistant Professor of Law at Duquesne University School of Law and the Director of both The Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law and the Law School’s Post-conviction DNA Project. He teaches criminal law and procedure to law students and graduate courses on wrongful convictions, foundations in American law and constitutional criminal procedure to students in the university’s Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences. Professor Rago also serves as an appointed member to the Innocence Project’s Policy Group of the Cardozo School of Law in New York. He is admitted to practice before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Forensic Science

Forensic Science PDF Author: Lindsey E. Carmichael
Publisher: Essential Library
ISBN: 9781624035616
Category : Criminal investigation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This title presents the history of forensics. Vivid text details how early studies of toxic chemicals and firearm analysis led to modern scientific crime solving techniques. It also puts a spotlight on the brilliant scientists who made these advances possible. Useful sidebars, rich images, and a glossary help readers understand the science and its importance. Maps and diagrams provide context for critical discoveries in the field. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Forensic Identification and Criminal Justice

Forensic Identification and Criminal Justice PDF Author: Carole McCartney
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134013302
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
This book provides an account of the development of forensic identification technologies and the way in which this has impacted upon the legal system. It traces the advent of forensic identification technologies, focusing on fingerprinting and forensic DNA typing, and their growing deployment within the criminal justice system. It also elucidates the ways in which these new technologies are accelerating procedural changes to investigative practices, and shows the ways in which in some areas human rights (such as privacy rights and rights against discrimination) are coming under threat. The use of forensic evidence in criminal investigations and trials is analysed in detail. This book uncovers the way in which this new reliance on forensic technologies has gained a foothold within the criminal justice system, and the risks and dangers that this can pose. The National DNA Database provides a particular focus of attention. The author seeks to move beyond an approach that has seen forensic DNA profiling as error free, situating her analysis within broader risk discourses.

Forensic Science and the Administration of Justice

Forensic Science and the Administration of Justice PDF Author: Kevin J. Strom
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1483324400
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Uniting forensics, law, and social science in meaningful and relevant ways, Forensic Science and the Administration of Justice, by Kevin J. Strom and Matthew J. Hickman, is structured around current research on how forensic evidence is being used and how it is impacting the justice system. This unique book—written by nationally known scholars in the field—includes five sections that explore the demand for forensic services, the quality of forensic services, the utility of forensic services, post-conviction forensic issues, and the future role of forensic science in the administration of justice. The authors offer policy-relevant directions for both the criminal justice and forensic fields and demonstrate how the role of the crime laboratory in the American justice system is evolving in concert with technological advances as well as changing demands and competing pressures for laboratory resources.

Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System

Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System PDF Author: M. Chris Fabricant
Publisher: Akashic Books
ISBN: 1636140386
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant presents an insider’s journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role junk science plays in maintaining the status quo. Praise from John Grisham, author of A Time for Mercy: "No one in America will ever know the number of innocent people convicted, sent to prison, and even executed because of the flood of rotten forensics and bogus scientific opinions presented to juries. In this intriguing and beautifully crafted book, Innocence Project lawyer M. Chris Fabricant illustrates how wrongful convictions occur, and he makes it obvious how they could be prevented." "Fierce and absorbing . . . Fabricant chronicles the battles he and his colleagues have fought to unravel a century of fraudulent experts and the bad court decisions that allowed them to thrive." —Washington Post "Junk Science is a book that should be on every true-crime reader's shelves. It is an eye-opening and infuriating tour through the failed idealism of forensic science as a discipline, how certain techniques like analyzing fibers and bite marks wilt under scrutiny, and how the criteria for 'experts' in a courtroom can be laughable at best and dangerous at worst, causing scores of innocent people to lose decades behind bars (or, in some heartbreaking instances, their lives.)." —Slate, one of "The Best New True Crime That Won't Make You Feel Gross" From CSI to Forensic Files to the celebrated reputation of the FBI crime lab, forensic scientists have long been mythologized in American popular culture as infallible crime solvers. Juries put their faith in "expert witnesses" and innocent people have been executed as a result. Innocent people are still on death row today, condemned by junk science. In 2012, the Innocence Project began searching for prisoners convicted by junk science, and three men, each convicted of capital murder, became M. Chris Fabricant's clients. Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System chronicles the fights to overturn their wrongful convictions and to end the use of the "science" that destroyed their lives. Weaving together courtroom battles from Mississippi to Texas to New York City and beyond, Fabricant takes the reader on a journey into the heart of a broken, racist system of justice and the role forensic science plays in maintaining the status quo. At turns gripping, enraging, illuminating, and moving, Junk Science is a meticulously researched insider's perspective of the American criminal justice system. Previously untold stories of wrongful executions, corrupt prosecutors, and quackery masquerading as science animate Fabricant’s true crime narrative.

Forensic Science in Court

Forensic Science in Court PDF Author: Hon. Donald Shelton
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 1442201894
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
Forensic Science in Court explores the legal implications of forensic science—an increasingly important and complex part of the justice system. Judge Donald Shelton provides an accessible overview of the legal aissues, from the history of evidence in court, to "gatekeeper" judges determining what evidence can be allowed, to the "CSI effect" in juries. The book describes and evaluates various kinds of evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, handwriting, hair, bite marks, tool marks, firearms and bullets, fire and arson investigation, and bloodstain evidence. Assessing the strengths and limitations of each kind of evidence, the author also discusses how they can contribute to identifying the "who," "how," and "whether" questions that arise in criminal prosecutions. Author Donald Shelton draws on the depth of his experiences as courtroom prosecutor, professor, and judge, to provide a well-rounded look at these increasingly critical issues. Case studies throughout help bring the issues to life and show how forensic science has been used, both successfully and not, in real-world situations.

Forensic Justice

Forensic Justice PDF Author: William Harvey Lippert
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1412021820
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
Forensic Justice features latent fingerprint evidence and its importance in criminal investigations. Contents include true sex crime stories and prevention tips. A must for women to be made aware of.

Miscarriages of Justice

Miscarriages of Justice PDF Author: Brent E. Turvey
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0124095283
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
Miscarriages of justice are a regular occurrence in the criminal justice system, which is characterized by government agencies that are understaffed, underfunded, and undertrained across the board. We know this because, every week, DNA testing and innocence projects across the United States help to identify and eventually overturn wrongful convictions. As a result, the exonerated go free and the stage is set for addressing criminal and civil liability. Criminal justice students and professionals therefore have a need to be made aware of the miscarriage problem as a threshold issue. They need to know what a miscarriage of justice looks like, how to recognize it's many forms, and what their duty of care might be in terms of prevention. They also need to appreciate that identifying miscarriages, and ensuring legal remedy, is an important function of the system that must be honored by all criminal justice professionals. The purpose of this textbook is to move beyond the law review, casebook, and true crime publications that comprise the majority of miscarriage literature. While informative, they are not designed for teaching students in a classroom setting. This text is written for use at the undergraduate level in journalism, sociology, criminology and criminal justice programs - to introduce college students to the miscarriage phenomenon in a structured fashion. The language is more broadly accessible than can be found in legal texts, and the coverage is multidisciplinary. Miscarriages of Justice: Actual Innocence, Forensic Evidence, and the Law focuses on the variety of miscarriages issues in the United States legal system. Written by leaders in the field, it is particularly valuable to forensic scientists and attorneys evaluating evidence or preparing for trial or appeal in cases where faulty evidence features prominently. It is also of value to those interested in developing arguments for miscarriage in post-conviction review of criminal cases. Chapters focus specifically on issues of law enforcement bias and corruption; false confessions; ineffective counsel and prosecutorial misconduct; forensic fraud; and more. The book closes by examining innocence projects and commissions, and civil remedies for the wrongfully convicted. This text ultimately presents the issue of miscarriages as a systemic and multi-disciplinary criminal justice issue. It provides perspectives from within the professional CJ community, and it serves as warning to future professionals about the dangers and consequences of apathy, incompetence, and neglect. Consequently, it can be used by any CJ educator to introduce any group of CJ students to the problem. Written by practicing criminal justice professionals in plain language for undergraduate students Covers multiple perspectives across the criminal justice system Informed by experience working for Innocence Projects across the United States to achieve successful exonerations Topical case examples to facilitate teaching and learning Companion website featuring Discussion topics, Exam questions and PowerPoint slides: http://textbooks.elsevier.com/web/Manuals.aspx?isbn=9780124115583