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 and Law

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

Get Book

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.

Legal and Forensic Medicine

Legal and Forensic Medicine PDF Author: Roy G. Beran
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783642323379
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This is a comprehensive reference text that examines the current state of Legal Medicine, which encompasses Forensic Medicine, in the 21st century. It examines the scope of both legal and forensic medicine, its application and study and has adopted a wide ranging approach including multinational authorship. It reviews the differences between and similarities of forensic and legal medicine, the need for academic qualification, the applications to many and varied fields including international aid, military medicine, health law and the application of medical knowledge to both criminal law and tort/civil law, sports medicine and law, gender and age related factors from obstetrics through to geriatrics and palliative care as well as cultural differences exploring the Christian/Judeo approach compared with that within Islamic cultures, Buddhism and Hinduism. The book looks at practical applications of legal medicine within various international and intercultural frameworks. This is a seminal authoritative text in legal and forensic medicine. It has a multi-author and multinational approach which crosses national boundaries. There is a great interest in the development of health law and legal medicine institutes around the world and this text comes in on the ground floor of this burgeoning discipline and provides the foundation text for many courses, both undergraduate and postgraduate. It defines the place of legal medicine as a specialized discipline.​

Forensic Evidence

Forensic Evidence PDF Author: Terrence F. Kiely
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420038060
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
Focusing on issues raised at Interpol‘s 14th Forensic Science Symposium, this volume offers a complete overview and analysis of the scientific and legal aspects of each of the forensic disciplines. It updates cases and discusses recent applications of Frye/Daubert, the admissibility of eyewitness identification, the explosion of cases and statutes addressing post-conviction DNA, the rise in attention to cold cases, and other challenges. This is the book that those in the forensic sciences need to have on hand to successfully prepare for what may await them in the courtroom.

The Law of Science and the Science of Law

The Law of Science and the Science of Law PDF Author: Bradley Myers
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781608768073
Category : Chemistry, Forensic
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This text presents eight examples to illustrate the legal and court procedures in which one of the authors, a chemist, acted as an expert witness. The examples of the cases chosen include drunk driving, house fires, poison products, floods, slip and fall and false advertising.

Forensic Science Evidence

Forensic Science Evidence PDF Author: Donald E. Shelton
Publisher: Criminal Justice: Recent Schol
ISBN: 9781593325176
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Shelton describes the startling questions that have arisen about the reliability of many forms of scientific evidence which were traditionally regarded as reliable and have been routinely admitted to prove guilt. The exonerations resulting from the development of DNA have exposed the lack of truswortiness of much of the "scientific" evidence that was used to convict people who turned out to be innocent. The Congressionally commissioned report of the National Academy of Sciences documented the lack of scientific basis in many of these areas. Nevertheless, Shelton discloses that many courts continue to routinely admit such evidence in criminal cases, in spite of the obligation of judges to be the "gatekeepers" of forensic science evidence. He explores reasons for that phenomenon and describes whether and how it might change in the future.

Forensic Testimony

Forensic Testimony PDF Author: C. Michael Bowers
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0123972604
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Forensic Testimony: Science, Law and Expert Evidence—favored with an Honorable Mention in Law & Legal Studies at the Association of American Publishers' 2015 PROSE Awards—provides a clear and intuitive discussion of the legal presentation of expert testimony. The book delves into the effects, processes, and battles that occur in the presentation of opinion and scientific evidence by court-accepted forensic experts. It provides a timely review of the United States Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) regarding expert testimony, and includes a multi-disciplinary look at the strengths and weaknesses in forensic science courtroom testimony. The statutes and the effects of judicial uses (or non-use) of the FRE, Daubert, Kumho, and the 2009 NAS Report on Forensic Science are also included. The presentation expands to study case law, legal opinions, and studies on the reliability and pitfalls of forensic expertise in the US court system. This book is an essential reference for anyone preparing to give expert testimony of forensic evidence. Honorable Mention in the 2015 PROSE Awards in Law & Legal Studies from the Association of American Publishers A multi-disciplinary forensic reference examining the strengths and weaknesses of forensic science in courtroom testimony Focuses on forensic testimony and judicial decisions in light of the Federal Rules of Evidence, case interpretations, and the NAS report findings Case studies, some from the Innocence Project, assist the reader in distinguishing good testimony from bad

Forensic Psychology and Law

Forensic Psychology and Law PDF Author: Ronald Roesch
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470570393
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Praise for Forensic Psychology and Law "In Forensic Psychology and Law, three internationally known experts provide exceptional coverage of a wide array of topics that address both the clinical applications of forensic psychology and the role of psychological science in understanding and evaluating legal assumptions and processes." —Norman Poythress, PhD, Research Director and Professor, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Dept. of Mental Health Law and Policy "Forensic Psychology and Law is a major contribution to the teaching of law and psychology. Roesch, Zapf, and Hart offer a timely, comprehensive, and succinct overview of the field that will offer widespread appeal to those interested in this vibrant and growing area. Outstanding." —Kirk Heilbrun, PhD, Professor and Head, Department of Psychology, Drexel University "In this volume, three noted experts have managed to capture the basic elements of forensic psychology. It is clearly written, well organized, and provides real world examples to hold the interest of any reader. While clarifying complex issues, the authors also present a very balanced discussion of a number of the most hotly debated topics." —Mary Alice Conroy, PhD, ABPP, Psychological Services Center, Sam Houston State University A Comprehensive, Up-to-Date Discussion of the Interface Between Forensic Psychology and Law Forensic Psychology and Law covers the latest theory, research, and practice in the field and provides thought-provoking discussion of topics with chapters on: Forensic assessment in criminal and civil domains Eyewitness identification Police investigations, interrogations, and confessions Correctional psychology Psychology, law, and public policy Ethics and professional issues

Forensic Science Under Siege

Forensic Science Under Siege PDF Author: Kelly Pyrek
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 9780080471075
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description
Forensic science laboratories' reputations have increasingly come under fire. Incidents of tainted evidence, false reports, allegations of negligence, scientifically flawed testimony, or - worse yet - perjury in in-court testimony, have all served to cast a shadow over the forensic sciences. Instances of each are just a few of the quality-related charges made in the last few years. Forensic Science Under Siege is the first book to integrate and explain these problematic trends in forensic science. The issues are timely, and are approached from an investigatory, yet scholarly and research-driven, perspective. Leading experts are consulted and interviewed, including directors of highly visible forensic laboratories, as well as medical examiners and coroners who are commandeering the discussions related to these issues. Interviewees include Henry Lee, Richard Saferstein, Cyril Wecht, and many others. The ultimate consequences of all these pressures, as well as the future of forensic science, has yet to be determined. This book examines these challenges, while also exploring possible solutions (such as the formation of a forensic science consortium to address specific legislative issues). It is a must-read for all forensic scientists. Provides insight on the current state of forensic science, demands, and future direction as provided by leading experts in the field Consolidates the current state of standards and best-practices of labs across disciplines Discusses a controversial topic that must be addressed for political support and financial funding of forensic science to improve

Forensic Science and the Law

Forensic Science and the Law PDF Author: Anna Sandiford
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781988591070
Category : Evidence (Law)
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
Like its well-regarded predecessor this new edition of Forensic Science and the Law: A Guide for Police, Lawyers and Expert Witnesses is an information resource providing practical information to readers about the key areas of forensic science encountered in criminal and traffic cases. Drawing on her experience as a forensic scientist, consultant and expert witness, Dr Anna Sandiford has written the book for non-scientists who need a non-technical explanation of the most common forensic science issues raised during the investigation and litigation stages of criminal and traffic proceedings.

Forensic Science in Court

Forensic Science in Court PDF Author: 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.