LEC02 A Brief History of Forensic Science PDF

A Brief History of Forensic Science LEC02 – Monday September 9th FRSC2030H – Foundations in Forensic Science  Lab Schedule Posted LAB01 Begins this week Course Update TAs Confirmed Contact info posted this week ...

A Brief History of Forensic Science LEC02 – Monday September 9th FRSC2030H – Foundations in Forensic Science  Lab Schedule Posted LAB01 Begins this week Course Update TAs Confirmed Contact info posted this week  Little to no evidence Confessions Ancient History Coerced Eyewitness testimony Torture Ancient History - Egypt Ancient Egypt Law Two processes 1. Number of reliable witnesses willing to testify 2. Consultation with oracles Doubt? Post-mortem examination Removing examining organs Ancient History – Ancient Jewish law Jewish Religious Does not admit confession No Torture! Law Ancient History - Romans Ancient Roman law Onus of proof Wealth tied to competence to testify Roman judiciaries allowed to judge Torture widespread! Archimedes – 300-200 BC Archimede’s Principle Boyancy force = weight of displaced fluid European Medieval Law Theory of evidence Grades of proof (a case) Formation of Jury Considered uncertainty Weighing scheme or process of summation of evidence Some torture… Washing Away of Wrongs – Song Tz'u 13th Century Regulation for autopsies To determine possible cause of death Protection of evidence Impartiality to the public Basic PMI Anthropological Information Entomological Evidence Sickle Quaestiones medico-legales – Zacchia (17th Century) Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine Worked for Papal States Physician to Popes Eliminated natural causes first Examined disorders Toxicology – Orfila 18th Century Spanish chemist Founder of toxicology Basic principles of modern medicine & pharmacology Textbook on poisons Traité des Poisons Tirés des Règnes Minéral, Végétal et Animal ou Toxicologie Générale (A treatise on poisons found in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, or, a general system of toxicology) Improved March test for Arsenic Lafarge case Anthropometry – Bertilion (1879) Identification Systematic procedure for body measurements Most accurate method for over 2 decades Some practices still used today Replaced in 1900s Mona Lisa stolen (1911) With fingerprinting Lacassagne – ~1870-1910 Precis de medicine Judeciaire (1878) “One must know how to doubt.” Chair of Médecine Légale de la Faculté de Lyon Founded Journal Archives de L’Anthropology Criminelle Several disciplines Toxicology Ballistics Anthropology Urged for collaboration “between men of law and men of science” “Experts are the most important auxiliaries of an Investigating Officer, and in some way or other they nearly always are the main factor in deciding a case.” Many major cases Assassination of President Sadi Carnot Joseph Vacher  19th Century 1835 1879 1893 Ballistics Bertilion Hans Gross Bow Street Runners Anthropometry Public prosecutor Compared bullet molds Criminal Investigations, a Practical Textbook Leone Lattes Francis Galton Blood groups Lacassagne Finger prints – classification system Dried bloodstain simple procedure Precis de medicine Judeciaire Comparison microscope (1915) 1878 1892 1901  Early 20th Century 1901 1910 1929 Edward Henry Edmond Locard Calvin Goddard Established Metropolitan Police Fingerprint "every contact leaves a trace" Introduction of forensic firearm Bureau First police forensic laboratory identification Exchange principle Comparison microscope ballistic evidence Walter C. McCrone Albert S. Osborn Microscopist Questioned documents Ronald Fisher “Father of microscopy” Primary reference Likeliohood ratios Cases 1910 1922 ~1950 20th Century DNA Extraction (1983) DNA Evidence Tommie Lee Andrews (1987) Colin Pitchfork (1986) PCR (1993) Comparison to other Evidence 2004 Spain Train Bombings Fingerprint isolated from detonator Brandon Mayfield Jailed for 2 weeks Unscientific approaches Paradigm Shift in Forensic Science