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A Comprehensive Overview Of The Forensic Science Community And The Legal System

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Forensic firearm examination is a vital component of criminal investigations, serving to connect firearms to crime scenes and identify potential suspects. However, the reliability and validity of forensic firearm examination methods have been subjects of debate and scrutiny within the forensic science community and the legal system. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the validation process for forensic firearm examination methods, examining the challenges that come with validation and the implications for forensic procedures and legal proceedings. The validation process for forensic firearm examination methods involves establishing the accuracy, reliability, and reproducibility of these techniques. This requires rigorous …show more content…

This information is critical for establishing the weapon's characteristics and linking it to a specific individual or incident. If a firearm is recovered from a suspect, forensic examination can determine if it matches ballistic evidence collected from the crime scene. This linking of the firearm to the crime can provide crucial evidence against the suspect. The reliability and validity of forensic firearm examinations are pivotal and essential aspects that directly impact the integrity of legal proceedings. Without in depth, scientific reliability and validity measures, the forensic evidence presented in court could potentially mislead judges and jurors, leading to unjust verdicts. Forensic practitioners must adhere to established protocols and quality assurance measures to ensure the credibility of their findings. Additionally, ongoing training and proficiency testing are essential for maintaining the competence of firearm examiners and upholding the integrity of forensic analysis. Forensic experts who conduct firearm examinations often testify in court as expert witnesses. Their testimony regarding the analysis, findings, and interpretation of firearm …show more content…

On the other hand, discrepancies or weaknesses in the forensic analysis may raise reasonable doubt and favor the defendant (Bolton-King, 2016). Conclusion: Reliability and validity are critical considerations in forensic firearm examination, influencing the accuracy and credibility of forensic evidence presented in legal proceedings.Despite its importance, the field of forensic firearm identification has faced criticism regarding its scientific foundation. Skeptics argue that traditional methods lack the rigor and standardization necessary to be considered truly scientific. However, dismissing forensic firearm examination entirely would not only disregard its historical significance but also deprive the legal system of a valuable tool in investigating firearm-related crimes. Validity in forensic firearm examination is essential for maintaining the integrity of criminal investigations and ensuring justice in the legal system. Ensuring the validity of forensic firearm examination techniques is paramount in upholding the principles of justice. Validity encompasses not only the accuracy and precision of the methods, but also their ability to reliably distinguish between firearms and link them to specific cases. By adopting stringent

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The reliability and admissibility of evidence becomes a foundation to this truth as any evidence presented cannot contain elements which can provide doubt towards the validity of the prosecution. This can be shown through guideline 14 of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions agreement to provide advice for the NSW police towards the legal limitations or consequences of evidence obtained during the course of an investigation (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions n.d). Identification evidence in particular has a lower weight and strength for admission to a court due to the fallibility and circumstantial nature of witnesses. The admissibility of identification evidence was previously determined by judges based on its quality with case law such as R v. Christie providing principles for discretionary powers for admissibility and Alexander v. R providing methods satisfactory to the court for identification such as identification parades under common law. (R v. Christie 1914; Alexander v. R 1981).

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Goddard determined that the guns used in the murders were not any that were possessed by the Chicago police. Then, over ten months later, two guns were discovered in the home of a known criminal and Goddard determined through forensic ballistics that both of them were used in the murders. This event was extremely impactful to the field of forensic science. The attention that was brought to the case also extended to Dr. Goddard and forensic ballistics. This attention also brought funding to Dr. Goddard's lab which allowed him to fund more research in the field.

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Lack of physical evidence: Overall in this case there was a lack of physical presented. There were no conclusive DNA results in the case. There was no weapon recovered. The majority of the evidence presented in this case was circumstantial evidence produce by witness testimony.

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This first analysis paper will be based on the case of The Murder of Stanley Van Wagner. This case involves a husband, Stanley Van Wagner, who was found dead on May 15, 2015, with bullet shot wounds. The perpetrator involves Stanley’s wife, Amy, who was charged with the murder of her husband. All of the inculpatory evidence found at the scene where Wagner was found, points to Amy as the murderer, that is from the gun that was used, a .380 caliber handgun. After some investigating, it was found that Amy had a registration for the exact same type of handgun.

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In this paper I will be comparing contrasting two various aspects of forensic sciences used, and talking about the different tactics used to identify suspects; as well as the contrasts between the two methods. The man I will be talking about is John Wayne Gacy. The two methods I will be going over are, Finger print DNA and Forensic toxicology. These two are very similar, but made substantial differences in the evidence in his case. John Wayne Gacy was a murderer from Chicago, Illinois.

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The evidence handler’s evidence for the shell casing group was determined to be admissible. The witness was knowledgeable on the examination of shell casings and remained truthful in her answers. She did not try to testify on information she was unsure about. She had concluded that the shell casings from the scene had similar characteristics to a shell casing shot from the gun found on Scooter Davis. This meant that Scooter Davis could not be excluded from being the perpetrator.

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The fact the there are other prints on the weapon does not prove anything, moreover that may have been his plan to clear himself of suspicion. But non the less his prints are still on the murder weapon and he alone has the strongest motive for murder and has the most evidence stacked against his claim of innocence. This claim of defense is practically irrelevant considering the ample amount of evidence proving the defense is in fact

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With ballistics, they observed the ammunition and could project where the victims where, when they were shot and where the criminal was placed. They can also check the ammunition and weapons and trace them to their exact location of the sale and who sold it. Well the only testimonial evidence was all the interviews that happened after the crime, which helped the sheriff’s office put together what had happened. They could not be used to convict the criminals because they committed suicide before they were arrested. The only evidence that was used to convict someone was the ballistics report which helped the police see who sold the guns to Dylan and

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While her actions of obtaining a permit, firearm and shooting lessons were justifiable, the evidence of ammunition beyond the contents of her loaded gun, made it clear of her

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The fiber evidence played the most critical role in the prosecution of Wayne Williams (Case Study, n.d.). Based mostly on the fiber evidence, the jury members for this case found Mr. Williams guilty for the murders of two people and punished him severely with two-life sentencing (Case Study, n.d.). These tiny fibers that became the highlight of the evidence matched the victims to Wayne Williams home and automobile (The Atlanta, n.d.). The prosecution was able to show the jury a total of 19 separate fibers that linked Williams to the victims (The Atlanta, n.d.). The forensic evidence showed the high probability these fibers matched areas of Williams home such as his bedroom and bathroom to personal items such as gloves and clothing articles (The Atlanta, n.d.).

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Processes and Testing Methods for Forensic Tools

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Circumstantial evidence has proven to be powerful where there is little or no direct evidence, and is also more credible in relation to error rates of wrongfully convicted crimes. However, the use of

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Crime Scene Reconstruction (CSR) Case Studies Proving Murder Case 1 A man shot his father using a pistol. The bullet grazed the left forearm and the entry wound was on the left side of the abdomen; there was no exit wound as the bullet was obstructed by the right pelvic bone. The man claimed that the shot was accidental and due to falling when his father pushed him. A three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction was necessary to identify whether the case was intentional or not. CSR of Case 1

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In the case where a decaying corpse found in a living room in his apartment for around two weeks. The medical examiner’s discovered patterned injuries on three patterned bone wounds on the individuals’ skullcap consistent with blunt force trauma. The detectives assigned found bloodstains on the carpet, ceiling, furniture, and in the kitchen. After a 3D scanner used to document the scene, then feed into a software program. Paradoxically, the data along with the medical examiner report the recognized injuries are as a result of being struck by the butt end of a gun.

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The frequent and reckless use of firearms by extremists’ elements in some areas of the world has assumed an almost new dimension. A firearm expert has, therefore, to play an increasingly important role in criminal investigation. To meet the challenge posed by trigger happy anti-social elements, the science of “FORENSIC BALLISTICS” covers the science of identification of firearms and ammunition – application of this science to solve problems connected with incidents in criminal investigation. Whereas ‘BALLISTICS’, a branch of ‘Applied physics’, means the science of motion of projectiles, the word ‘FORENSIC’ is synonyms to legal and is, therefore, more appropriate in this context. The phrase ‘Forensic Ballistics’ was first coined by Colonel Goddard of the United States Of

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