Forensic Law Casebook

"Forensic Law Casebook: Judicial Reasoning and the Application of Forensic Science in Criminal Cases fills the current void by reviewing actual case law and translating the practical application of science to the courtroom. Each chapter represents a unique forensic discipline, providing a short introduction to the subject matter, the relevant case law and court cases that pertain to that subject area, and posing a variety of questions and issues to the student. All cases provided contains a sufficient portion of the legal decision-and its implications to the evidence and analytical practices of that discipline-in order to then pose critical and analytical questions to the student, once they have fully read the case material and the decision, and considered its implications"--

Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases is the sixth edition of an authoritative work that has defined and shaped scientific evidence for four decades. This practical resource covers the law associated with scientific evidence, as well as the underlying principles of the forensic science disciplines most frequently encountered in the courtroom. It explains the capabilities and limitations of the forensic science methodologies and discusses controversial and emerging issues both in the forensic science community and in the legal system. For each discipline, the standards and qualifications of experts are presented along with the current status of admissibility and applicable evidentiary law.

THE ULTIMATE READERS’ GUIDE TO THE ART OF FORENSICS! An intrepid investigator crawls through miles of air conditioning ducts to capture the implicating fibers of a suspect’s wool jacket . . . A forensic entomologist discovers insects in the grill of a car and nails down a drug dealer’s precise geographical path . . . A gluttonous criminal’s fingerprints are lifted from a chocolate truffle. . . . Filled with these and many other intriguing true stories, and packed with black and white illustrations and photographs, The Forensic Casebook draws on interviews with police personnel and forensic scientists—including animal examiners, botanists, zoologists, firearms specialists, and autoposists—to uncover the vast and detailed underworkings of criminal investigation. Encyclopedic in scope, this riveting, authoritative book leaves no aspect of forensic science untouched, covering such fascinating topics as: • Securing a crime scene • Identifying blood splatter patterns • Collecting fingerprints—and feet, lip, and ear prints • Interpreting the stages of a body’s decay • Examining hair and fiber evidence • Trace evidence from firearms and explosives • “Lifting” DNA prints • Computer crime and forensic photography • Career paths in criminal science Lucidly written and spiked with real crime stories, The Forensic Casebook exposes the nitty gritty that other books only touch upon. Here is a reference book as addictive as a page-turning novel of suspense.

While there are several texts that focus on forensic science techniques and applications, there are few to no quality books that adequately address the judicial interpretation of forensic legal and scientific principles. The field of forensic science and law has long been in need of a historic casebook. Forensic Law Casebook: Judicial Reasoning and the Application of Forensic Science in Criminal Cases fills the current void by reviewing actual case law and translating the practical application of science to the courtroom. Each chapter represents a unique forensic discipline, providing a short introduction to the subject matter, the relevant case law and court cases that pertain to that subject area and posing a variety of questions and issues to the student. All cases provided contain a sufficient portion of the legal decision - and its implications to the evidence and analytical practices of that discipline - in order to then pose critical and analytical questions to the student, once they have fully read the case material and the decision and considered its implications. Each chapter ends its theoretical examination with real-world experience encountered by those laboring in the investigative and collection processes - as well as problems or challenges encountered by those employed in the office of the prosecutor, public defender, medical examiner or other aligned office. This last section of each chapter gives true meaning and impact as to how forensic law decision-making impacts forensic practitioners, and a true understanding of the responsibility placed on law enforcement, investigators and scientists tasked with collecting, preserving and analyzing the evidence. Forensic Law Casebook provides the reader with an array of legal cases and decisions that lay out the parameters of forensic law and its evidentiary value. In the end, what emerges from this are the bedrock principles that guide current forensic evidence and the admissibility of various practices common to the field applications of forensic science. Practitioners, law students, undergraduate and graduate students in compatible majors - as well as law and university libraries - will benefit from this essential reference and adjunct to anyone studying forensic science, criminalistics and the law.

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) continues to develop and expand as a specialization. Since the publication of the First Edition of Forensic Mental Health Assessment: A Casebook over a decade ago, there have been a number of significant changes in the applicable law, ethics, science, and practice that have shaped the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of FMHA. The Second Edition of Forensic Mental Health Assessment is thoroughly updated in light of the developments and changes in the field, while still keeping the unique structure of presenting cases, detailed reports, and specific teaching points on a wide range of topics. Unlike anything else in the literature, it provides genuine (although disguised) case material, so trainees as well as legal and mental health professionals can review how high-quality forensic evaluation reports are written; it features contributions from leading experts in forensic psychology and psychiatry, providing samples of work in their particular areas of specialization; and it discusses case material in the larger context of broad foundational principles and specific teaching points, making it a valuable resource for teaching, training, and continuing education. Now featuring 50 real-world cases, this new edition covers topics including criminal responsibility, sexual offending risk evaluation, federal sentencing, capital sentencing, capacity to consent to treatment, personal injury, harassment and discrimination, guardianship, juvenile commitment, transfer and decertification, response style, expert testimony, evaluations in a military context, and many more. It will be invaluable for anyone involved in assessments for the courts, including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and attorneys, as well as for FMHA courses.

This book, as the first one did, will bring readers behind the scenes of the show, talk about cases never before shown, talk about the major forensic breakthroughs of Forensic Science, have a glossary of important terms, talk about the cutting edge research that we can only imagine right now have exclusive photos from the archives of FORENSIC FILES as well. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.