Forensic medicine involves collecting and analyzing evidence for legal proceedings. It includes various specialized fields such as computer forensics and forensic psychiatry. Forensic evidence is critical as it is unbiased and robust. The field is vast and requires specialists in different areas. Forensic evidence is considered one of the most compelling pieces of evidence for any prosecutor or defense attorney. However, some suggest that public awareness of forensic science could compromise law enforcement.
Forensic medicine is a science dedicated to the methodical collection and analysis of evidence to establish facts that can be presented in a legal proceeding. Although crime scenes and laboratories are perhaps most often associated with forensics, computer or network forensics, forensic accounting, forensic engineering, and forensic psychiatry are among other specialized fields.
In the United States, forensics was a fairly murky subject to the general public until the double murder trial of Orenthal James Simpson in 1995. In a case that gripped the nation, months of testimony were heard about DNA blood evidence, fingerprints of shoes, fiber evidence and other forensic investigations. Since then, a number of forensics-based television shows have regularly topped the ratings, making forensics a household word.
Forensic evidence collectors must follow rigorous procedures to protect evidence from contamination and destruction and to maintain chain of custody. Because the science is unbiased and robust, forensics are considered a very critical part of any investigation. While witnesses can often be wrong, have credibility issues, participate in the outcome, have faded memories, or even die, forensics “tells the same story” no matter how many times it’s tested or how many years have passed.
The field of forensics is so vast that it requires specialists or criminals in everything from tire track analysis, to dentistry, to the lands and grooves that make each gun barrel unique. From microscopic evidence and transfer evidence such as fibers and hair, to blood spatter and forensic entomology, there are many fields of expertise.
Although forensics deals with circumstantial evidence, it is widely considered to be one of the best and most compelling pieces of evidence any prosecutor or defense attorney could have in their arsenal. Some people have suggested that public awareness of forensic science could potentially be compromising law enforcement, producing educated criminals who may be more inclined to try to clean up the crime scene. Experts generally argue that it is nearly impossible to avoid leaving a trail at a crime scene, despite extraordinary efforts.
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