Forensic Scientists
Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences and technologies to investigate and establish facts of interest in relation to criminal or civil law. The word forensic comes from the Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum." In Roman times, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their sides of the story. The individual with the best argument and delivery would determine the outcome of the case. This origin is the source of the two modern usages of the word forensic – as a form of legal evidence and as a category of public presentation.
In modern use, the term "forensics" in the place of "forensic science" can be considered correct as the term "forensic" is effectively a synonym for "legal" or "related to courts". However the term is now so closely associated with the scientific field that many dictionaries include the meaning that equates the word "forensics" with "forensic science".
In the United States there are over 12,000 Forensic Science technicians, as of 2010.
Read more about Forensic Scientists: Subdivisions, Notable Forensic Scientists, Questionable Techniques, Litigation Science, Examples in Popular Culture, Controversies
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... Forensic pathologists were called to testify about the injuries to the head and anus on Kelvin's body and the likely cause of his death, and pharmacists gave evidence of the excessive amount of ... Forensic scientists were called next to testify firstly when Kelvin died and when his body was dumped in the Adelaide Hills area, and a leading ... Other forensic scientists were called to testify about the hair and fibre samples collected that were linked to von Einem himself and his home ...
... Questions about forensic science, fingerprint evidence and the assumption behind these disciplines have been brought to light in some publications, the ... - and with it may come a radical change in how forensic science is used by police departments and prosecutors." On 25 June 2009 the Supreme Court issued a 5-to-4 decision in Melendez-Diaz v ... Supreme Court cited the National Academies report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States in their decision ...
Famous quotes containing the word scientists:
“Maybe we were the blind mechanics of disaster, but you don’t pin the guilt on the scientists that easily. You might as well pin it on M motherhood.... Every man who ever worked on this thing told you what would happen. The scientists signed petition after petition, but nobody listened. There was a choice. It was build the bombs and use them, or risk that the United States and the Soviet Union and the rest of us would find some way to go on living.”
—John Paxton (1911–1985)