bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hearsay Evidence
Authors: Moenssens Andre 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
When oral or written statements are sought to be introduced as evidence in court proceedings conducted in a jurisdiction that follows Anglo‐Saxon common law, the rule against the use of hearsay evidence may, in limited cases, bar their admission. The rule has the greatest application in the United States, but also exists, to a somewhat lesser extent, in other adversary system countries. While the complex technicalities of the hearsay rules are of primary interest to attorneys and judges, expert witnesses must be somewhat familiar with the rule and the terms used, since objections on hearsay grounds may be made to the testimony they are asked to provide, to documents used in their examination, and to reports they have prepared.
Shaken Baby Syndrome
Authors: Squier Waney 
Published: September 2009

AbstractRecent pathological, clinical, and biomechanical evidence questions the validity of the shaken baby syndrome (SBS), usually diagnosed by finding the triad of retinal hemorrhage, encephalopathy, and subdural hemorrhage (SDH) in infants.Retinal hemorrhages have many other causes and are more common after the occurrence of natural disease and accidents than inflicted injury. Encephalopathy results from hypoxic‐ischemic injury rather than traumatic axonal injury.Trauma is a common cause of infant SDH, but there are other causes and a quarter of normal births are associated with SDH on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.SDH is usually a thin bilateral film, and its source is traditionally ascribed to torn bridging veins. This is unproven and rarely documented. The dura is an alternative source; bleeding into the dura is common in asphyxiated infants. SDH evolves into a reactive membrane containing thin‐walled capillaries. Recurrent bleeding into these membranes is seen on microscopy. Some SDH evolves into chronic fluid collections, the causes for which are unknown.Biomechanical studies have failed to show that shaking can cause SDH. The forces generated by shaking are far less than those resulting from impact, including low‐level falls.The importance of considering the birth and early clinical history when examining a case of suspected abuse in emphasized.
Hair: Microscopic Analysis
Authors: Robertson James 
Published: September 2009

AbstractWith some rare exceptions mammals possess hairs and mammals lose hairs! The “human” animal loses in the order of 100–150 scalp hairs each day. It is for this reason that hairs are almost certainly found at most crime scenes. Hairs of nonhuman and human origin are readily distinguishable and it is possible to describe their microscopic appearance. On the basis of these microscopic features, it is possible to compare animal hairs and to sometimes identify the type of animal from which the hairs originated. For human hairs, on the basis of their microscopic features, it is also possible to individualize hairs to some extent. Human hair varies within an individual and between individuals. The challenge for the forensic hair examiner is to capture this microscopic information and to use it to differentiate hairs from different sources. In this article, the rationale and science underpinning hair examinations is described. The role of microscopic examination and the other techniques such as DNA testing is considered.Finally, the value of hair as evidence and, how it may meet relevant evidence standards, is discussed.
Y‐Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats
Authors: Ballantyne Jack , Hanson Erin K. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractY‐chromosome short tandem repeats (Y‐STRs) are a class of genetic markers present on the nonrecombining portion of the male‐specific Y chromosome. They are thus inherited in a patrilineal manner and can be used in a variety of specialized casework situations in which standard autosomal STR analysis is of limited (or no) probative value. They are particularly useful for cases involving admixed male and female DNA for which a separation of the male‐ and female‐derived cells is unsuccessful or not feasible. This article briefly describes the basic biology of the Y chromosome, the common Y‐STR markers incorporated into commercial kits, the probative value of a Y‐STR “match,” and typical casework applications of the technology.
Short Tandem Repeats: Interpretation
Authors: Balding David 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

We review interpretation issues for short tandem repeat (STR) profiles, focusing on the canonical forensic identification problem in which the question at issue is whether a particular individual (usually the defendant but possibly a victim) is the source of a single‐contributor DNA sample. We show how the appropriate likelihood ratios for evidence evaluation simplify in this setting to match probabilities. One of the key issues is the role of population genetics, and we review the formulation of match probabilities in terms of the population genetics parameter θ, also known as
F
ST
, that can be interpreted informally as the probability that the defendant and the alternative possible DNA source share an allele through inheritance from a common ancestor. We also briefly consider likelihood ratios for paternity, highlighting the roles of population genetics and of STR mutation.
Interpretation: Observer Effects
Authors: Thompson William C. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
The tendency of human observers to interpret data in a manner consistent with their expectations and desires is well established. Scientists in many fields use blind or double‐blind procedures to minimize this tendency. Forensic scientists have recently given greater attention to this issue as a result of high profile errors in forensic testing and empirical research confirming that observer effects influence forensic interpretations. To minimize such problems, forensic laboratories can separate case management from evidence interpretation or adopt sequential unmasking procedures that allow key interpretations to occur while the analyst is blind to extraneous facts.
Fire and Explosion Investigations: Overview
Authors: Lentini John J. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Fire investigations and explosion investigations are two distinct areas of forensic science that encompass numerous sub‐disciplines. Because of the extensive nature of the events that precipitate investigations, there are significant public health and safety issues that must be taken into account.
Forensic investigations of fires involve the determination of origin (where the fire started), cause (the factors that brought together the fuel and ignition source), and responsibility. Issues such as rapid fire spread, failure of occupants to escape, and failure of detection and suppression systems often need to be addressed. After the scene investigation, laboratory analyses involving chemistry and engineering are frequently required.
Forensic investigations of explosions require the determination of the nature of the explosion (mechanical or chemical), the nature of the fuel (gas, dust, or chemical explosive), and the responsibility for the explosion. Explosions resulting from terrorist bombings are in a class by themselves, and are usually investigated by specialists employed by national governments.
Fire investigation procedures are highly standardized and discussed in the forensic science and trade literature, but largely because of security concerns, much less has been written about post‐blast investigations.
In the investigation of both fires and explosions, the application of scientific principles is required from the outset.
Fire: Dynamics and Pattern Production
Authors: Lentini John J. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis article describes the interaction of fire with its surroundings. Confined fires behave in ways that are foreign to most people's understanding of fire. The form, geometry, and most importantly, the location of a fuel package determine how it will burn, and what kind of evidence it will leave behind. An understanding of fluid dynamics and heat transfer is necessary to correctly interpret postfire artifacts. Likewise, an understanding of the concepts of flammability is necessary if one is to form credible hypotheses about origin and cause.
Death Penalty and Age
Authors: Salekin Karen L. , Allen Rebecca S. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractIn a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court banned the execution of offenders who were under the age of 18 years at the time of their offence. In their 6‐3 opinion, the Court stated that there had been a growing national consensus against the death penalty for youthful offenders, and noted their belief that these offenders were less culpable for their actions due to deficits in decision‐making ability, impulse control, and maturity. Of interest, is that the Court has not yet addressed the constitutionality of the death penalty for aged prisoners. For many years it has been recognized that the process of aging is associated with changes in cognitive abilities that may negatively impact flexibility of thought, perspective taking, decision‐making, and memory. It can be readily seen that these deficits, like those associated with youth, may put the aged prisoner in a position in which the imposition of capital punishment violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Dissociative Disorders
Authors: Spiegel David 
Published: September 2009

AbstractDissociation describes limitations in the integration of aspects of identity, memory, consciousness, and perception. Dissociative disorders most often occur in response to trauma, and are seen worldwide. Dissociative amnesia for events that occurred when the person was conscious, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, does occur, and may legitimately affect eyewitness testimony and the tolling of the statue of limitations. Dissociation has been utilized as a mitigating factor for the defense in criminal cases, with varying success. Understanding dissociative disorders can enhance legal management of some who have undergone complex traumatic experiences.
Hypnosis and Memory
Authors: Lynn Steven Jay , Barnes Sean , Matthews Abigail 
Published: September 2009

AbstractJudicial opinions about the legal admissibility of hypnosis are mixed, although the majority of states have ruled that hypnotically elicited recall isper seinadmissible. Skpeticism about hypnosis has arisen from the facts that hypnosis: (a) increases the sheer volume of recall, with a tradeoff of inaccurate memories that often more than negates any increase in accurate memories; (b) increases recall confidence independent of recall accuracy. Although research generally supportsper seadmissibility rulings, it is not firmly established that hypnosis increases resistance to cross‐examination, and misleading questions can compromise recall to an equal or greater extent than hypnosis.
Head Injury: Neuropsychological Assessment
Authors: Bresler Scott A. , Martell Daniel A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis article presents a concise overview of issues arising in forensic neuropsychological assessments of traumatic brain injury. After a review of the definitions and epidemiology of head injuries, methods for rating their severity and outcome prognosis are discussed. Referral issues arising in both civil and criminal litigation are then presented, followed by an overview of the forensic neuropsychological examination process. Special attention is devoted to issues arising in the assessment of malingering, and to the forensic interpretation of neuropsychological test data. The article concludes by looking ahead to future developments in this field of expertise.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Authors: Smyth Larry D. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractA brief history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is presented as are the criteria necessary to diagnose PTSD. Epidemiological research concerning the prevalence of psychological trauma is reviewed as is research concerning risk factors that moderate the likelihood of the development of PTSD following trauma exposure. Treatments for PTSD are discussed as are spontaneous remission and posttraumatic growth. Malingering and factitious disorder are defined. The literature with respect to assessing PTSD in forensic settings is reviewed and 10 red flags are presented that suggest the presence of malingering and/or a factitious disorder.
Stalking
Authors: Meloy J. Reid 
Published: September 2009

AbstractStalking is an old behavior, but a new crime. It is composed of three elements: a pattern of unwanted following or harassment; a credible threat; and the induction of fear in the victim. Females are targeted in 80% of the cases, and 8–32% of adult women will be stalked at some point in their lives. About half of stalking cases involve prior sexual intimates, and one third of stalkers will be physically violent toward the object of their pursuit during the period of stalking, which averages two years. Stalking is a serious criminal and public health problem.
Syndromes: Psychological
Authors: Edwards Carl N. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractAfter a decade of debate and publicity, the legal status of the most advanced behavioral science contributions to the criminal justice process remain wedded to fundamental concepts that would be easily recognized by the twelfth century jurist Henry de Bracton were he with us today. In order for syndrome evidence to be admissible, the physical, emotional, or mental condition addressed by the evidence must be presented in a manner that meets the scientific requirements for legal evidence. Expert testimony concerning a trait of an accused may only be used as evidence that the accused possesses such a trait. It must be left to the jury to determine whether and how such a trait may influence its view of the facts of the case. Although the termsyndromemay appear to give behavioral evidence an aura of scientific respectability, such labels themselves do nothing to enhance the stature of the substantive underlying observations. In fact, if anything, good science and credible observation are more readily accepted without them.
Treatment, Mandated: Mental Health
Authors: Vitacco Michael J. , Erickson Steven K. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractMandating treatment continues to be frequently used in mental health situations as a way of providing outpatient treatment for persons with severe mental illnesses who have a history of treatment nonadherence leading to repeated hospitalizations. Guided by the principle ofparens patria, mandated treatment has been extended to a variety of cases where the government perceives it in their best interest to take some responsibility for an individual's mental health care to decrease the risks associated with treatment nonadherence.
Treatment, Right to Refuse: Mental Health
Authors: Vitacco Michael J. , Erickson Steven K. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractBeginning with the legally recognized privacy rights enumerated by American federal courts during the 1960s, mental health law has witnessed a similar growth of rights for persons with mental illness to have control over and even refuse mental health treatment. These rights are derived from a modern legal doctrine that holds individual autonomy as a fundamental right, and thus, medical or psychiatric treatment as inherently intrusive against the individual.
Risk Assessment: Patient and Detainee
Authors: Nikolova Natalia L. , Strub Diane S. , Douglas Kevin S. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractRisk assessment is required in a variety of legal and clinical settings. Nevertheless, there is still substantial disagreement about its scientific validity and how best to implement it into practice, which has led to extensive empirical research into its tenability. Violence risk factors can be grouped into four categories: (i) dispositional, reflecting personal traits and tendencies to act in a particular way; (ii) historical, indexing events in the past that may predispose a person to become violent; (iii) contextual, referring to elements in the current environment that are conducive to violence; and (iv) clinical, including features of mental illness, level of functioning, and substance abuse. Over the years the primary goal of risk assessment has shifted from simple determination of who would become violent in the future, to risk management, which allows for reduction of violence. There are two primary approaches to risk assessment: unstructured, based solely on clinical experience and professional opinion, and structured, which requires professionals to follow specific rules of identification and definition of risk factors. Structured risk assessment in turn includes two approaches: (i) actuarial, which relies on an algorithm to combine risk factors, which enter the final decision regarding future violence; and (ii) structured professional judgments (SPJs), which allow the decision maker to consider how nomothetically supported risk factors are relevant to a given individual, and what management strategies would mitigate risk. Commentary and research addressing the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches is provided.
Handwriting and Signatures, Comparison of
Authors: Found Bryan 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThe examination of handwritten images for the purpose of determining whether the author of a known sample of writing was responsible for a sample in question is one of the oldest of the forensic science disciplines. Forensic handwriting examiners (FHEs) subjectively compare a wide range of writing characteristics between known and questioned populations of writings and interpret these in order to form opinions regarding whether there is support for the proposition that the known writer wrote the questioned entries. FHEs also examine handwriting and signatures that are the processes of disguise or simulation behaviors. A review of contemporary positions regarding the basis of handwriting “identification” science is presented along with descriptions of typical handwriting and signing behaviors commonly encountered in forensic casework.
Firearms: Identification of Handling of Firearms/Trace Metal Detection
Authors: Almog Joseph 
Published: September 2009

AbstractLatent fingerprints and invisible impressions of firearms, left on the holders' palms, are both distinct cases of Locard's exchange principle: “Every contact leaves traces”. Both are typical examples of circumstantial evidence that can prove a previous contact between an individual person and an object. The physiological and environmental factors, which are involved in latent fingerprint retrieval, have been studied extensively for nearly 100 years. Forensic scientists, however, have paid much less attention to the detection of firearms impressions on the hands, and only recently has it attracted considerable attention. Most handguns leave invisible impressions containing di‐ and trivalent iron on the hand. These impressions can be visualized by spraying with the chemical reagent 3‐(2‐pyridyl)‐5,6‐diphenyl‐1,2,4‐triazine (PDT). Even brand new weapons leave such marks. From recent experience it is evident that clear, well‐defined impressions, which are developed on the hands by the PDT reagent, can unequivocally prove recent contact with specific firearms, and even faint, nonspecific marks can at least allude to such contact.
Serial Number Restoration: Firearm
Authors: Maiden Nicholas R. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Serial numbers are placed on firearms during the manufacturing process and generally consist of a combination of letters and numbers or numbers alone. They are unique to an individual firearm, although there are instances where firearms from different manufacturers can have the same serial number. They provide a means by which law enforcement agencies can trace the origin and registered owner (if applicable) of a firearm. For this reason, they are often obliterated by criminals using methods such as filing, grinding, center‐punching, over‐stamping, drilling, or welding. There are a number of techniques that forensic firearms examiners use to restore obliterated markings and they fall into two broad categories, namely, nondestructive and destructive. The choice of restoration technique is determined by the type of metal involved, the process by which the serial number was marked on the firearms barrel or receiver, i.e., etching, casting, engraving, or stamping, and the method used to obliterate the serial number. Nondestructive restoration techniques include visual examination, often with the aid of a low‐powered microscope, to establish whether sufficient detail exists to identify individual digits from the remaining portion of the serial number. Chalk or filtered light source examination can assist in enhancing these remaining digits. Destructive techniques include the use of magnetic particle and acid etching techniques. Chemical acid etching is the most common and successful technique currently in widespread use and can be used with or without heat. The techniques presented here can also be applied to the restoration of serial numbers in other situations such as on car chassis or engine blocks.
Tire Impressions
Authors: Du Preez Charl , Roux Claude 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
The society we live in today relies heavily on automobiles for transport. This leads to many wheels on the road and inevitably where a crime is committed an automobile would have some sort of involvement with the crime itself, or the criminal himself. In 2002, the world passenger car fleet hit 531 million cars, with a quarter of these cars being in the United States 1. Of these, 72% of vehicles have four tires with the same tread and design and 14% have two pairs of tires with the same tread and design. Regarding the size, 97% of all cars have four tires with the same tread size, 1.6% has two pairs and 1.4% has three the same and one of different tread size 2. In the majority of cases in which an automobile is involved, the suspect used the automobile to drive to and from the crime scene. Tires are likely to leave some sort of pattern or trace evidence at the scene of crime. Tires are manufactured using natural and synthetic rubber. The rubber is then subject to an entire process in order to manufacture a tire 3. These tires are manufactured with a particular tread pattern to ensure maximum grip and purchase between the tire and the surface of the road. Many different tread patterns exist. Elemental pattern features include waves, lines, diamonds, zigzags, curves, blocks, etc. In addition to these manufacture characteristics, acquired characteristics such as wear and tear, cuts, small holes, etc., can be often present 4. Tire marks can thus be highly informative but unfortunately they are commonly overlooked. As a result, they are often destroyed before any potential exploitation could take place 5. This article presents the examination and value of tire marks in a forensic examination.
Crime Scene Documentation
Authors: Scott Allan Mathieson 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
To ensure the integrity of all evidence recovered from a crime scene and demonstrate the credibility of the testimony of a crime scene investigator (CSI), it is imperative that extensive records are made. In many jurisdictions, the majority of forensic evidence is handed over to other units and agencies by a CSI. This requires the completion of several interrelated documents for all items recovered. These documents provide a detailed chain of custody record for the evidence. Major investigations also generate additional documents that demonstrate the transparency of the investigation and provide extensive notes that can clearly show that an independent and unbiased investigation was undertaken.
Evidence Collection and Preservation: Casting
Authors: Scott Allan Mathieson 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
When casting and recovering impressions made by footwear, tires, and instruments, it is paramount that basic and simple precautions for preservation of the evidence be taken. Any deviation from these simple rules can render the evidence useless. Photography of the impression, followed by the careful casting and recovery are necessary if the evidence is going to serve any purpose.