Forensic science is the application of science to criminal and civil laws.
The key point in this definition is the reference to law, the legal component. With such a general definition it is no surprise that the scope of forensic science is broad, encompassing virtually any scientific discipline. The scope of criminalistics is the recognition, identification, and evaluation of physical evidence. The applied forensic sciences also study evidence but within discipline-specific forensic contexts. This often involves a medical examiner and death investigation.