Texas Administrative Code › Title 37 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS › Part 15 - TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION › Chapter 651 - DNA, CODIS, FORENSIC ANALYSIS, AND CRIME LABORATORIES › Subchapter C - FORENSIC ANALYST LICENSING PROGRAM › Section 651.202 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
					 subchapter, shall have the following means, unless the context clearly
					 indicates otherwise.
(1) Forensic
				  analyst - Means a person who on behalf of a crime laboratory accredited under
				  Article 38.01 §4-d, Code of Criminal Procedure, technically reviews or
				  performs a forensic analysis or draws conclusions from or interprets a forensic
				  analysis for a court or crime laboratory. The term does not include a medical
				  examiner or other forensic pathologist who is a licensed physician.
(2) Forensic analysis - Has the meaning
				  assigned by Article
				  38.35,
				  Code of Criminal Procedure.
(3)
				  Forensic pathology - Includes that portion of an autopsy conducted by a medical
				  examiner or other forensic pathologist who is a licensed physician.
(4) Accredited laboratory - Includes a public
				  or private laboratory or other entity that conducts forensic analysis as
				  defined in Article
				  38.35,
				  Code of Criminal Procedure and is accredited by a national accrediting body
				  recognized by the Commission and listed in §
										651.4
				  of this title (relating to List of Recognized Accrediting Bodies).
(5) Physical evidence - Has the meaning
				  assigned by Article
				  38.35,
				  Code of Criminal Procedure.
(6)
				  Accredited university - A college or university accredited by a national
				  accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education, or a
				  foreign university with a degree program(s) recognized as equivalent by the
				  Commission.
(7) Professional
				  Misconduct - Professional misconduct means the forensic analyst or crime
				  laboratory, through a material act or omission, deliberately failed to follow
				  the standard of practice that an ordinary forensic analyst or crime laboratory
				  would have followed, and the deliberate act or omission would substantially
				  affect the integrity of the results of a forensic analysis. An act or omission
				  was deliberate if the forensic analyst or crime laboratory was aware of and
				  consciously disregarded an accepted standard of practice required for a
				  forensic analysis.
(8) Technician -
				  An individual who performs basic analytical functions under the supervision of
				  a qualified analyst but does not evaluate data, reach conclusions or sign any
				  report for court or investigative purposes shall be considered a technician
				  under the disciplines set forth in this section, with the exception of a
				  Firearms/Toolmarks Technician who may issue a report provided it is limited to
				  a representation that a firearm was test-fired and/or cartridge cases were
				  entered into the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network.
(9) Interpretation for toxicology -
				  Interpretation is the consideration of dose-response relationships between
				  drugs, alcohol or other compounds of interest and the resulting behavioral or
				  physical changes to human performance, including the evaluation of
				  pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics parameters. Examples include but are not
				  limited to: calculation of dose or other pharmacokinetic calculations;
				  determination of drug/drug interactions; determination (or reporting) of
				  therapeutic, toxic, or lethal drug ranges; evaluation of drug absorption,
				  distribution, metabolism, or excretion; and determination of the effects
				  (mental or physical).
(10) Crime
				  scene reconstruction - is the application of the scientific method to evaluate
				  information regarding a crime scene from all reasonably available sources such
				  as scene documentation, investigative reports, physical evidence, laboratory
				  reports, autopsy documentation, photographs, video, and witness statements.
				  Crime scene reconstruction--as distinguished from crime scene processing or
				  crime scene investigation--includes the application of analytical methods
				  beyond general observations or opinions about the scene to identify and test
				  hypotheses.
(11) Latent print
				  examination - Includes the forensic examination of friction ridge detail from
				  the hands and feet.
(12) Forensic
				  anthropology - Includes the application of anthropological methods and theory,
				  particularly those relating to the recovery and analysis of human
				  remains.