Article
A CSI Story: The Past, Present, and Future of Crime Scene Collection and What Litigators Need to Know
Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy
(2018)
Abstract
Much has been written about forensic science reform after the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) published a report in 2009 indicating several forensic science techniques are flawed and at times, unreliable. The report also expressed concern that expert witnesses were overstating their findings at trial. While the NAS report provided guidance and made suggestions to the forensic science community at large, the NAS did not address or provide guidance to those who initially collect and preserve such evidence. These crime scene investigators (CSIs) have been largely forgotten in the forensic science reform debate.
This article attempts to remedy this oversight by identifying and evaluating the CSI’s critical role in the evidence collection and analysis chain. To understand the CSI’s importance in the evidentiary chain, this article will examine the evolution of crime scene management. The CSI’s role in evidence collection and their subsequent testimony in the 1840 trial of Richard Gould and the 1994 trial of O.J. Simpson will be explored. Evidence collected at the scene has never been such an important piece of a prosecutor’s case as it is today. Therefore, CSIs must have adequate training and a deep understanding of their agency’s evidence collection protocols to be effective members of the law enforcement team.
This article will emphasize how the CSI’s role at trial will only become more significant and will suggest to prosecutors and defense counsel how to prepare for the CSI’s role as witness and evidence collector during trial. Lastly, this article proposes amendments to federal and local discovery rules to require any deviations from standard local protocol as to the collection and preservation of evidence to be turned over to defense counsel prior to trial.
Keywords
- forensic science,
- evidence collection,
- cross examination of crime scene investigators
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring May, 2018
Citation Information
Melanie M. Reid. "A CSI Story: The Past, Present, and Future of Crime Scene Collection and What Litigators Need to Know" Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy Vol. 8 Iss. 2 (2018) p. 409 - 454 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/melanie_reid/23/