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An Expert Witness

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Submitted By bobbiebergeron
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| 2013 | | Introduction to Forensics

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[week 1 individual work] | Forensic scientists do much more than process, analyze and compare evidence. The scientist must be qualified as an expert witness. Your individual work will explore the question, "What is an expert witness?" |

The Supreme Court in the 1960’s wanted police to place a greater need on finding evidence that was scientifically evaluated. This led to a growth in the forensic laboratory department. Drug abuse and DNA profiling are also a reason the growth has happened. While the growth of crime and drug use has rocketed, so has the technology used to identify a person as well as the chance to identify a drug and what it is used for or where it was made. Drug abuse cases still outnumber DNA cases, but the DNA experts have made it possible to identify someone based on a bloodstain, semen stains, hair and saliva residues left behind on stamps, cups, bite marks and so on (Saferstein, 2009). Different communities offer different services based on the employees they have and what their experience is in. This is because of the variation in local laws, different capabilities and functions of the organization to which the laboratory is attached and budget and staffing limitations. This is the reason for independent laboratories. Some scientists that work for these laboratories are required to testify about the methods used and conclusions to the evidence at a trial or hearing. When this happens, they have to be considered an expert witness; they could be the ultimate deciding factor in a person’s guilt or innocence. This person has to be an individual whom the court determines to possess knowledge relevant to the trial that is not expected of the average layperson (Saferstein, 2009). This person would need to establish that they have a particular skill or knowledge in a trade

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