The CSI Effect: Juror's Perception Of Forensic Evidence

Media is the main source for the public to acquire knowledge about the Canadian criminal justice system and plays a supreme role in creating the public’s perception. The media has substantially expanded in the past 10 years and has been introduced to speak out in negative and positive ways. The media has many different roles within the criminal justice system. This includes providing the public with knowledge to inform them about the police, courts, and as well as corrections. Every day, there are stories that go viral coming from the source of social media however media does have its pros and cons on the criminal justice system in Canada.

The psychologist is a vital asset to the criminal justice system. The psychologist can examine victims, police officials and various witnesses thus making them ethically obligated to make the right decisions and evaluations. This essay will discuss the roles of psychologist as they work within the criminal justice system. I will Identify and describe the psychologists’ roles within the criminal justice system as it pertains to the applied scientist, the basic scientist, the policy evaluator, and the advocate. I will also provide detailed examples of each of those roles in action within the law enforcement, corrections and court system environments.

In the article, “Beware the Biomarkers for Criminal Behavior,” Kira Peikoff analyzes the expanding use of brain imaging and biomarkers to predict criminal behavior. She describes the expansion of these technological advancements as a possible violation to an individual’s basic civil rights of innocent until proven guilty. Piekoff expresses that with these growing advancements in this technology a fine line between science and morality should be explored with caution. Our society today may consist of individuals with mental defects, but where is the line drawn in depicting a future crime without infringing on an individual 's basic civil rights.

Due to television, one of the most well know detective tactics in the police arsenal is forensic

We are here in this courtroom to see if my client, Steve Harmon, will be convicted of being associated to the robbery of a drugstore, and to the death of Alguinaldo Nesbitt. The robbery occurred approximately 4 o'clock on 175th Street in Harlem. The owner of that drugstore,who died from a gunshot wound, was Mr Nesbitt. Nesbitt was a hardworking man, a well respected man who did nothing to deserve his end. It was truly a horrible crime, but it was not committed by Mr. Harmon, nor did he have any in the crime. I know this to be a fact, and I have confidence that you will also see Steve Harmon’s innocence too.

“An investigator starts research in a new field with faith, a foggy idea, and a few wild experiments” (Cram). This quote was said by Donald Cram in discussing how an investigator should start an investigation. The job of CSI consists of collecting and analyzing evidence. At a crime scene CSI typically collect evidence, take pictures, make sketches and a variety of other tasks. CSI is a fascinating career choice because one gets to travel, perform a variety of tasks, and gets to investigate and help society by investigating criminals.

However, other people may be believe that the American Criminal Justice System is trustworthy and fair to all individuals. Thus, they believe innocents should have nothing to fear based on the assumption that the Criminal Justice System is never mistaken. Given the advanced technology used in courtrooms today, people think that this can always be depended on for accurate results. For instance, in modern courtrooms, prosecutors and attorneys use “undeniable scientific evidence” such as DNA testing and fingerprint evidence (Volokh). Therefore, some people think that it is virtually impossible for an innocent person to be convicted for a crime with this irrefutable technology. Even though attorneys and prosecutors should use scientific evidence

Physical evidence, DNA proof, and a violent past history could seal the fate of OJ Simpson in the controversial murder trial of his wife Nicole Brown. Although so much damming evidence pointed that he was the murderer, on October 3rd 1995 a jury reached the verdict of not guilty. How does a murderer get away with murder when there is a vast amount of scientific evidence and testimonials presented to a jury? Murray Ogborn, a redound trial lawyer, would argue that the District Attorney (D.A) did not tell the right story, and thus the jury could not remember or relate to all the factual evidence presented during the 9

“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” was not the first crime show to hit the TV screens and it certainly is not the last. In response to its popularity and growing franchise, a controversial term was introduced in courts and through the media. It is called the CSI effect. The CSI effect has been closely defined as a trend that claims, through watching crime-related programmes such as “CSI” or “Law and Order”, the public, mainly people completing jury service, have their views about forensic evidence influenced. This primarily creates preconceived beliefs which allegedly affects the criminal justice system in many ways.

What are the causes of wrongful convictions? Criminal law examines why there are many wrongful convictions and the causes to them. Theories has shown that wrongful convictions have revealed disturbing fissures and trends in the criminal justice system. Other theories indicates that an overlapping array of contributing factors has emerged; from mistakes to misconduct to factors of race and class. The state’s obligation to do more to correct wrongful convictions is in proportion to the rate at which they are currently allowed to occur. But our knowledge of the frequency of wrongful convictions is inevitably limited. The criminal standard of proof is demanding, but absolute certainty is unachievable and not required (Hammer 2014). Some risk of

If you ever watched TV crime fighting shows like CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, and Bones, you see that these shows put forensic science on a high pedestal when the truth is these TV shows misrepresent the forensics profession in some major ways. Here are some myths that are spread to the public and what everybody believes forensic science is. One myth is that these forensic scientists are making tones of money. The truth is they are not compensated nearly as well as you’d think they’d be The national average for a medical examiner is around $45,000. While forensic engineers end to be paid a little more, about 79,000 a year in some states. Southern states tend to pay a little less, and salaries get higher as you move west and north. In the TV shows

There are many other fallacies that infiltrate their way into the minds of jurors and people throughout society, but the greatest known effect is the “CSI effect”. Today, real crime stories and crime reenactments are among the top viewed programs on television. Hollywood and mainstream television has exaggerated the expectations of viewers when it comes to the readiness and availability of evidence at a crime scene. In an article written by Honorable Donald E. Shelton, on behalf of the National Institute of Justice, he stated “Many laypeople know—or think they know—more about science and technology from what they have learned through the media than from what they learned in school. It is those people who sit on juries. Every week, the ever-evolving

A number of criminal movies increases every year. There are dozens of films and videos where actors investigate various murders and catch criminals. After watching 21st episode of the seventh season of the "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, I understand that not every case can be solved easily. Unfortunately, I have seen some cases on TV where suspects have not been arrested even though they were guilty. In such cases, FBI agents begin to build their own idea of crime and even put it in the place of crime to think what they would do in the same situation. The 21st episode is called "Happy Ending", and it is an investigation of the murder of a former boxer named Lorenzo Morales with a nickname “Happy”. In this episode four suspects were found

Forensic Science technicians help investigate crimes by collecting and observing physical evidence while the forensic scientist analyze the evidence back at their public or private laboratories. Many of the technicians specialize in either laboratory analysis or crime scene investigation. When a crime occurs that needs investigation, there are three different groups of people that show up and examine the crime scene; we have the police officers who tape the crime scene off, the crime scene techs who round up the evidence, and then the forensic scientist who investigate the evidence. The defense lawyer and chairwoman of jurisprudence section of the American Academy of Forensic sciences, Betty Layne Desportes, simply states that “If forensic evidence is not objectively tested, analyzed, and interpreted by adequately trained scientists, the search for truth will potentially be compromised, if not defeated.” With that being said, there is a lot of time between the crime scene investigation and the court room, and with that time lot of problems can arise, and they can come to be very bad. A couple of things I am intrigued and worried about are: The CSI Effect, state oversight

In this book JA Fox and J Levin explore the tendencies of a mass murderer and review the psychological and mental imbalances that impute these tendencies. The authors utilise data and information gained through the questioning of experts in their particular fields and use these materials about the case to conclude the trigger behind these murders. It is made evident that this occurs as a result of his issues, particularly pertaining to childhood, where he developed a deteriorated psychological state of mind. Experts claim the issues that murderers experience in their childhood, such as; bullying and assault, initiates a sense of insanity, which brings forward the ideas of murder to take revenge and feel rectified. Although there is some validity to this information, not necessarily all criminals arise from the same stem. In saying so the information provided is significant as it communicates the scientific explanation as to causation of criminal activities and allows us to view in the perspective of various criminals. It studies a large proportion of science behind murder is crucial to further understand the mind of criminals.