Terrorist Trials: Forensic Science and the Trial Process

Author(s):  
Chris Lennard ◽  
Anne Wallace
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-347
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rifai ◽  
Dahlan Ali ◽  
Mahfud Mahfud

Guna melancarkan pelaksanaan investigasi, sistem fingerprint (sidik jari) memang telah dipakai sejak dahulu sebagai bagian dari hukum acara pidana di Indonesia. Namun demikian dalam pelaksanaannya, sidik jari bisa saja tidak memainkan fungsinya dengan baik untuk mengungkap suatu perkara yang salah satunya diakibatkan ketidakprofesionalan petugas penyidik dalam menjalankan tugasnya. Adapun tujuan dari dilakukannya penelitian ini adalah agar dapat diketahui kegunaan dari sidik jari untuk kemudahan pelaksanaan penyelidikan demi mengetahui identitas korban dan menemukan siapa pelaku tindak pidananya. Selain itu juga untuk menjelaskan tentang apa saja hal yang menghambat petugas penyidik kepolisian dalam menjalankan tugasnya. Mengenai jenis penelitian yang digunakan disini yaitu normatif, sedangkan perundang-undangan serta konseptual dijadikan sebagai pendekatannya. Menurut hasil penelitian ini, dapat diungkapkan bahwa melalui sidik jari akan sangat membantu proses pengungkapan suatu perkara pidana karena kegunaannya mendukung atau melengkapi dari sejumlah alat bukti yang lain. Meskipun demikian, sidik jari tersebut tidak bisa menjadi alat bukti tunggal, tetapi ia merupakan bagian dari keterangan yang diberikan oleh ahli yang ditunjuk ketika proses perjalanan sidang perkaranya di pengadilan. Adapun hal-hal penghalang penggunaan sidik jari pada proses penyidikan perkara kriminal untuk mengetahui data diri orang yang menjadi korban jiwa dan siapa yang menghabisi nyawa orang tersebut, antara lain adalah beberapa keadaan yang dijumpai di lokasi terjadinya peristiwa berupa kondisi alam yang tidak mendukung (seperti karena hujan dan sebagainya), datangnya binatang yang memakan korban yang sudah meninggal itu atau karena jasad korban sudah mulai membusuk dan bahkan ada yang tinggal kerangka saja. Kemudian karena datangnya masyarakat beramai-ramai yang kemudian tanpa sengaja mengubah keadaan di lokasi kejadian dan juga disebabkan kelalaian pihak yang melakukan penyidikan pada saat bertugas menginvestigasi di lapangan. Disarankan kepada yang berprofesi sebagai penegak hukum agar mampu mengakomodir dan peka terhadap berbagai hal yang berkembang di kehidupan masyarakat. Di antaranya yaitu munculnya inovasi yang berhubungan dengan ilmu forensik yakni sistem fingerprint atau sidik jari, buah dari keberhasilan di bidang bioteknologi.In order to facilitate the conduct of the investigation, the fingerprint system has been used since a long time as part of criminal procedure law in Indonesia. However, in its implementation, fingerprints may not play their functions properly to uncover a case, one of which is due to the unprofessionalism of investigating officers in carrying out their duties. The purpose of this research is to be able to know the usefulness of fingerprints for the ease of conducting investigations in order to find out the identity of the victim and find out who the perpetrator is. In addition, it also explains what are the things that prevent police investigators from carrying out their duties. Regarding the type of research used here which is normative, while legislation and conceptual are used as approaches. According to the results of this study, it can be revealed that through fingerprints it will greatly help the process of disclosing a criminal case because its use supports or complements a number of other evidence. Even so, the fingerprint cannot be a single evidence, but it is part of the information given by the appointed expert during the trial process in court. As for the obstacles to the use of fingerprints in the process of investigating criminal cases to find out the personal data of people who have been victimized and who killed the lives of people, among others are several conditions found in the location of events in the form of unsupportive conditions (such as rain and so on), the arrival of animals that have killed the victims or because the bodies of the victims have begun to rot and even some are left with a skeleton. Then because of the coming of the people who later unintentionally changed the situation at the scene and also due to negligence of the party who carried out the investigation while in charge of investigating in the field. It is recommended to those who work as law enforcers to be able to accommodate and be sensitive to various things that develop in people's lives. Among them are the emergence of innovations related to forensic science, namely the fingerprint or fingerprint system, the fruit of success in the field of biotechnology.


Author(s):  
K. Culbreth

The introduction of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis to forensic science has provided additional methods by which investigative evidence can be analyzed. The importance of evidence from the scene of a crime or from the personal belongings of a victim and suspect has resulted in the development and evaluation of SEM/x-ray analysis applications to various types of forensic evidence. The intent of this paper is to describe some of these applications and to relate their importance to the investigation of criminal cases.The depth of field and high resolution of the SEM are an asset to the evaluation of evidence with respect to surface phenomena and physical matches (1). Fig. 1 shows a Phillips screw which has been reconstructed after the head and shank were separated during a hit-and-run accident.


Author(s):  
R.F. Sognnaes

Sufficient experience has been gained during the past five years to suggest an extended application of microreplication and scanning electron microscopy to problems of forensic science. The author's research was originally initiated with a view to develop a non-destructive method for identification of materials that went into objects of art, notably ivory and ivories. This was followed by a very specific application to the identification and duplication of the kinds of materials from animal teeth and tusks which two centuries ago went into the fabrication of the ivory dentures of George Washington. Subsequently it became apparent that a similar method of microreplication and SEM examination offered promise for a whole series of problems pertinent to art, technology and science. Furthermore, what began primarily as an application to solid substances has turned out to be similarly applicable to soft tissue surfaces such as mucous membranes and skin, even in cases of acute, chronic and precancerous epithelial surface changes, and to post-mortem identification of specific structures pertinent to forensic science.


Author(s):  
Vitaliy Elyotnov ◽  

The article examines the key provisions of traditional and developing branches of forensic technology as a branch of the forensic science. The article analyzes modern publications of domestic and foreign scientists dedicated to the problems of forensic technology. Discussion issues and gaps existing in the theory and practice of such branches of forensic technology as forensic photography and video recording, forensic phonoscopy, forensic traceology, forensic weapons science, forensic documentation, forensic research of substances, materials and products, forensic registration, etc. The opinions of individual forensic scientists on the resolution of controversial issues of forensic technology are given. The scientific directions that have not received at present recognition of independent branches of forensic technology are indicated. The promising areas of research in the framework of the branches of forensic technology are named, the main trends of its further development are formulated.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Chin

The CSI Effect posits that exposure to television programs that portray forensic science (e.g., CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) can change the way jurors evaluate forensic evidence. The most commonly researched hypothesis under the CSI Effect suggests that shows like CSI depict an unrealistically high standard of forensic science and thus unreasonably inflate the expectations of jurors. Jurors are thus more likely to vote to acquit, and prosecutors face higher burden of proof. We review (1) the theory behind the CSI Effect, (2) the perception of the effect among legal actors, (3) the academic treatment of the effect, and (4) how courts have dealt with the effect. We demonstrate that while legal actors do see the CSI Effect as a serious issue, there is virtually no empirical evidence suggesting it is a real phenomenon. Moreover, many of the remedies employed by courts may do no more than introduce bias into juror decision making or even trigger the CSI Effect when it would not normally occur (i.e., the self-fulfilling prophesy). We end with suggestions for the proper treatment of the CSI Effect in courts, and directions for future scholarly work.


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