The CSI Effect

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Chin
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Science ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Juror Decision Making ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Csi Effect ◽  
Real Phenomenon ◽  
Scene Investigation

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.

The CSI Effect

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason M. Chin ◽  
Larysa Workewych
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Juror Decision Making ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Proper Treatment ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Csi Effect ◽  
Real Phenomenon ◽  
Scene Investigation

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. 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. We end with suggestions for the proper treatment of the CSI effect in courts and directions for future scholarly work.

The “ CSI Effect”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberlianne Podlas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Juror Decision Making ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Television Shows ◽  
Scene Investigation

Prosecutors and members of law enforcement have complained that television shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have cultivated in jurors’ unreasonable expectations about forensic evidence, specifically that jurors require definitive forensic proof of guilt, or else they will wrongly acquit. This is popularly known as “CSI Effect.” Despite the popularity of this belief, there is little empirical evidence substantiating it. In fact, the majority of studies exploring CSI Effects have found evidence supporting a variety of impacts that advantage, rather than disadvantage, the prosecution. For instance, these programs frame forensics as objective and virtually infallible, bolster forensic technicians and the value of evidence associated with them, and promote schema that endorse prosecution narratives. Indeed, it appears that among CSI’s most salient impacts on the legal system comes not from these television programs distorting juror decision-making, but because lawyers and judges mistakenly believe such an effect exists, and, therefore, alter their behavior in response. It thus appears that the realities of the CSI Effect are quite different than the persistent mythology of it.

scholarly journals Beliefs about error rates and human judgment in forensic science

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianni Ribeiro ◽  
Jason Marcus Tangen ◽  
Blake M McKimmie
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Science ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Human Judgment ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Csi Effect ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Forensic Testimony ◽  
Effect Literature ◽  
People’S Perceptions ◽  
Keywords Forensic Science

Forensic science techniques are often used in criminal trials to infer the identity of theperpetrator of crime and jurors often find this evidence very persuasive. Unfortunately, two of the leading causes of wrongful convictions are forensic science testing errors and false or misleading forensic testimony (Saks & Koehler, 2005). Therefore, it is important to understand jurors pre- existing beliefs about forensic science, as these beliefs may impact how they evaluate forensic evidence in the courtroom. In this study, we examine people’s perceptions of the likelihood of error and human judgment involved at each stage of the forensic science process (i.e., collection, storage, testing, analysis, reporting, and presenting). In addition, we examine peoples’ perceptions of the accuracy of — and human judgment involved in — 16 different forensic techniques. We find that, in contrast to what would be expected by the CSI effect literature, participants believed that the process of forensic science involved considerable human judgment and was relatively error-prone. In addition, participants had wide-ranging beliefs about the accuracy of various forensic techniques, ranging from 65.18% (document analysis) up to 89.95% (DNA). For some forensic techniques, estimates were lower than that found in experimental proficiency studies, suggesting that our participants are more skeptical of certain forensic evidence than they need to be. Keywords: Forensic science, forensic evidence, accuracy, error rate, CSI effect.

Examination of the “CSI Effect” on Perceptions of Scientific and Testimonial Evidence in a Hong Kong Chinese Sample

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 819-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cora Y. T. Hui ◽  
T. Wing Lo
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Csi Effect ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Evidence ◽  
Mock Jury ◽  
Scene Investigation

Television is a powerful medium through which to convey information and messages to the public. The recent proliferation of forensic science and criminal justice information throughout all forms of media, coupled with raised expectations toward forensic evidence, has led some to suspect that a “CSI effect” ( Crime Scene Investigation effect) is taking place. The present study contributes to the literature addressing the CSI effect in two ways. First, it examines whether the CSI effect exists in the Chinese population of Hong Kong. Second, using a mock-jury paradigm, it empirically examines a more integrative perspective of the CSI effect. It was found that, although the amount of media coverage involving forensic evidence does influence participants’ perception of legal evidence to some degree, such a perception does not affect participants’ legal decision making. Viewers of forensic dramas were not more likely to convict the defendant when forensic evidence was presented and not less likely to convict when only testimonial evidence was presented. The only significant predictor of the defendant’s culpability when scientific evidence was presented was participants’ ratings of the reliability of scientific evidence. Results from the present study lend no support to the existence of the CSI effect in Hong Kong.

scholarly journals The Influence of Microspectroscopy on Evaluating and Analyzing Forensic Evidence

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Reffner ◽  
Pauline E. Leary
Keyword(s):  
Solid State ◽  
Forensic Science ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Criminal Case ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Testing Hypotheses ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Standards Of Evidence ◽  
Forensic Scientists

The evaluation and analysis of evidence using infrared, Raman, and SEM/EDX microprobe methods has advanced forensic science. Forensic science deals with the interaction of science with the law. This interaction requires that certain standards are met before scientific evidence is admitted in either a civil or criminal case. While the Court's burden of proof is different for a civil case than for a criminal case, the standards of evidence admissibility are not. Forensic scientists must defend their methods and conclusions in Court, regardless of whether they are a trace analyst identifying fibers, a drug analyst determining if the white powder found on a suspected criminal was cocaine, or a pharmaceutical researcher discovering new solid-state forms of a drug. Today, microspectroscopy is a primary technology used within all forensic science disciplines to increase the value of evidence. Modern microbeam methods are extending observations, enhancing documentation, providing additional information, aiding deductions, and testing hypotheses. This increase in value of scientific evidence is pivotal in adjudicating both civil and criminal litigation.

Sem/X-Ray Applications to the Forensic Science Field

1976 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 390-391
Author(s):  
K. Culbreth
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Science ◽  
Depth Of Field ◽  
Surface Phenomena ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Science Field ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Hit And Run ◽  
Evaluation Of Evidence ◽  
Scanning Electron

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.

scholarly journals Ten years of molecular ballistics—a review and a field guide

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Euteneuer ◽  
Cornelius Courts
Keyword(s):  
Model Building ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Biological Targets ◽  
Contrast Method ◽  
History Of ◽  
Scene Investigation ◽  
Blood Pattern Analysis ◽  
Wound Ballistic ◽  
Objective Investigation

AbstractMolecular ballistics combines molecular biological, forensic ballistic, and wound ballistic insights and approaches in the description, collection, objective investigation, and contextualization of the complex patterns of biological evidence that are generated by gunshots at biological targets. Setting out in 2010 with two seminal publications proving the principle that DNA from backspatter collected from inside surfaces of firearms can be retreived and successfully be analyzed, molecular ballistics covered a lot of ground until today. In this review, 10 years later, we begin with a comprehensive description and brief history of the field and lay out its intersections with other forensic disciplines like wound ballistics, forensic molecular biology, blood pattern analysis, and crime scene investigation. In an application guide section, we aim to raise consciousness to backspatter traces and the inside surfaces of firearms as sources of forensic evidence. Covering crime scene practical as well as forensic genetic aspects, we introduce operational requirements and lay out possible procedures, including forensic RNA analysis, when searching for, collecting, analyzing, and contextualizing such trace material. We discuss the intricacies and rationales of ballistic model building, employing different tissue, skin, and bone simulants and the advantages of the “triple-contrast” method in molecular ballistics and give advice on how to stage experimental shootings in molecular ballistic research. Finally, we take a look at future applications and prospects of molecular ballistics.

Forensic Science Education by Crime Scene Investigation in Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Ru Chen ◽  
You-Qi Chang-Liao ◽  
Cheng-yu Lin ◽  
Deng-Ruei Tsai ◽  
Jia-He Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Forensic Science ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Crime Scene Investigation ◽  
Scene Investigation

Forensic Science, The CSI Effect, and Wrongful Convictions

2014 ◽  
pp. 171-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig M. Cooley ◽  
Brent E. Turvey
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Science ◽  
Csi Effect ◽  
Wrongful Convictions
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