The scientific method is a process that uses strict guidelines to ensure careful and systematic collection, organization, and analysis of information. The scientific method begins by formulating a question worthy of investigation, such as who committed a particular crime. The investigator next formulates a hypothesis, a reasonable explanation proposed to answer the question. the next phase of scientific inquiry is the testing of the hypothesis through experimentation. the testing process must be thorough and recognized by other scientists as valid. Scientists and investigators must accept the experimental findings even when they wish they were different. Finally, when the hypothesis is validated by experimentation, it becomes suitable as scientific evidence, appropriate for use in criminal investigation and, ultimately, available for admission in a court of law.
Because the results of their work may be a factor in determining a person's ultimate guilt or innocence, forensic scientists may be required to testify about their methods and conclusions at a trial or hearing. Trial courts have broad discretion on accepting an individual as an expert witness, an individual whom the court determines to possess knowledge relevant to the trial that is not expected of the average layperson.
The evidence technicians are specifically trained in collecting and preserving techniques.they are trained by the laboratory staff to recognize and gather pertinent physical evidence at a crime scene. They are assigned to the laboratory full time for continued exposure to forensic techniques and procedures. They have at their disposal all the proper tools and supplies for proper collection and packaging of evidence for future scientific examination.
The Daubert criteria for admissibility is
1 whether the scientific technique or theory can be and has been tested
2 whether the technique or theory has been subject to peer review and publication
3 the technique's potential rate of error
4 the existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique's operation
5 whether scientific theory or method has attracted widespread acceptance within a relevant scientific community
The Frye standard is that in order to be admissible at trial the principles must be 'generally accepted' by the scientific community. This approach requires the proponent of a scientific test to present to the court a collection of experts who can testify that the scientific issue before the court is generally accepted by the relevant members of the scientific community.
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