MODULE FORENSIC CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO BASIC CONCEPTS

OF FORENSIC CHEMISTRY

Objectives:
a) Develop understanding of the precedent in chemistry and the law
b) Recognize the founding fathers of Forensic Chemistry and
Toxicology
c) Understand evidence as apply in forensics.

FORENSIC CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY

❖ Romans formulated the first essential element of forensic science. They outlaw crime
such as poisoning in Rome around 82 BC. They executed several women convicted of
poisoning by forcing them to drink their own concoctions (mixtures).

❖ Forensic comes from the Latin word ‘forensis’ /

‘forum’ which means marketplace, used in
conducting public discussion, business, and legal
proceedings.

❖ Forensic Science is an application of scientific

principles to criminal and civil laws that are enforce by
police agencies in a criminal justice system. Any science, used for the purposes of the
law, is a forensic science.

❖ Criminalistics is the largest branch of forensic science, may be defined as scientific

discipline directed toward the recognition, identification, individualization, and evaluation
of physical evidence by application of sciences in law science matters.

❖ Forensic Chemistry deals with the application of chemical theories and principles in the
solution of legal problems in connection with the administration of justice. It is an
interdisciplinary field of chemistry task to solve cases that can only be explained or
resolved by applying analytical method of investigation and instrumentation

❖ Forensic Toxicology is the use of toxicology to aid medico-legal investigation of death

and poisoning. This field is applicable and sometimes overlaps with other areas such as
clinical toxicology, criminology, forensic psychology, drug testing, environmental
toxicology, pathology, pharmacology, sports medicine, and veterinary toxicology.

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PRECEDENT IN CHEMISTRY AND THE LAW

❖ Ancient chemistry was related to the knowledge of use of medicines and materials based
on experience of what worked and did not and was passed on selected few. But there is
no indication of understanding of science to guide them.

2000 BC The first known codified laws were put forth by the peoples who
occurred the Tigris and Euphrates

1700 BC Hammurabi’s code – the most famous code named for the Babylonian
king in power

2500 Greeks were the first one to set forth idea of science as a system or
years ago method of looking at the world.
Natural Chemistry such as natural dyes, simple metallurgy,
soapmaking, cosmetics, fermented beverages, and ceramics, was
already established

❖ Science uncovers the understanding of the universe by principles formulated from

scientific method of examination. Law is a guide to settle disputes using an adversarial
system, two opposing parties presents arguments before the decision maker or trier of
fact. Thus, scientific method and argument is different but faces only one similarity – the
truth. Both are tasked to derive information based on evidence pertinent to the issue at
mind.

Models and Physical Laws

understanding Settles disputes
of the universe
Adversarial System

SCIENCE LAW
Scientific method

Figure 1: The path of science and law toward similar but different destinations

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❖ The use of science in law in the admissibility of scientific evidence is founded on three
court rulings namely:

o The Frye rule (general acceptance) – Frye vs US in District of Columbia

1923. The court’s ruling held that scientific evidence is admissible if the
techniques are accepted as valid by the relevant scientific community.
For example if the new technique was developed for
characterization of dyes in ink, the result of the test of that technique would
not be admitted unless the court determine that it passed to peer review of
forensic chemists and generally recognized the techniques as useful and
reliable.
o The Daubert Decision (1975) – Daubert vs Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals
1993. The decision provided a list of criteria of judge could use such as
error rate and peer review. Forcing a reexamination of evidence.
o Kumho Decision (1999) – Kumho Tire Co; Ltd vs Carmichael (1999) This
decision extends Daubert decision to focus on expert’s testimony and
acknowledge standards that determine admissibility would be different
depending on the discipline in question.

THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF FORENSIC

CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY

❖ Forensic Chemist – expert in forensic chemistry and tasked to analyze the chemical
specimen using analytical methods available.

❖ Forensic Toxicologist is a person who investigates and detects poisons in an alleged

poisoning. He must first consider the case history, any physical symptoms recorded, and
any available chemicals to determine which toxic substances are present in what
concentration, and the probable effect of those chemicals on the person.

❖ Dr Edmund Locard, a French criminologist, is the Father

of Modern Forensics. He established the world’s first police
crime laboratory in Lyons, France (1910); headed that lab until
1951 & succeeded by his son. He formulates the Locard
exchange principle: whenever two objects come in contact with
each other, they transfer materials from one to the other.

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❖ Prof Mathieu Orfila, a chemist and Spanish physician, is the father

of modern Toxicology after his great contributions in the analysis and
testifying in court as expert witness against Madam Marie Lafarge,
after poisoning her husband, Charles Lafarge with Arsenic.

EVIDENCE IN RELATION TO FORENSICS

❖ Evidence is a means sanctioned by

law of ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the
truth respecting matter of fact.

❖ Major classification of evidence

1. Direct – evidence which directly

establishes the main facts of issue. Stands on
its own to prove alleged facts simply what the
senses perceived.
- evidence given by testimony of one who has
heard a fact; or by proffer of document or other
concrete object when the question of fact
involves such object.

2. Indirect or Circumstantial – incriminates a person. Evidence derived from any

other source than the testimony of those who witness the act against a person
accused of a crime. Consistency is more weight than the quantity of
circumstantial evidence.

3. Hearsay – a statement given by a witness in authority of another person and not

from his own personal knowledge. (Declaration against interest, dying declaration,
public records)

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❖ Prima facie – evidence established by law. If unexplained or not contradicted is

sufficient to sustain preposition it supports or to establish the facts, or to counterbalance
the presumption of innocence to warrant conviction.

❖ Corroborative – additional evidence required to strengthen the testimony of a witness.

❖ Tierce – extremely small items

❖ Exculpatory – helps to prove that an accused individual is not guilty.

❖ Other classification:

o Corpus delicti (Latin: the body of the wrong) – literally, body of a crime and
denotes that a crime has been committed
o Associative evidence – links the suspect to a crime.

❖ Physical evidence composed of any all objects that can establish that a crime has been
committed or can provide a link between a crime and its victim or a crime and its
perpetrator. This includes hair, fiber, firearms, bullets, cartridges cases, drug abuse,
explosive, debris, paint, glass, soil, blood, urine, and other biological substances.

Common terms of naming physical evidence

Exhibit aExhibit
term used for an object or documentary evidence when presented in
court

Specimen usual term of chemist for evidence examined in the laboratory,

composed of the whole bulk of evidence

Sample/
part of the specimen selected for the actual laboratory testing
species

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Testimonial

Real or Forms of scientific Documentary

Autopic evidence

Experimental

❖ Witness is a person who is subpoena by court to testify on certain issues.

• Ordinary witness – states facts based on his personal knowledge but limited to
drawing out opinion and conclusions.
• Expert witness – is a person who has skill in an art, trade or science or has a
knowledge in matters that is not known by other men with ordinary education.

❖ Chain of Custody
o List of all persons who came into possession of an item of evidence. In establishing
the chain of custody, specimen packages must be marked with information that is
sufficient to ensure identification by the officer in future legal proceedings and to
withstand all the inquires of what happened to the specimen from the time of its finding
to its presentation in court.

o Any break in the chain raises the possibility that the sample could have been tampered
with. Every person who receive the specimen should have sign the receipt of turn-
over.

Traditional Forensic Framework

Identification an analytical method to determine the identity of substances

Classification placing the evidence to a class member

Individualization the process of establishing the common source of physical evidence

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❖ Method of Identifying Physical Evidence

1. Qualitative Examination – identification of substance present in the sample.

o Physical test: investigating the physical property of the sample specimen.
o Chemical test: investigating the chemical property of the sample specimen.
o Confirmatory examination: utilize higher form of analysis that prove the result
of physical and chemical test.
2. Quantitative Examination – determining the percent purity of the sample.

❖ Method of classifying physical evidence

▪ Presumptive testing
▪ Screening test

❖ Comparison
o Method of determining similarity or conformity of the characteristic of questioned evidence
to a known standard
o Questioned specimen and control specimen is subjected to a same test for the purpose
of determining whether or not they have the same origin.

❖ Two Types of Characteristics under Comparison Examination

1. Individual Characteristics – attributed from a common source with an
extremely high degree of certainty. The evidence produced the same
characteristics repeatedly.
(e.g striation markings of bullet made by the
gun barrel and tool marks produced by firing
pin or hammer, ridges of fingerprint, footwear
and other impression, handwriting)

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2. Class Characteristics – property of evidence that can only be associated with

the group and never with a single source. The property is the same throughout
the whole group not by a single specimen.

(e.g layers of paints, blood, hairs,

fibers, mass produced products etc.)

References:
Bell, Suzanne, Forensic Chemistry, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, 2006.
Sunico, Lorenzo Forensic Chemistry, NBI, Manila.
Saferstein, Richard, Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall New York, 2001.
Fox, Richard and Cunning Carl. Crime Scene Search and Physical Evidence Handbook, US Department of Justice,
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, NILECJ, 1973.

LINKS

TOPIC LINK FOR VIDEO

Forensic Chemistry vs. Forensic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKLs8nvE-
Toxicology CQ
Introduction to Crime Scenes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgzdhUAJrBA

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