Competitive binding techniques such as radioimmunoassay (RIA) are widely used to measure an enormous variety of compounds in biological fluids. Current methods have 1 2 arisen from the pioneering work ofYalow and Berson in the U. S. A. and Ekins in the u. K. Much of the early development was concerned with the analysis of protein hormones, and nearly a decade passed before attention focussed also on small molecules such as steroids and drugs. The potential of immunoassay methods for drug monitoring in clinical and forensic laboratories and in addict treatment programmes resulted in the commercial production of immunoassays for various therapeutic and abused drugs, making the technique available to laboratories lacking the facilities to raise their own antisera and synthesise labelled compounds. However, commercial assays are not only expensive but are restricted in range, and so it is advantageous for a forensic laboratory to have the capability to devise "in-house" immunoassays suited to its particular requirements. This chapter describes the theory and practice of RIA in forensic drug analysis. Much of the theory and some of the practice are applicable to immunoassays in which non isotopic labels are used, but such assays are not described in detail since, to date, the versatility and sensitivity of RIA have made it the immunoassay technique of choice in forensic toxicology. The particular advantages of RIA are its sensitivity and the fact that samples such as haemolysed blood can be assayed with little or no prior preparation.

Among the sampies collected from the crime scene, tissue sampies such as bone, tooth, hair, nail, skin, muscle and others are very important trace evidence which provide us with available information for personal identification. In order to obtain such information, these tissue sampies should be thoroughly examined using conventional methods including morphology and histo-pathology as weIl as blood grouping. Through the methods described above, blood grouping will give us reliable informa tion for personal identification to a high degree of certainty. In order to succeed in determining blood groups from tissue sampies, the techniques used should be carefully selected because the content and the distribution of blood group substances are different for various tissue sampies. Moreover, blood group antigen activities are susceptible-to postmortem changes leading to the lowering of their activities. From this point of view, it is essential to adopt a specific and highly sensitive technique for grouping oftissue sampies for routine use. Depending on tissue conditions, adequate pre treatment of the sampies will be required for concentrating blood group substances. For routine blood grouping of tissue sampies, the absorption-inhibition, the hemagglutination-inhibition and the absorption-elution technique prevail and are most favoured in forensic science. In cases of single epithelial cells and extremely small tissue fragments, the mixed agglutination technique can be recommended. Adding to these routine methods, immunohistochemical techniques such as those using fluorescein-Iabelled antibodies, enzyme-Iabelled antibodies and ferritin-Iabelled antibodies have been recently applied to the blood grouping of tissue sampies.

Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.

This Element examines progress in research and practice in forensic authorship analysis. It describes the existing research base and examines what makes an authorship analysis more or less reliable. Further to this, the author describes the recent history of forensic science and the scientific revolution brought about by the invention of DNA evidence. They chart the rise of three major changes in forensic science - the recognition of contextual bias in analysts, the need for validation studies and shift in logic of providing identification evidence. This Element addresses the idea of progress in forensic authorship analysis in terms of these three issues with regard to new knowledge about the nature of authorship and methods in stylistics and stylometry. The author proposes that the focus needs to shift to validation of protocols for approaching case questions, rather than on validation of systems or general approaches. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Offers a diverse, interdisciplinary, and eye-opening view of the future direction of forensic science This one-of-a-kind book is a collection of content from the Past and Current Presidents of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences—providing readers with all of their forensic science experience, knowledge, insight, and wisdom. It envisions where forensic science will be a decade from now and the impact of these emerging advances on the law (along with our place in it), emphasizing theoretical advances, innovative leads from the laboratory, and emerging technologies. Filled with information from some of the greatest forensic minds of their generation, The Future of Forensic Science covers all of the eleven sections that comprise the AAFS. It discusses new directions in forensic anthropology, and looks at the future of such disciplines as criminalistics, forensic engineering science, forensic psychiatry and behavioral science, forensic toxicology, and forensic document examination. It also touches on the current and future state of digital and multimedia sciences. Contains contributions from an eminent group of forensic science experts Presents a valuable repository of forensic science experience, knowledge, insight, and wisdom Offers an insightful interdisciplinary look at the future of forensic science and how it is changing forensic science for the better Timed to coincide with the NIST forensic science initiative and the OSAC process The Future of Forensic Science is a must-have book for practicing forensic science professionals, academics, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in forensic science. This book is published as part of the AAFS series ‘Forensic Science in Focus’.

Forensic Science Reform: Protecting the Innocent is written for the nonscientist to help make complicated scientific information clear and concise enough for attorneys and judges to master. This volume covers physical forensic science, namely arson, shaken baby syndrome, non-accidental trauma, bite marks, DNA, ballistics, comparative bullet lead analysis, fingerprint analysis, and hair and fiber analysis, and contains valuable contributions from leading experts in the field of forensic science. - 2018 PROSE Awards - Winner, Award for Textbook/Social Services: Association of American Publishers - Offers training for prosecuting attorneys on the present state of the forensic sciences in order to avoid reliance on legal precedent that lags decades behind the science - Provides defense attorneys the knowledge to defend their clients against flawed science - Arms innocence projects and appellate attorneys with the latest information to challenge convictions that were obtained using faulty science - Uses science-specific case studies to simplify issues in forensic science for the legal professional - Offers a detailed overview of both the failures and progress made in the forensic sciences, making the volume ideal for law school courses covering wrongful convictions, or for undergraduate courses on law, legal ethics, or forensics

This book explores the rise of modern DNA typing techniques, which have proven the innocence of many persons convicted of major crimes and resulted in the exoneration of more than two hundred on death row.