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The CSI Mystique: Forensic
Science in the Courtroom
“Law You Can Use” Courtesy of the Ohio State Bar Association
Long before CSI debuted, juries have reached confusing decisions. Forensic science is an important part of many trials and, if used effec- tively, can help guide the jury.
Q: Is there really a “CSI effect” in courtrooms? A: Yes. CSI remains among the top television shows in America. Many of those millions of weekly viewers will be seated on juries and asked to decide cases with forensic evidence.
CSI is not the first exposure most TV viewers have to forensic science. The roots of CSI date back to Quincy M.E., which first aired in 1976 and as early as the 1960’s, popular TV shows such as Mannix, Cannon and Ironside focused on private investigation that involved the use of forensic analysis to solve cases.
After more than a half-century of these types of television shows, most jurors come into a courtroom with a pre-conceived notion of what forensic evidence should be and how it is used in investigations and litigation.
Q: What is forensic evidence?
A: Most dictionaries define forensics as “analysis suitable for use in courts or public discussion and relating or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal issues.” Courtroom application, however, is complex.
Jurors today are intrigued by forensic testing and analysis and are extremely receptive to this type of evidence. Attorneys and witnesses must embrace fully jurors’ interest in forensics and use it to maximum advantage. If they fail to do so, they are unlikely to meet expectations arising from their exposure to forensics through movies, television or popular novels.
Jurors are ready and willing to hear and consid- er forensic evidence, especially when the advocate or witness presenting the evidence intrigues the jury and demonstrates the extent of analysis and preparation that went into building the case in a way that is not dry and boring.
Q: How does “real” forensics differ from CSI?
A: Most actual laboratory analysis is done in a basement with old tile floors and fluorescent lighting, and not in the space age, blue-lit phenomenal laboratories depict- ed on TV. Lab results and test- ing are far more complicated and take much longer than a one-hour TV episode allows. Hollywood’s depiction is also much different from the forensic evidence and analysis that presented in an actual jury trial. Attorneys and witnesses must do a good job of explaining and even demonstrating why the jurors can rely on a particular scientific analysis to reach a sound decision about evidence in a case. Many jurors find such explana- tions and demonstrations to be the most interesting and compelling part of a trial.
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