Forensic Scientist

Forensic scientist is a specialised scientist that primary role is to analyse any evidence that comes into a laboratory relating to an investigation and to relay the findings to the appropriate officials whether that would be the attorneys or defence lawyers. The forensic scientist will be given a variety of different pieces of evidence that were found at the crime scene, whether they are biological, chemical and physical. The analyse will differ depending upon the piece of evidence under investigation. For example if a piece of clothing came into the laboratory they could potentially analyses the evidence for any hair fibres, clothing fibres or blood splatters that may provide links to the victim or suspects. The role of the forensic scientist is extremely important within most cases as it can provide strong evidence to place an individual at the scene, as forensic evidence cannot be disputed if it considered a “strong” piece of evidence. For example if DNA is found on a piece of evidence and it matches to an individual it is evident that they will have some involvement in the case.

Referring back to the Paul Morin case the Ontario Centre of Forensic Science was vital in the final acquittal of Paul Morin. However in the early stages of the investigation poor forensic analysis of pieces of evidence contributed in the imprisonment of Paul Morin. This is because the evidence that was taken to the laboratory became contaminated because the scientists were not wearing protective clothing. Also the evidence that was presented in court was misleading as the scientists they identified that fibres found on Paul Morin’s car were similar to Christine Jessops’s but stated that it isn’t strong evidence as it cannot be said that they belonged to her for definite. However semen found on Christine Jessops’s clothing proved Morin’s innocence after 10 years, therefore a prime example showing how important forensic evidence can be in an investigation. As it can prove the innocence of an individual or it can provide evidence showing that they did commit a crime.

The forensic scientist team will be present in most investigations, as typically there is several pieces of evidence within any crime, therefore their responsibility will remain the same (analysing evidence). As an analysis from different pieces of evidence can provide a large amount of information that may be vital to an investigation. The type of forensic analyse may differ depending upon the case, as gun specialists may need to be brought if the investigation involved a short. The forensics will then be able to analyses the casings from bullets to enable to link the casing to the gun which will potentially lead them to the owner of the gun. Whereas, in a sexual assault case biological evidence would be pivotal. This is because semen that may be found will contain DNA that can then be linked to an individual.