Evidence
An investigator collects a bloody shirt, puts it into a plastic bag while it is still wet, and seals it. What problem could this create?
Evidence degradation or contamination
The four bases found in DNA are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and this.
Guanine
The three basic fingerprint patterns are loops, whorls, and this.
Arches
These rights must generally be communicated to a person before custodial interrogation.
Miranda rights
TRUE or FALSE: Two people can have the same DNA profile.
Generally false for unrelated individuals, although identical twins can have extremely similar or effectively indistinguishable standard DNA profiles.
A shoeprint found at a crime scene is an example of this type of evidence.
Impression evidence
This molecule carries genetic information in living organisms (no abbreviations).
Deoxyribonucleic acid
The invisible fingerprints left behind by natural oils and sweat.
Latent fingerprints
This Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Fourth Amendment
TRUE or FALSE: Blood-spatter analysis can always tell investigators exactly what happened.
False - it can provide information about events, but interpretations have limitations.
A piece of evidence that can be associated with a particular person, object, or location but isn't necessarily unique to one source.
Class evidence
The biological structure that contains DNA in most human cells.
The nucleus
This type of fingerprint is intentionally made with ink or another substance.
Patent fingerprints
This is the legal standard requiring enough evidence to justify an arrest or search warrant.
Probable cause
TRUE or FALSE: Luminol proves that a substance is blood.
False - luminol can react with substances other than blood, so additional testing is needed.
An investigator finds a blue fiber on a victim's clothing that is microscopically similar to fibers from a suspect's carpet. What type of evidence is the fiber?
Trace evidence
The unique pattern generated from analyzing selected regions of a person's DNA.
DNA profile
The principle that fingerprints are unique to individuals and remain relatively stable throughout life.
Fingerprint individuality/permanence
This Amendment guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial and the right to an attorney in criminal prosecutions.
Sixth Amendment
TRUE or FALSE: A fingerprint always remains exactly the same throughout a person's entire life.
False - the underlying ridge patterns are generally stable, but fingerprints can be temporarily or permanently altered by injury or scarring.
The documented history of who collected, handled, transferred, and stored evidence.
Chain of custody
This technique can make millions of copies of a specific region of DNA.
PCR (polymerase chain reaction)
The study of fingerprints for identification is called this.
Dactyloscopy
Police enter a home without a warrant because they hear someone inside calling for help. What legal concept may justify the entry?
Exigent circumstances
TRUE or FALSE: A person's DNA can be found in every part of their body.
False - mature red blood cells, for example, don't contain a nucleus and therefore don't contain nuclear DNA.