Ethics and the Practice of Forensic Science

While one would hope that forensic scientists, investigators, and experts are intrinsically ethical by nature, the reality is that these individuals have morality as varied as the general population. These professionals confront ethical dilemmas every day, some with clear-cut protocols and others that frequently have no definitive answers.

Since the publication of the first edition of Ethics and the Practice of Forensic Science, the field of forensic science has continued to see its share of controversy. This runs the gamut of news stories from investigators, lab personnel, or even lab directors falsifying results, committing perjury, admitting to fraud, to overturned convictions, questions about bias, ethics, and what constitutes an "expert" on the witness stand.

This fully updated edition tackles all these issues¿including some specific instances and cases of unethical behavior¿and addresses such sal