Florida-based professor of law and attorney Carol Henderson shares her expertise on the law and forensics in a conversation with Law Enforcement Technology about the influence of TV crime dramas on American juries, known as the “CSI Effect,” and how it affects law enforcement.
She describes the misinformed jury who asked for the fingerprints from a lawn; how the officer on the stand can sway the jury; bathroom caulk inappropriately used to extract evidence on TV; and even Jack Klugman’s “Quincy.”
Henderson, a former federal prosecutor from Washington, D.C., is currently director of National Clearing House for Science, Technology and the Law (www.ncstl.org). The NIJ project is a free online resource with expert information on forensic science and technology and is utilized by a broad audience from law enforcement officers to scientists.
