Chemistry and the Law

Catalog description

The goal of the course is to provide the student with an introduction to the American criminal justice system and role of forensic evidence and expert testimony in that system. At the completion of the course, the students shall be able to compare and contrast the adversarial process (law) and the scientific method (science), to identify criminal offenses and procedural requirements within a set of facts, to describe the trial process and the role of the forensic scientist in that process, to explain the admissibility of scientific evidence, and to explain and defend a forensic case file. The course will include lectures, discussions, reading assignments, and class participation.