Wayne College
University of Akron
Mathew Fisher
November 19, 2014
How many people watch the network CBS? Nine point two nine million views watched the network during the week of November 7th, 2014(Biebel). How does this even remotely matter? Well, much of CBS’ shows revolve around crime drama. People love the shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, Law and Order, just to name a few. With the popularity, there is a down side. The name of this down side? It is called “The CSI Effect”. What in the world is this “CSI Effect”? Well, according to the Urban Dictionary:
“The CSI effect is a phenomenon that now frustrates the American legal system. Prospective jurors are beginning to have unrealistic expectations of forensic technique and expect airtight cases with slam-dunk convictions. While television makes things look easy (as always), the fact is, that forensic science involves excruciatingly long procedures (DNA testing takes days/weeks, not hours to do) and don't always produce conclusive results. Experts blame the popularity of the television shows Law and Order and CSI (hence the name)” (CSI Effect).
Perhaps I can simplify that for you. Essentially, this is when people look at a court case and have unrealistic perceptions on how things are handled. The phrase “CSI Effect” was coined into the legal lexicon in 2003. This is also shortly after the show, appropriately named CSI premiered. On the flip side, there has also been a sharp increase in forensic undergraduate students due to the show increasing the awareness of the forensic field (Heinrick). How is this effect shown? In a court case that took place, the jurors were frustrated that the investigators had not “dusted the lawn for finger prints” (Shelton). Yes, that was correctly heard. In fact, jurors have requested DNA tests that are neither relevant, nor worth the time and money to do so. However, the shows have taught that you can always get finger prints and it will help secure the case. Does that sound crazy? In a case in Washington State, the case was at an impasse due to such. The suspect’s finger prints were not on the weapon used to stab the victim. The woman was placed at the scene, however the jury wanted DNA evidence (Shelton). If that seems even crazier, there are other instances. A man was acquitted, from shooting a victim, due to lack of gunshot residue. A man in Illinois was accused of attempted murder of his girlfriend. The man was acquitted because the sheets had not been tested for DNA. Days after his release, he ended up murdering his ex-girlfriend. This was also the case in Baltimore, a man was acquitted of murder. There were plenty of people whom could place him at the scene, however, the jury was not fond of the evidence, or lack of (Heinriek). So if people have a false perception on what forensic scientists do, what is the true story? In a report done by a Canadian news outlet, they followed real forensic scientist in Brittish Columbia. One of the scientist stated that, “We do not drive fancy cars, but rather minivans. We wear army boots” (16x9). The video also talks about how crime scenes are gone over very well, at an incredibly slow pace. They also bring up that things such as DNA matching, finger print scanning and facial recognition software is all done within minutes. Which, as they point out, can “raise a lot of expectations” (16X9). In another interview that was conducted, a police officer had stated that he was testifying and this came up. In fact, the judge stated, “well I saw such and such on TV”, to which the officer politely explained that this is not in fact possible. In reality, DNA tests could take up to 1-6 months to do. Also, worth noting, is that finger prints do not “just show up on a screen” (16x9). What does a crime lab even look like? Well it certainly is not dark like shown on the shows. Anderson Cooper did a story trying to get insight on what it was actually like. In one
