The CSI Effect: Television and Technology in Law and Society

Speaker Name: Aaron Luttman (aluttman at clarkson dot edu )

Speaker Afiliation: Clarkson University

Abstract: Over the last 15 years television has been inundated with programs that focus on the science of solving crimes.

The actual science in these shows is often misrepresented, and the forensic scientists often solve unsolvable problems in a matter of a few hours. This has actually led to a measured change in the way prosecutors and defense attorneys select juries, as it is believed that seeing the "fake" science on television has changed jurors attitudes towards forensic evidence in actual cases. Jurors now want to see better scientific results than is actually possible, because they have seen these good results on TV. We'll discuss the current state of research on the "CSI Effect," and show a particular example to demonstrate the state of the art in forensic imaging and how it is represented in the courtroom.

Target Audience: This is essentially a sociology talk, requiring only high school social studies. Watching TV a plus!