ABSTRACT
The word forensic is derived from the Latin forensis, meaning “forum.” A town square or marketplace in ancient cities, the forum was the arena of discussion and disputation in judicial and other public matters. As society became more complex, disputes were argued and settled in formally organized courts. Today, the term forensic still applies to and is used in courts of law or public discussion and debate. Forensics, an all-encompassing term in criminal justice, also includes the relatively new fields of forensic accounting, forensic engineering, and forensic nursing, all of which characterize the scientific examination of evidence. Owing largely to television shows and motion pictures, the term is now generic and part of the vocabulary of the average person—and, therefore, jurors. At least two major branches of forensic science are recognized, the most obvious being criminalistics and forensic medicine. Each has several subdivisions.
