Legal Medicine

Guadalupe D. Villaret-Matejka, MD
College of Law
University of San Agustin

Goal:

The goal of this course is to provide law

students with fundamentals of forensic
science and equip them with knowledge
needed for the law profession.

Definition:

16th century Italy and Britain: Medicine

legale

Latin: forensis public; of a forum: Forensic

science science that is applied to legal matters
Medical jurisprudence: University of Edinburgh
1789 by Dr. Andrew Duncan, "medical police
and juridical medicine".
Health Law: economics of health care, public
policy and healthcare regulation, bioethics

Definition:

Scientific method:
1. Observation and collection of data
2. Conjecture of collected data (analysis)
3. Formulation of hypothesis
4. Testing the hypothesis or reconstruction
5. Theory

Objectives:
Define legal medicine
Importance of legal medicine
Scope of legal medicine
Medico-legal cases

Forensic Medicine

The application of medical science to

elucidate legal problems
Dr. Pedro Solis
Deals with investigation, preparation,
preservation and presentation of evidence
and medical opinion in courts
Dr. William J. Currran

Legal Medicine

The application of medicine to legal

science.
Dr. Pedro Solis
Areas of medicine concerned with
relations with substantive law and with
legal institutions
Dr. William Curran

Medicolegal practitioners

Doctors handling medicolegal cases

Forensic experts, scientist

Health officers
Medical officers of law enforcement agency
Members of medical staff of accredited hospital

Private practitioners
PNP criminal laboratory
NBI criminal laboratory

Forensic Science in the

Philippines

Spanish regime

American regime

Medico Titulares in charged of public sanitation and

medico-legal aid
Medico-Titulares under the Board of Health

Philippine Republic

Medico-legal Division was established at the PGH and

was later transfer under the authority of Department of
Justice.
In 1947, the Medico-legal Division was transferred to
the National Bureau of Investigation

Forensic sciences

Forensic anthropology
Forensic medicine
Forensic pathology
Forensic pschiatry/psychology
Forensic meteorology
Forensic DNA analysis
Forensic odontology

Forensic sciences

Forensic archeologist
Forensic entomology
Forensic chemistry and toxicology
Fingerprint experts
Handwriting experts
Forensic linguistics
Forensic nursing, etc
Bioethics, liability, management of health care

Scope of Forensic Medicine

Crime Scene Investigation

Medico-legal aspects of Identification
Medico-legal aspect of Death
Causes of Death and Conduct of Autopsy
Medico-legal aspect of Physical Injuries
Ballistics
Sex Crimes
Pregnancy/Abortion/Paternity and Filiation
Disturbance of Mentality
Alcoholism and Poisoning

Medico-legal cases

Injuries or death involving persons who have no

means of being identified.
Persons pronounced as dead on arrival.
Deaths under the following circumstances:
1. Death occurring within 24 hours of
admission when cause of death is unknown
2. Unexpected death when the decease is in
apparent good health

3. Death due to natural cause but with

physical evidence of foul play.
4. Death as a result of violence, accident,
suicide or poisoning.
5. Death due to improper or negligent act
of another person.

Medicolegal cases

Victims of physical injuries cause by any of the

following.
1. GSW, SW, mauling, etc.
2. VA
3. Asphyxia
4. Electrocution, burns
5. Accident, homicide or suicide
6. Poisoning

Cases of child abuse, domestic violence, rape,

alcoholism and drug addiction.
Cases involving mental competency of the
patient.
Iatrogenic causes brought about by negligent
acts or omissions of the hospital staff resulting in
violation of rights of patients or leading to
patient`s physical and mental incapacitation,
physical injury and death.

Under Philippine Laws, medico-legal

deaths must undergo mandatory autopsy.

June, a defense lawyer for S&E Heaters, was thwarted at every turn by
the one fact that she could not change: The plaintiffs lawyer knew more
about his clients's case than she did. June's clients stood to loose
millions unless she could prove that their product, a hot water heater,
was not at fault in the electrocution death of Mr. Edwards.
When Mr. Edwards was electrocuted 2 years ago, the EMS paramedics
thought it was an accidental death. They'd taken the body to the ME
who checked the ocular fluid and learned that Mr. Edwards had been
intoxicated when he stuck a metal screwdriver into his hot water heater
while standing barefoot on wet carpet. For the defense, that was good
news. It meant Mr. Edwards was negligent and his death wasn't cause b
a defective hot water heater.
But the medical examiner (ME) had screwed things up. He
hadn't ,followed the rules about chain of custody of evidence. Because
he could not account for the location of the blood alcohol evidence at all
times, it was possible it had been tampered with. The plaintiffs lawyer
successfully argued to exclude the evidence from the case.

Because of that, June worried that her client would

have to write the Edwards family a settlement check
with lots of zeroes.
"What are you moping around." June's boss asked
her.
She explained everything.
You're overlooking something, aren't you? He asked.
"What?"
"I see Mr. Edwards was an organ donor. And you
know what that means."
June thought about it a while. Finally, her face lit up.
What did June realize that made the case
defensible?

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

Crime scene:

Crime scene: It is the place where the essential

ingredients of the criminal act took place.
Crime scene investigation: collection of the
physical evidences that may lead to the identity
of the perpetrator, the manner the criminal act
was executed and other things that may be
useful in the prosecution of the case.

Members of the team:

Police investigators
Medico-legal experts (medical examiners)
Fingerprint experts
Photographer
Chemist
Sketch artist
Evidence recorder

Methods of conducting the

search:

Strip method
Double strip or grid method
Spiral method
Wheel method
Zone method

Salient points:

Determine if the victim is alive or not.

Preserve the scene of the crime until proper
markings/photographs are taken.
The scene of the crime must be cordoned off.
The immediate environment inspected for clue
and evidences.
Evidence collected must be properly identified,
sealed and signed by the investigator and
endorsed to the custodian.

The neighbors gathered on the street outside, watching with mixed horrors and
fascination as the firefighters battled the blaze in the front half of the house.
Bill put his arm around Lisa and held her close. "I wonder if he is ok," she said.
He shrugged. "It depends on where he was in the house. Since the bedroom is in the
back, maybe he is all right."
The house had been the only real asset of the owners possessed, and it was heavily
mortgaged.
"I know his wife is out of town,"said Lisa, "but I saw him about an hour ago, taking out
the trash. How can this be happening?"
A firefighter emerged from the front door with the family canary squawking in his cage.
He handed the cage to Bill. "Can you care for the bird until the wife comes home?"
"Of course," Bill responded. He didn't know how his neighbor could sleep through a
fire with that damn bird in his bedroom. The bird was loud enough to keep Bill up at
night.

Just then, EMS workers came out of the front door with a body on a
stretcher. Lisa's stomach turned when she saw the lifeless remains of
her neighbor.
"Found him in bed," he heard one of the firefighters tell the EMS guy.
Bill stared. The old guy didn't smoke, but his trophy wife often puffed
obscenely on a fat cigar. She was too proud of the home, he thought,
to have set the blaze intentionally.
"What a horrible way to die," Lisa said quietly to bill. "It must have
been smoke inhalation because the body doesn't look burned or
anything."
"He didn't die of inhalation," Bill suddenly blurted out. "He was dead
before the fire even started."
What brought bill to this conclusion.

Evidence:
Evidence is the means of ascertaining in a
judicial proceeding the truth respecting a
matter of fact.
If it is medical in nature then it is called
medical evidence.
Admissibility of evidence

Evidence

All evidences collected must be protected,

identified and preserved.
Evidence custodian is responsible to preserve
the shape, minimize contamination and chemical
changes and transfer of evidences.
Types of evidences:
Autoptic or real evidence

Limitations
Indecency and impropriety
Repulsive objects and those offensive to the sensibilities

Evidence

Testimonial evidence

Ordinary witness (privilege of communication, dying

declaration)
Expert witness

Experimental evidence
Documentary evidence

Medical certification/report
Medical expert opinion
deposition
Photographs, videos

Evidence

Physical evidence
Corpus delicti evidence
Associative evidence
Tracing evidence
Criminalistics - identification, collection,
preservation and mode of presentation of
evidence

Physical evidence examination should

prove:

That a crime has indeed taken place.

Determine the perpetrators MO.
Establish contact between a victim and a
suspect.
Establish contact between a person and a
scene.
Support or disprove a witness`testimony
Provide investigative lead.

Preservation of evidence

Photographs, audio/video tape, micro film

Sketching

Rough sketch
Finished sketch

Description
Manikin method
Preservation in the mind of the witness
Special methods