Influencing Court Cases
Critics of the C.S.I. effect argue that jurors have unrealistic expectations and
expect a case to be quickly solved based on forensic evidence. The series, they
say, has given jurors, lawyers, and the general public a simplistic education on
analyzing evidence. Many judges are now seeing cases where lawyers for the
prosecution or defense rely more heavily on forensic ‘C.S.I.’ technicians than
before. They expect the technicians to quickly process blood, fingerprint, or DNA
evidence in their favor. DNA samples like blood or hair evidence now dominate a
larger part of court cases. This is in contrast to previous cases where motive and
opportunity to commit a crime were the main focus. This puts added pressure on
forensic technicians. Never before has such a popular TV show had such an
important effect on the justice system.