Pollen calendar
Encyclopedia
A pollen calendar is used to show the peak pollen
times for different types of plant pollens which cause allergic reactions in certain people.
".
However, the use of a pollen calendar to set the date of death should be used with extreme caution, and only by a carefully trained expert witness
. The CSI effect
has pressured on some police officer
s and District Attorney
s to provide pollen-based evidence
, but "these appear to be of limited use in the forensic context where outcomes are scrutinised in court
."
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
times for different types of plant pollens which cause allergic reactions in certain people.
In forensics
A pollen calendar can be a very useul tool in forensic science, because it can be used to place the month, or week, or date of death. The use of pollen for criminal investigation purposes is called "Forensic palynologyPalynology
Palynology is the science that studies contemporary and fossil palynomorphs, including pollen, spores, orbicules, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, chitinozoans and scolecodonts, together with particulate organic matter and kerogen found in sedimentary rocks and sediments...
".
However, the use of a pollen calendar to set the date of death should be used with extreme caution, and only by a carefully trained expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
. The CSI effect
CSI Effect
The CSI effect, also known as the CSI syndrome and the CSI infection, is any of several ways in which the exaggerated portrayal of forensic science on crime television shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation influences public perception...
has pressured on some police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s and District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
s to provide pollen-based evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
, but "these appear to be of limited use in the forensic context where outcomes are scrutinised in court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
."