It was the narrowest of margins, but with a “score” of 5-4, the court reversed a decision last April by Maryland’s highest court that overturned the 2010 conviction and life sentence of Alonzo Jay King for a rape committed seven years earlier.

The matter of DNA testing is a touchy, delicate matter. DNA profiling (also called, DNA typing, or genetic fingerprinting) is a technique employed by forensic scientists to identify individuals based on DNA – it is one of the most accurate identification techniques (though it has its flaws).

Now, DNA samples can be taken if police have probable cause to detain a suspect facing charges relating to a serious offense, officials announce.

Taking a sample using a swab of the cheek is “like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said. Justice Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

This, law enforcers believe, will help solve hard to crack cases, and that this doesn’t violate the Fourth Amendment. However, there is a strong opposition voiced against this measure.

Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative, joined Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, all from the liberal wing of the court in dissenting with this opinion – they claim that this opinion “taxes the credulity of the credulous”.

They explain that taking DNA is not really that standard of a process – when somebody is arrested, he is immediately fingerprinted and photographed, but DNA sampling is not the same thing.

The technique was used for several decades now. In the 1950s, Anna Anderson claimed that she was Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. Three decades later, DNA testing she was an impotor. In 1986, Richard Buckland was exonerated in a very strange case, despite having admitted to the rape and murder of a teenager near Leicester, the city where DNA profiling was first developed. In the same case, Colin Pitchfork was convicted on the same basis.

First, let’s look at the behavioral characteristics of problem gamblers. For many, the symptoms of problem gambling will mimic drug addiction and some problem gamblers are mistaken as drug addicts. Among these behavior characteristics include preoccupation and loss of control in connection with their gambling. They have usually made many attempts to stop their activity but were unable. Problem gamblers are often preoccupied with gambling, gambling strategies, or even ways to raise capital to gamble with.

Other behavioral characteristics include withdrawal, lying, and even tolerance to gambling.  A gambler that has not gambled in a while or is trying to stop will exhibit withdrawal symptoms much the same as a drug addict. These withdrawal symptoms can even exhibit when a gambler is not even trying to quit, much like they do with severe drug addicts. They will often lie to family, friends, and even their own spouse regarding the extent of their problem. Often, a gambler will have to increase the amount of money wagered in order to experience the rush of gambling much like a drug addict has to increase the potency or frequency of use to keep their same high.

For many , there comes a point where they hit a wall. This may come as a result of running out of money to wager with or they may lose their job due to their gambling addiction. Sometimes, a gambler will run up such a mountain of debt to casinos, bookies, or others that they are forced to find another revenue stream to pay their debts and to continue gambling. Many times, this is when a problem gambler will turn to criminal activity.

The type of illegal activity a problem gambler engages in will depend on circumstances. The most common form of illegal activity is forgery and theft. If you look into the past of many problem gamblers, you will see this activity begin small and possibly with family or close friends. These incidents by and large may be covered up to protect the gambler in hopes they will turn things around. When they do not, they have to find others to steal from.

Fraud and embezzlement are common for white collar problem gamblers with the access to funds. Again, many times these criminal acts may start small and often the gambler “intends to pay the money back.” When their luck fails to turn around, the problem compounds and many times the embezzlement continues until records are audited or some other situation occurs that reveals that illegal activity has occurred.

Compulsive gamblers at their core have an addiction to the act of gambling like a drug addict does to crack or heroin. While it does not excuse criminal behavior when they engage in it, it at least give those investigating the crimes a better understanding behind why the crimes may have been committed.

Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription.  ~Val Saintsbury

Forensic nursing is a relatively new field in healthcare, but make no mistake – first and foremost a forensic nurse is a NURSE. I don’t mean to be obvious, but it’s an important fact that you need to factor in. Caring and helping people get past their health problems is at the forefront of nursing. Alright, so what’s the difference between a regular nurse and a forensic nurse?

What is a forensic nurse?

While a forensic nurse will most of the time perform the same duties as a regular nurse, a forensic nurse however will also be responsible for collecting evidence and most often than not also give expert testimony in court. Moreover, forensic nurses are professionally trained to help people suffering from trauma be it sexual or violence related. Basically, a forensic nurse bridges the gap between law enforcement and healthcare.

Forensic nursing work environment

I may have had to issue a forewarning before even writing the first paragraph of this article. Forensic nursing ins’t for the faint of heart. Do expect, if you intend on tackling this profession, to deal with traumatized victims regularly like victims of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, pediatric trauma, as well as victims of other violent or traumatic events. Then again, nurses in emergency rooms and the likes also have their fair share of gore now and then.

Nevertheless, a forensic nurse will typically base his work at the hospital, while regular trips to the police, court and prisons are also expected.

How to become a forensic nurse

Like I said, first and foremost a forensic nurse is nurse; again, meaning the forensic side a specialization. You’ll first need to become a certified nurse before you can apply for a forensics training program.

During your training as a forensic nurse, you’ll be acquiring the in-depth knowledge and skill that interfaces nursing with the law, law enforcement, forensic science, mental health and the health care and judicial systems.

Forensic nursing schools and graduate programs

Since the profession isn’t entirely that wide spread, despite the constant need for trained personnel, not a lot of schools and universities offer forensic nursing programs. Typically we’ve found that there’s on average only one university per state in the US that offers a forensic nursing program in their curriculum. ITSGOV.com doesn’t want to endorse a particular program, but it’s suffice to say that a few google searches will render at the top results some of the most important universities offering such possibilities.

Forensic nursing salary

As with regular nursing, a forensic nurse’s salary will vary according to the region and time of employment. Typically, hospitals offer a salary add-on to the basic RN salary and that may be an additional $1-4 per hour for all time the nurse is scheduled to be on-call for emergencies.Nationwide it’s estimated that the hourly salary for a forensic nurse varies from as low as $26 per hour to as high as $100 per hour. Consulting work is also reported on average to hover over the $150/hour mark.

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