In March 2018, the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC) created a Lexicon of Forensic Science Terminology to help facilitate communication across many disciplines. Attorneys can access the OSAC Lexicon to find definitions of forensic science terms that are agreed upon across various disciplines.
The terms and definitions come from the published literature, including documentary standards, specialized dictionaries, Scientific Working Group (SWG) documents, books, journal articles, and technical reports. Some definitions have been modified to reach consensus across disciplines. Going forward, the OSACs will use these terms and their definitions when drafting standards, unless there is a specific need for modification.
Adoption of standardized terminology is important to facilitate clear communication between scientists, legal professionals and other criminal justice stakeholders, and jurors.
Forensic Science in North Carolina 