California Association of Criminalists


Since 1954
 
72nd SEMI-ANNUAL SEMINAR (Fall 1988)
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINALISTS
October 20 - 22, 1988
Costa Mesa, California

PROPOSAL FOR A FORENSIC SCIENCE CURRICULUM CATALOG
Louis A. Maucieri; California Criminalistics Institute, 4949 Broadway Room F-104, Sacramento CA 95820

A profession such as Forensic Science should establish uniform standards of training in an organized body of knowledge. Such standards would stress the foundation in the applied sciences of chemistry and biology. They would also reveal a clear path of skills development and advancement from entry to intermediate to advanced levels for various classifications in allied disciplines. What is lacking is a course curriculum catalog that unifies the theme of comparative analysis for forensic personnel. A proposed outline for a catalog of tentative offerings will be presented. It was developed to spark debate within the forensic community to achieve the best representation and ultimately an informed consensus.


AFTER THE BLAST - INVESTIGATION OF EXPLOSION SCENES
John D. DeHaan; Criminalist/Program Manager, California Criminalistics Institute, 4949 Broadway, Room F-104, Sacramento, CA 95820

Investigating a scene where there has been an explosion resulting in death or injury is of triple difficulty for the crime scene team. First, there are the normal types of evidence of criminal activity -blood, tissues, fingerprints, toolmarks, shoe impressions and the like. Second, there are physical and chemical traces resulting from the explosion which need to be collected, for example: explosive material, container, initiating mechanism and so on. Third, the scene is overlaid with debris from the building, vehicle or natural surroundings. This debris may conceal the evidence one is seeking and distract or inhibit searchers from their real goal: to seek the cause of the explosion (whether accidental or intentional) by reconstructing the original scene and its contents.

The explosion scene requires special discipline and organization of the CSI team. This paper describes explosion mechanisms and blast effects, the types of evidence produced and their potential contributions to reconstruction of the scene or device. Case examples will highlight the interpretative and reconstructive aspects of evidence and show the complexity of blast scenes. Understanding the objectives and proper management of the scene search allows for maximum effectiveness of this tedious and time-consuming process. The analytical approach used successfully in BATF laboratories of the U.S. Treasury Department will be outlined. Finally, suggestions will be offered for improving both the quantity and quality of evidence from explosion scenes.


AIDS - FACTS AND RISKS
Geraldine Dettman, Ph.D.; Viro Research International, Inc.

Both professional and health care workers have become acutely aware and concerned about the potential exposure to infectious diseases and the AIDS virus because of work-related contact with blood and other body fluids. Skin and mucous membrane contact with body fluids increases the risk of infection with the AIDS virus and other disease organisms. An update of the disease AIDS, its modes of transmission, disinfection and infection control practices will be presented. Although full-blown AIDS is not yet widely prevalent in many areas of the U.S., the Virus has been spread throughout the U.S. and the world via sexual contact, blood and body fluid contact, contaminated blood products and from mother and child. The AIDS virus has infected persons throughout the world. Unless serious AIDS control programs are adopted, infection with the AIDS virus will continue to spread. Basic infection control practices to avoid contact with potentially infected body fluids will decrease the risk of infection with the AIDS virus or other infectious disease organisms in the workplace.


BOTTLE BREAKAGE PATTERNS AS AN AID TO THE RECONSTRUCTION OF CRIME SCENES
Gary V. Cortner; California Department of Justice, Fresno Regional Laboratory, 6014 North Cedar Avenue, Fresno, CA 93710

The use of glass patterns produced by breaking bottles will be discussed in relation to crime scene reconstruction. Bottle glass present at the crime scene and the breakage of test bottles of the same brand were compared and will be presented. Empty bottles as well as partially filled wine bottles were tested with interesting results.


THE CAC'S ROLE IN ENCOURAGING PROFESSIONALISM AND PROFESSIONALIZED MANAGEMENT: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Edward F. Rhodes; Santa Ana Police Department, Criminalistics Laboratory, 24 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA. 92701

Professions are generally characterized as occupations requiring advanced education, collegial standards and controls, high ethical standards, service to society and a high degree of individual autonomy. All these requirements are found in Criminalistics, but not in all laboratories or in all criminalists. Professional forensic organizations, such as the California Association of Criminalists, can play an important role in encouraging these elements for all laboratories and their staff.

The CAC was first established, in large pan, to address these very elements. Most of the founders of the CAC were laboratory bench workers as well as "directors" (indeed, many were the only laboratory employee). So as they sought to professionalize their own personal performance they were also doing so for the laboratory. As the laboratories and the Association grew, the job of manager or director became a full time non-benchwork position. Thus to professionalize the laboratory meant that the manager must encourage or at least allow his subordinates to pursue these professional elements through the CAC. Today many managers are so overwhelmed with personnel matters, budgets and departmental politics that they have lost personal touch with the needs of professionalism at the bench level. They have even found it necessary to form their own associations to deal with new matters (ASCLD, CACLD). The CAC, which is largely populated with bench workers, has sought to keep the elements of professionalism growing. Sometimes the promotion of professionalism works against traditional bureaucratic management styles, and management associations. It is in the mutual best interest of bench workers and managers to develop more innovative management atmospheres which encourage professionalism. The CAC can play a proactive role in encouraging these developments, which will be far superior to the alternative "unionist" type of reactive role.


COMPARISON OF POST RECOVERY ARSON ACCELERANT STORAGE CONTAINERS USING CARBON DISULFIDE AS THE VOLATILE LIQUID
Wayne Moorehead; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Using carbon disulfide as the liquid, different means of storage were compared: 1/2 dram screw cap vial, 1.5 ml crimp cap vial, the crimp cap vial in a snap cap bottle, and the crimp cap vial sealed in a Kapak bag. In none days, the carbon disulfide had evaporated significantly (43% to 98.6%) from the screw cap vials and in one month, the vials were visually dry, each having more than 96% evaporation. In nine days, the crimp cap vials lost less than 4% of the carbon disulfide. At three months, the tendency was that the low liquid volume vials had a higher percentage of evaporation.


CRIMINALISTICS IN THE SOVIET UNION
Gregory Laskowski; Kern County District Attorney, Forensic Science Division, 1431 "L" Street, Bakersfield CA

In late April of 1988, a delegation of forensic scientists under the auspices of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and People-to-People toured the Soviet Union. Cities visited by the delegation included Moscow, Kiev, Tblisi, Riga, and Leningrad. Included were visited to various criminalistics laboratories of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Justice, and meetings with Soviet trial Lawyers and Law school faculties. A brief photographic tour will be presented.


DENTAL EVIDENCE IN CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
Gerald L. Vale, DDS, JD; Directory of Dentistry, Out Patient Department, 1200 N. State Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033

This presentation illustrates how bite mark evidence in chewing gum, cheese, or human skin can be the crucial evidence in determining guilt or innocence, and how the criminalist can recognize these injuries and participate in collection of the evidence and subsequent investigation. The presentation also illustrates how evidence such as tooth fragments, dental crowns and dentures can be crucial in personal identification, and how this evidence should be collected and used.


DNA ANALYSIS
Michael L Baird, Ph.D.; Lifecodes Corporation, Old Saw Mill River Road, Valhalla, New York 10595

DNA analysis has been used in casework at Lifecodes Corporation for the past two years in over 500 cases. Some case examples will be shown. In addition, experience in court will be discussed. In order to help crime labs to learn DNA analysis, different levels of training are possible and will be discussed.


DNA FINGERPRINTINGSM AS A TOOL IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
Robin W. Cotton, Ph.D, George Herrin, Jr., Ph.D, Daniel D. Garner, Ph.D; Cellmark Diagnostics, 20271 Goldenrod Lane Suite 120, Germantown, MD 20874

The condition of forensic samples received for testing using DNA methodology is critical. Sample storage, shipping and processing steps which affect the outcome will be reviewed as will procedures for the assessment of the quality and quantity of DNA obtained from the samples. If a DNA band pattern is obtained, database considerations then become relevant. Important considerations in the construction and use of a database will be discussed.


PROFESSIONALISM: THE CHALLENGE TO FORENSIC SCIENCE EDUCATION
Jack Cadman; California State University, Los Angeles, CA

Fewer forensic science education programs and more non-forensic graduates working in crime laboratories threatens to dilute criminalistics professionalism. On-the-job training of these individuals focuses on the rapid acquisition of technical skills and ignores whole areas of criminal justice philosophy and practice, and professional criminalistic ethics, attitudes, and perspective. There is an increasing need for forensic science education to not only address these topics in their curricula, but to also find ways of reaching out to the non-forensic science graduates in crime labs, many of whom are beyond commuting distance to the schools. Certification should require professional and technical knowledge for a general criminalist and also participation in continuing education, an important future role for our schools. However, our forensic science programs are struggling not to fall farther back amid worsening budget constraints. Our professional associations and institutes need to find ways of supporting forensic science education. No profession, not a single one, exists without having at its core a strong educational program. This must become a reality if criminalistics is to be a profession. The question must not remain if, it must be how.


CRIMINALISTICS: AN EMERGING PROFESSION
Jan S. Bashinski; Oakland Police Department, Criminalistics Laboratory, 455 Seventh Street, Room 608, Oakland, CA 94607

Despite its relative youth as a profession and the wide range of its subject matter, criminalistics has made great progress in recent years toward developing a professional consciousness. The most visible manifestations of a profession are its formal mechanisms for self evaluation and regulation. This presentation will address the current status of programs of accreditation and certification in criminalistics in comparison with similar programs in other fields. The 1987 CAC-DOJ Serology Symposium will also be discussed as one model for defining and articulating consensus on professional issues.


QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FEEDBACK ON REVIEW OF FORENSIC LAB WORK
Louis A. Maucieri; California Criminalistics Institute, 4949 Broadway Room F-104, Sacramento. CA 95820

A number of laboratories have instituted proficiency testing as one facet of their quality assurance practices. A post-test review of lab work can serve to confirm the skills available within the laboratory. By following a pre-set review protocol, specific quality improvement measures can be an effective positive feedback to continually upgrade work practices. A quality improvement checklist proposed for this process will be described.


RECONSTRUCTION IN FIREARMS INVESTIGATIONS
Lucien C. Haag; Forensic Science Services, Inc, 4034 W. Luke Avenue, Phoenix. Arizona 85019

The reconstructive aspects of shooting incidents can be traces as far back as the shooting of General Stonewall Jackson On May 2, 1863 during the Civil War and the St. Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago in 1929. In both of these historical events the task was limited to identifying the type of weapon involved.

Today a much wider range of analyses are possible. So much so that investigators and criminalists may fail to recognize reconstructive opportunities associated with firearms evidence. The ultimate success of such efforts may involve a number of specialized areas of forensic science beyond that of the criminalist at the scene. Nonetheless, any criminalist involved in scene investigations must have an understanding of what can be done with such evidence and the types of procedures that can be applied to derive the fullest measure of information from it. Several recent case examples will be used to illustrate this process.


FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE CRIME SCENE
Judy Myers Suchey, Ph.D.; Department of Anthropology, California State University, Fullerton CA

Forensic anthropological techniques are essential in the recovery of skeletonized remains-both above-ground and buried. The skills which can be put into play at the scene are:

  1. excavation,
  2. basic identification (age, sex, race, stature reconstruction),
  3. separation of commingled remains,
  4. analysis of trauma.

Anthropological techniques may also be of help in locating the burial site or in demarcating a reasonable area for the search.


FOSTERING PROFESSIONALISM IN THE SMALL LABORATORY
Jan S. Bashinski; Oakland Police Department, Criminalistics Laboratory, 455 Seventh Street, Room 608, Oakland, CA 94607

Professionalism in a laboratory must be nurtured by building on the strengths of its particular organizational environment. Organizations, like individuals, will find that their weaknesses and strengths go hand in hand. For example, a larger laboratory may have greater equipment and staff resources than a smaller organization but will also have to contend with greater communication and coordination problems. The small laboratory environment, on the other hand, is ideal for collaborative decision making in both the scientific and administrative arenas. However, the small laboratory must also struggle to maintain a critical mass of expertise and to avoid the intellectual inbreeding which can result from isolation. This presentation will briefly discuss some measures, such as collaboration with other laboratories on research and training projects, by which the small laboratory can foster the professional growth and development of its staff.


THE ROLE OF THE GENERALIST IN THE FORENSIC SCIENCES
John L. Ragle; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

California crime laboratories, historically, have relied on criminalists who were the "Jack & Janes of All Trades," capable of performing in many disciplines. This paper explores the trend towards specialization. Can the Paul Kirk image of the all-around scientific sleuth survive? Should it survive? What plans should laboratory managers be making . . . today? It is hoped that these questions and the author's suggestions will open up some healthy discussion.


AN EVALUATION OF THE HEMESELECT IMMUNOCHEMICAL TEST FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF HUMAN BLOODSTAINS
Theresa F. Spear, Sharon A. Binkley; Alameda County Sheriff's Criminalistics Laboratory, 15001 Foothill Blvd., San Leandro, CA 94578

The HemeSelect test (distributed by SmithKline Diagnostics, Inc.) is used to detect low levels of blood in fecal samples for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders. The test uses fixed chicken erythrocytes which are coated with an anti-human hemoglobin antibody. The assay is performed in a microtiter plate and the results are read visually. Fresh and aged human bloodstains, bloodstains stored under a wide variety of conditions, human body fluid stains (e.g. semen, saliva) and animal bloodstains were assayed with the HemeSelect kit. This immunochemical assay was found to be specific and more than two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the species test using countercurrent-immunoelectrophoresis. The HemeSelect test is simple to do and easy to interpret. This test would be especially useful in identifying minute bloodstains which are sometimes encountered on a washed knife blade or bullet.


ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF THE INTOXILYZER 5000
Kenny Wong, Russ Mum ford, Wayne Moorehead; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science service, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Using Guth recirculating simulators and more than 30 CMI Intoxilyzer 5000 breath alcohol instruments reading corresponding blood alcohol levels, eight determinations were made at each of three different simulator values. The simulator values (approximately 0.10%, 0.20%, 0.30% respectively) were determined by wet chemical methods. Using the wet chemical values as the bench mark, the INTOXILYZER reads more accurately and precisely than the manufacturers literature suggests.


MANAGEMENT MODELS FOR ORGANIZATION OF PROFESSIONALS
Robert S. Keister; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Researchers have proposed and studied various models for managing groups of professional workers. Because of the autonomous nature of the motivation and technical decision making of the professional, researchers have described and considered alternative models of management in organizations that employ professionals. Models include the bureaucratic model, senior staff model, collegian model, dual governance model, matrix structure, and dual ladders.


FORENSIC MICROSCOPY AS AN INVESTIGATIVE TOOL
Skip Palenik; McCrone Associates, Inc., 850 Pasquinelli Drive, Westmont, Illinois 60559

Microtraces can provide the crime scene investigator with valuable clues when carefully collected, competently analyzed and thoughtfully interpreted. These traces are, because of their minute size, generally overlooked even if the criminal willfully tries to destroy evidence of his deed. While the value of fibers, hairs, glass, etc., are generally recognized, other less commonly recognized microtraces have shown their value not only as associative evidence after a suspect is in custody, but also during the investigative process.

This lecture will focus on three aspects of this technique. First, the historical, indicating cases from the past in which microscopy and microchemistry of minute traces played a significant role in aiding investigators and speeding the solution of crimes. Second, a review of the tools and techniques of the modern forensic microscopist. And last, a brief review of a few selected cases of more recent occurrence in which microtraces were used to aid the investigators by establishing facts and providing investigative leads.


NEW EMPLOYEE INTEGRATION INTO THE FORENSIC SCIENCE LABORATORY
J. M. White; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Two changes which many forensic laboratories experienced nearly simultaneously have been rapid growth in the number of staff scientists and increased specialization in the knowledge and skills required of these scientists to perform their assigned tasks. This has resulted in changes to the traditional methods of bringing new scientists into the forensic laboratory environment. Smaller laboratories could enjoy informal "mentor-protégé" relationships which do not develop spontaneously in the isolation of many larger laboratory settings.

In the large, scientifically advanced, laboratory it is a common practice to give a new technical employee the intense training necessary to make that employee productive in a given analytical area as soon as possible. This training is frequently at the expense of training in other areas of forensic science.

The value of this training approach to the laboratory is developing rapid case work productivity by the new employee in the assigned area. This is accomplished, however, with companion disadvantages. The employee does not have an opportunity to build a broad base of experience in the forensic sciences and the employer does not have an opportunity to evaluate the employee in a wide range of areas, thus potentially missing talents which might better serve the laboratory needs in other assignments.

The need to introduce the new employee to the complex beast that is forensic science is more acute with the growing number of new employees without formal academic training in the field. For these employees, this need can only be filled as part of the formal laboratory training and orientation program.

Many of these needs are not unique to forensic science and are recognized by management specialists in the area of employee socialization and development. Some general suggestions which could be adapted to these problems are:

  1. Employee orientation programs which are realistic about job expectations.
  2. Formalized personnel development programs to prepare the employee to assume more responsible jobs (ASCLD guidelines).
  3. Management-employee career advisement relationship which incorporates defined goals which are met by both parties.
  4. Fostering formal mentor relationships within the laboratory.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL
Wayne Moorehead, Kenny Wong; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Career development post collegiate training may be made by the professional or by management. The career of the professional progresses in four stages. The early stages are very important in the socialization of the new employee to the organization, overcoming reality shock, and focusing the employee on career goals. Dual or multi-ladder structures offer a wider choice of career paths to the professional. Developing a career path congruent with the individual's life development and the organization's objectives results in a motivated employee throughout the professional's career.


MOTIVATION AND THE PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEE
Wayne Moorehead; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Monetary rewards, while important, are not the only motivating factors to be considered when looking for ways to motivate the professional employee. The nature of the work, input into the decision making process, the organizational structure itself, recognition by peers and managers, and the extent to which the professional feels they have a career in the organization (as opposed to a job) are all non-monetary motivating factors.

Unfortunately, in governmental organizations, management is often restricted from implementing some of the monetary and non-monetary reward systems needed for motivation of the professional employee. Recognition for tasks accomplished, proper career development, and permitting input into the work related decision making process are some of the mechanisms that management may implement to motivate the professional employee.


THE ON-SCENE PATHOLOGIST - TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Ronald L. Rivers, M.D.; Chief Medical Examiner, County of San Diego, 5555 Overland Ave. Building 14, San Diego, CA 92123

Some jurisdictions require a medical examiner at every death scene. Others have never had a physician at any scene, homicide or otherwise. Most fall somewhere in between. This discussion will address whether a pathologist should be called to scenes.

If called - to what kind of scene?
It is useless to call the medical examiner to most homicide scenes since the bodies have been spirited off by the rescue squads.

If called - what they can and can't do?
They can evaluate rigor and livor changes in relation to rearrangement of the body after death. Not in determining an accurate time of death. They cannot tell the sex or handedness of the assailant.They can evaluate whether an injury was self-inflicted.

If called - how can they help the criminalist or evidence technician?
They can help in the recognition and collection of evidence on the body. They can advise on the preservation of evidence and handling of the body during transportation. They are not firearms experts. Muzzle to target distance and caliber are best left to the firearm and toolmark examiner.


POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AS A FORENSIC TOOL
Daniel Clutter; Perkin Elmer Cetus, 2305 Bering Ave., San Jose, CA 95131

The polymerase chain reaction using a thermostable DNA polymerase (Taq polymerase) can be used to amplify genomic DNA. This technique allows small samples (as little as a single copy) to be analyzed. The implications of this technique are obvious: a single hair, a small bloodstain, a sperm sample can now be analyzed and the DNA amplified 10 times. This drastic increase in the amount of DNA can then be compared to a suspects DNA and guilt or innocence proven.


CRIMINALISTICS: A PROFESSION WITHOUT PROFESSIONALS?
John Hartmann; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Society can best be served by a professionalized Criminalistics. Professions are characterized by expertise, autonomy, collegial standards and controls, ethics, commitment to calling, and primary identification with professional peers. By this definition, Criminalistics is not yet a fully fledged profession and may fail to ever become so. Efforts to establish collegial accreditation and certification have been lagging. Moreover, the ultimate determination of expertise lies with another profession: Law and the courts. The increase in number, size, and complexity of Criminalistics labs has been accompanied by the widespread adoption of organizational structures adverse to professionalism. A large fraction of all criminalists have not been exposed to a formal professional Criminalistics education and over-specialization is an increasing threat. Separation of management and criminalist associations predisposes them to polarization. To prevent further erosion, the current efforts to establish accreditation and certification should be supported. Effective mechanisms for peer review must be created. The universities and California Criminalistics Institute must address the need for continuing professional education as well as technical training in conjunction with certification. Laboratory structures and functions should be professionalized. The relationship between management and criminalist associations needs to be reviewed. Professionalization of Criminalistics must be accompanied by professionalization of criminalists. Otherwise, we are likely to follow the paths of medical technology and teaching, failing to ever become a complete profession.


PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALISTICS REQUIRES PROFESSIONALIZED LABORATORIES
John Hartmann; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Unlike classic professionals, most criminalists are salaried employees of government laboratories. As these labs have grown, they have widely adopted the bureaucratic organizational structures of the law enforcement agencies they inhabit. But a voluminous literature highlights the substantial conflict between profession and bureaucracy. Bureaucracies are characterized by: authority and status resident in positions organized in hierarchies, division of labor with simplification, routinization, and standardization, formal rules and procedures, and loyalty to and career advancement within the bureaucracy. Professions are characterized by: authority and status resident in expertise, informal collegial organization of peers, holistic problem solving, internalized and consensus standards, primary reference to professional peers, and career advancement within the profession. In order to foster and harness professionalism, larger laboratories should look to organizational structures, career programs, and motivational tools which are better suited to professionals. Failure to do so will lead eventually to deprofessionalization. The efforts of regional and national criminalist associations to obtain the trappings of a profession will be hollow indeed if the reality is technicians within bureaucracies.


ROBOTIC EXTRACTIONS (A PROGRESS REPORT)
Dwight Reed; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Our laboratory has recently acquired a Zymark (R) robot for extracting blood samples for analysis by GC/MS. Preliminary work performing the complicated morphine extraction-back extraction procedure has produced promising results. It is expected that the robot will soon be extracting case blood samples for routine opiate analyses.

This paper will report on the progress made in the installation and setup of the robot in our laboratory. It will also compare the approach and efficiency of robotic (serial) extractions versus those of manual (batch) extractions.


CRIME SCENE RECONSTRUCTION
W. Jerry Chisum; California Department of Justice, 2213 Blue Gum Avenue, Modesto, CA 95351

The crime scene tells a story. That story reveals what happened if it is read correctly. Evidence is classified to explain its role at the crime scene rather than the usual characteristics of firearms, serology, etc. This classification system helps explain the basis of reconstruction. Then a process to be used by the investigator in reconstructing a crime is described. The criminalist is part of a team with the investigator, evidence technicians, and the prosecutor. Ideally, that team works as a unit towards a common goal. The Criminalist's role as a reconstruction expert on the team is discussed.


A SURVEY OF THE PRESENCE OF SEMEN ON PENILE SWABS AT NON-HOMICIDE AUTOPSIES
Mary Graves, Paul Kingsley; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

Penile swabs and slide were collected from 51 dead males prior to autopsy by Forensic Assistants at the Orange County Sheriff- Coroner Forensic Science Center. Semen was found present on thirty of the bodies (59%). Causes of death were defined as: a) accidental, b) natural, c) suicide, or d) drug overdose; no homicides were included. Slides were stained by the method of Oppitz(1), and examined for spermatozoa. Cross-over electrophoresis(2) was performed on the swabs to determine if P-30 was present. Semen positive and semen negative results were tabulated by: P-30 and/or spermatozoa presence.

(1) Age Group Cause of Death, Oppitz, E., "A New Color Method for Proof of Sperm in Moral Crimes," Arkiv fur Krim... 144, pp. 145-148, 1969.
(2)Seri P-30 cross-over electrophoresis method.


THE UNIQUE TRANSFERABLE TAG - A NEW AID IN CRIME INVESTIGATION
Stuart Kind; Consulting Criminalist, Great Britain

The identification of a criminal usually depends upon contingent events such as the availability and nature of witness statements together with any physical evidence recovered from the scene-of-crime. This may include, amongst other features, fingerprints, paint, glass, blood, fibers, footwear and fabric impressions. Obviously, all such information must be refined by the professional competence of the investigator and his assistants. The ability to sort wheat from chaff is what characterizes a successful investigator, and the mass of details in a crime must neither be allowed to divert the investigator from selecting the most profitable line of enquiry, nor the scene examiner (scientist or SOCO) from locating any physical evidence available.


URINE AND PLASMA EXTRACTS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON CAPILLARY GAS CHROMATOGRPHY COLUMN PERFORMANCE
Dean Rood; J & W Scientific, 91 Blue Ravine Road, Folsom, CA 95630

Urine and plasma are complex matrices that contain a wide variety of compounds in a wide range of concentrations. Biological fluids contain a large collection of nonvolatile components. These nonvolatile components are deposited within the GC injector and column upon injection of the extracted sample. The resulting build-up of residues will adversely affect the performance of the chromatographic system with subsequent breakdown in analysis confidence and reliability. This paper will examine the effect multiple injections of extracted urine and plasma on capillary column performance. Columns of different sizes and phase will be compared along with the effects different techniques of sample preparation.


USABLE QUANTITY: CASE DECISION REVIEW
Wayne Moorehead; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92072

An overview of guiding California court decisions regarding physiological effect, usable amount, and the forensic chemist's ability to analyze for substances of abuse will be presented as it relates to usable quantity.


WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL
Margaret Kuo; Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Forensic Science Services, P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702

California Association of Criminalists (CAC) and California Association of Crime Lab Directors (CACLD) have always shared common roots and common goals. Both organizations are comprised of individuals dedicated to the profession of criminalistics and committed to the cause of advancing forensic science. While the emphasis of the two organizations may differ (CAC on technical procedures and methods and CACLD on resources, legislation, budgeting and other managerial concerns), we both have a common interest in issues such as safety, quality control, ethical standards, new technology, training needs, legal decisions, etc. Work products of one group are endorsed by the other. Certification standards and DNA guidelines are two recent examples. Promoting and maintaining professionalism is certainly another common goal for both CAC and CACLD. Practitioners and managers of the criminalistics profession are equally responsible for working together to meet our common goal.