OFFICERS ROSTER198$1986

President

STEPHEN COOPERCalifornia Department of JusticoCriminalistics Laboratory745 Airport Blvd.Salinas, California 93901(408) 443-3188

President.Elect

JAMES NORRISSanta Oara D.A.'s OfficeCriminalistics Laboratory1557 Bergr DriveSan Jo*, California 951 12(4081 299-2224

Secretary

STEPHEN A. SHAFFEBlnstitute of Forensic SciencesCriminslistics Laboratory2945 Webster StreetOakland, California 94609(41 5) 451-0767

TreaurerLARRY DALESan Diego Police Dept.Forensic [ab., Mail Stn, 725801 W. Market StreetSan Diego, California 92101(619) 236-6505

Regional Diretor - NonhGRADY GOLDMANContra Costa County$reritf-Coroner's DepartmentCriminalistics Laboratory1 1 22 Escobar StreetMartinez, California 9456314151 372-2455

Regional Dit*tor - &uthESTON SCHWECKEHuntington Beach P.D.Criminalistics Laboratory2000 Main StreetHuntington Beach, california 92648(714) 536-5682

I m m ed iate Past Presi den tJOHN E. MURDOCKContra Costa CountySfi erif f - Coroner's DepartmentCriminalistics Laboratory1 1 22 Escobar StreetMartinez, California 94553(4151 372-2455

Membership &cretaryMARY M. GIBBONSCriminalistics S€ctionOakland Police Department455 Seventh Street, Room 608Oakland, California 94607(415) 273-3386

Editorial &cretaryPETER D. BARNETTForensic Science Associates1400 53rd StreetP.O. Box 8313Emeryville, Catifornia 94608(415) 653-3530

TABLE OF C$TTENTS

UPCTFIING HEETINGS

SECTIS.I and STUDY GRCIUP ACTIVITIES.

ATS{OLNCEMENTS t .

COURSES A}.ID SYT,IPOSIA OF INTEREST

REPORT AUAILABLE I '

JOURISL DTS\IATI$'IS NEEDED.

CORRECTI TI{ . ..

SUBSCRIPTI(}{ DISCOLIIT OFFERED . .

JOB OPENINGS

MFS F*dARD TO CECIRGE SENSABAUGH.

BREATH ALCOHOL TESTS .CCIURTROT},I ATTACKS

CALIFORhIIA ASSOCIATI$I OF CRIHELABORATORY DIRECTORS HEETING.

STATISTICS C0URSE SFtr{SORED BY CAC

BLOOD ALCOHOL ff\hLYSIS

Al go encl osed wi th th i s mai I i ng!l. lt85-1996 CCA Salary Suruey2. Request f or nominations f or CAC

Bsard of Directors3. Subscription request form fsr

Forensic Science International4, H i nu tes, Bus i ness I'lee t i ng Har 17 , 19855. Hinutes, Board of DirectorE meeting,

June 13,19856. I'li nutes, Board of

August 16,19857. Hinutes, Board o{

October 23,19858. Hinutes, Business9. Hinutes, Boand of

Januar)' 10 r l9gS

2

3

5

5

6

6

I

?

tll3

T4

Di rectors Heet i ng,

Dinectors Heeting,

Meeting, Octoben 25, l?85Di rectorg Heet i ng,

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wcorlrs

THE USES 0F FmE{SrC SCTSEEApril 4-5, 1986The Fonensic Science Unit o{ the Uniucn-si ty e{ Strathcl yde i E sponsor i ng acon{enence on the uses of {orensic sci-ence. There wi I I be four concurrentsessions: TranEfer treces, Crime scenes,I nuest i gat i on sc i ence , and the Tr i alprocesE, For funthen information, con-tact llr. P. F. Nelson, Continuing Educa-tion Centen, University o{ $trathcllde,l{cCencr Building, Riclnond Stnmt, 8lu-goll Gl lxc, UK.

ltlffiTllJEST fi$9{ICIATI(t{ 0F Fffi{SIC SCIE{-TISTSApnil 29- Flav 2, t986The Spning I{SFS seninar uill be held atthe Inn of the Seuenth l.lountein, Bcnd,0regon, Contact l.li ke Homrd, 0regonState Pol ice Crime Laboratory, 375 N.E.Frankl in Stneet, Bend, 0R 97701. 503-388-d150.

AS$nrATtO{ tr FtREAn$ $D T00Unm(ffit{I}fR$April 28{{er 2, 1986The l6th AFTE Seminar will be held atthr llol ldey lnn-lnnrn Hrborl Brltinom,l'lD. The $eninar will {eature a tour o{the Aberdeen Pnouing Brounde. ContactJoe Reitz, Baltimorc City Pol ice Depert-nent, 601 Fayette Street, Bal t inone, l,lD?,t?.92.

cfl"tFm{tA AssoclATto{ ttF Gtn{I}st IsTst'ley 14 - 17, 1986The Spning, 1986, Seminar o{ the Cal i-fornie A*ocietion of Gririnel lrtr rillbe held t'lay 14 - 17, 1985, at thr HiltonHotel in Concord, Cal ifonnia, The meet-ing is being hosted br. the Contra CostaCounty Sherif{'s 0{f ice Cniminal isticELaboratory. Contact Kathryn Holmes,Contra Costa County Shenif{'E Office,Cr irrinal i st icE Lebonatory, I 122 EecobanStreet, l,lantinez S, 94553, (415-372-2455)

COAINED HEETIN8Sl'lay 28-31 t l?86A cmrbined meet i ng of several regional

CAC NEI,ISLETTER APRIL I986

i{EETINBS

forenEi c sc i ence assoc i at i ons wi I I beheld at the Radisson Hotel, Lexingtonl(Y, The neeting will be pneceeded by at7 hour workshop on laboratory Ee{etyconducted by the 0ccupational Sa{ety andHeal th Adni n istrat ion on l,lay ?7-28,Contact Harold Alfultis, Loraine CountyCrime Lab, 10005 Abbe Road, Elrria 0H44035 ( 2t d-3d5-41 91x364)

s{ttTt{Enil AssoctATl{t{ (F FffiE{stcsctE.{ilgTgSeptember l0-13, 1986Auburn Confenence Center, Auburn, Alaba-il. Contect Cerlor Rrbrrn, Alebur Dr-partment o{ Forensic Sciences, P, 0. Box231, Auburn, AL 3683t. (205) 887-7001.

cdrsolff{ strtErY 0F FmBl8tc SCtstcESeptember l5-19, 1986The annual con{erence will be held atthe Sheraton-Brock Hotel, Niagara Falls,0ntar i o. Contact Joennr Cott i nghen,Canadian Society o{ Forensic Science,26d0 Southutlr Crrrcrnt, $uitr 215, Ottowa, 0ntario, Canede. 613-731-20?6

HNNflEET ASSICIATII}I OF FORBIEICsctE}tcE0ctober 8-10, 1986The t{d6pg Fal I meet ing wi I I be hel d atthe Red Lion Riverside, Boise, Idaho.Contact Pam Senver, Forensic Section,Burcau of Labsratories, 2229 Eld Peni-tentiany Road, Boise, ID 897t2.(208) 334-2231.

I{IITIESTENN ASSEIATIO{ IF FORE{SICStIE.fnsrs0ctoben 8-10, t986Tha lSth Anniuensarl meeting trill beheld in Spring{ield, Ill inoie. Fon{urther information, contact Ted Elzer-$an oF John KloEtermen, Ill inois Depart-ment o{ $tate Pol ice, Bureau o{ ForenEicSciences, 726 South College Street,Spr ing{ ield, lL 62797. 217-782-4649.

CALIFONNIA ASSEIATI O{ OF CNIHI}hLI STS0ctober B-ll, l?86Gene Autry Hotel, Palm Spnings, Cal ifor-nie. For {urther in{ormation contact

Fate Springerl CA Department of JusticetP. 0. Box 3679t Rivereide CA ?231?( 7t 4) 78t -41 70 .

t1{rE$nTl(lr|r- Ass0cIATI(t{ 0F FoRE{SICTtD(lcoLoclsrsJuly l?87The 8th Trienniel meeting will be heldin Ban{{, Alberta, Canada. For {urtherinformation, contact N. Dunnettr Hmte0{f ice Forensic $c i ence Laboratoryr Al -

Page 3

dermaston r Berksh ire r R67 4Pt'lr UK.

rNrEnihrt tl,hL AsS0clATl (l{ s FmB{8IcsclBlcgsAugnrrt 2 - 7, 1987Vencouuer, Br i t i Eh Col umbi ar Canada.Contact Intennat i onal Assoc i at i on o{ForenEi c Sc i ences, 80t-750 Jerv i s$treet, Vencouver, 8.C., Canada V6E 2A9.604-681 -5226.

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sEgil o{

-The Study 6noup and Sec t ional l'lee t ingsape where the real wonl( of the AsEoc i a-tion is accmpliehed: Exchange o{ in{or-nation, help with pnoblemsr diEcussionEo{ new techniques and current probleme,reuiews of nen and existing methodstetc. Al I memberE aPe encounaged topanticipate in any study groupe in whichthey have an interest, and to regularll

MKTTGNN SECTIC{

Eston $chnecke Huntington BeachPol ice Dept.2000 Hain StreetHuntington Beech CA

92468(714)536-5d82

North*n Sretim Eiology $tudy Sroup

6ary $imE InEt of Fon, Science2945 tlebster St0akland m 94609(415)451 -0767

STIDY BR{NP ACTIVITTESaE!!!!!rt =E!Il t=E--l:

end

attend regional section meetings. TheindividualE to contact negarding regio-nal and study group activities are I is-ted hene along with recent and antici-pated neetings. Study group modenatorsare encouraged to subnri t surmar i es ofthe i r group's act i v i tes {on each ne$e-letter.

Nocthcrn $rctionTnecr Evidrncr Studv BrouP

l'lar ty Bl al(e Oal( I and P. D.455 7Th St- Rn 6080akland CA 94607(415) 273-3386

Stephen Sha{{er Inst. o{ Forensic Sci2945 t'lebster StOakland CA 94609(4t5) 451-0767

Theresa $pear Al aneda Co $her i {{lS00l Foothill Blvd$an Leandro CA 94578(415) 577-1705Nonthmn $rction

Grady Golfitan

Firrrrrn Study Brolp

Contne Costa Co Sher.ll22 Escobar Stl'lartinez GA 94553(415) 372-2962

Contra Costa Co $hen.ll22 Eecoban Sttlartinez CA 94553(4t5) 372-2433

Nonthcrn $rctlon

Lance GinaKen Fuj i

Drug $tudr Oroup

CA D0J-San Ra{aelHal I of Just i ceCiuic CenterSan Ra{ael CA(415) 472-44?5

Richard Schonr

OAC NEITISLETTER APRIL 1986

Page 4

s{tunGnf sEgrl(t{

Eston SchweckeRegional Director

I'largaret Kuo

Cerol Rhodes

David Sugiyrma

Hunt ington BeechPol i ce Dept.

2000 l'lain $treetHuntington Beach CA

92468(714) 536-5682

Los Angeles CoSher i {{

202Q [,] Beverl y Bl vdLos Angeles 0A 90057(213) 974-46tt

0range Co Sher i f{-Coroner

P.0. Box 449Santa Ana CA 92702(7t4' 834-3073

Cal Lab o{ ForensicSc i ence

17442 lruine BlvdSu i te 224Tustin h 92680(7t4) 669-946t

Forensic ScienceSeru i ces

2501 Cherny Su i te 370$ignal Hill h 92792(213) 424-2220

South*n Srction Biology Study Bnoup

Barbara Johnson

Southrnn $rctionTrrcr Evidrncr $tudy Oroup

James Bai ley L, A. Co. Sherif{2020 tl Beverly BludLos Angeles CA 90057(213) 974-4611

Harley l'1. Sagara L. A. Co. Sheri{{2020 tl Bcvnley BludLos Angeles fiA 90057(213) 974-46tt

Duning 1985, this Etudl group hasuisited major manu{actuners of athleticshoes, paint, inltl ilttd petroleum pro-ducts. Two diEcussion meetings {ocusEedon the importance o{ trace euidence, theFBI hair symposium, and methods o{ soilanalysis. In addition, a class in basicmicroscopf taught by tlal ter l'lcCrone andAssoc i ates wae Eponsoned by the studygroup and hoEted by the Huntington BeachPol ice Depantment and the Orange CountySher i f{'s Department. The two studygpoupe from the north and the south net{on a ioint meeting in Yosemite duringSpetember and again at the fiAC semi-annual seninar in 0ctober.

Southmn $rction llrug $tudy Sroup

Oarrel I Cl ardy Anal & For ToxP.0, Box 5295Fullerton GA t2635(7t4) 879-4065

South*n Scction Fipolrlrr Study Eroup

{fihis study group is currentlyinactive))

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CAC NET.ISLETTER APRIL 1986

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PHSTOEMHIINS FORE{8I C B,|I DE{CE

The Rochester Inst i tute of Technol -og)"s Techn ical and Educat ion Center o{the graphic Ants is sponeoring a coursein {orensic evidence photographr. Thiscounse is designed {or fonensic euidencephotogrephers as wel I as i nvest i gatorefrmr arson un i tE. i nsurance agenc i estand eecun i ty agenc i es. The course wi I Ibe of f ered tr,rice: 0ctober 6-9, 1986, andApri I Z7-3i0t 1987. The fee {or thegeminar is $565,00. The instructor isLuther Dey. Foc {unther informationtcontact Jim Lar,rnence, T & E Center $emi-nar Coordinator, One Lmb I'lemor i elDriue, P.0, Box 9887, Rochester, ffit4623. (716) 475-2317.

ATF ARSO{ ACCELEMNT DEfE TI$I COURSE

The Bureau of Alcohol, tobacco andFirearms wi I I conduct two AccElerantDetection Courses this yearr June 9-13and July 14-18. Theee courses urill bataught at ATF's National Laborator),Centen in Rocl(uiller mar),land. Thecourse is deeigned {or state and localchemiste urho per{orm, or wil I be perfor-ning, laboratory arson analysie. Foradditional information and appl ication{orms; contac t Ri chard Tontersk i r ATF-t{LC, l{01 Rrrrrch Blvd.r Rocl(uillrr lO20950. (202) 294-0429.

$ylfosltlt tt{ FtnE{stc cHEilsTRv

The Annual Federat i on o{ Anal >,t i calChemi stry and Spec troscopy $oc i et i esl,lcet i ng ui I I sponsop e symposium onforensic chcniEtry. Special conEidera-t i on wi I I be gi ven to a papeps deal i ngwi th the appl icatione of in{rared andatmric spectroscopies, The meeting willbe hel d at the Cenvantes Convent i onCcntrr in St. Loui*, lliitouri frm $rp-tember 28-0ctoben 3, 1986. Fon {urtherinformation contact Robert Koone, FSRTCT

FBI Academyr 0uantico, llA 22135, (703)d40-6t31.

ELt9A C0UftSE

The UniverEily o+ New Haven Foren-sic Science Program in coopenation withthe NortheaEtern Association of ForenEicScientiEts will nun an ELISA (EnzyneL i nked lnmunosocben t Assay) one weel(shont course/workshop in t'leEt Haven tConnec t i cu t the week of l'lay 12-17 , 1986.This shont course will focus on serolog-ical applications of ELISA includingbaEic procedures, applicetions to bloodand bodr, {luid identi{icationr appl ica-tions in blood groupingt appl icationswi th monoc I onal ant i bodieE and autme-tion o{ ELISA pnocedures.

Pr i nc i pal i nstruc tor : Dr . S. t'|.Fletcherl Hmre 0f{ice Central ResearchEstabl ishnent. 0then instructors in-clude Dn. R. E, Grensslen and Dn, H. C.Lee. The {ee {or the couFEe is *350.00.Enrol lment iE I imi ted.

For addi tional in{onmation contactINH+IFAFS ELISA Course , c/o T.A.K.A. tF.0. Box 208, Gneen I ar,rn , tfY I t74g ,

tNTEnhl|Tt$hL sYllPllBltll (l{ DIBITAL Ils6EPROCESSI}S Fffi FORE{8TC APFLICATTC{8

The E),mpoeiunr will be held at theFBI Acadeny in 0uantico, Virginiar Junet5-20, 1986, The subiect will be tech-niquee and methodologr in examining{orensic images. For {urther in{orna-tion contact SA l'lichael 6, NobletttLaboratory Division, J. Edgar Hoouer FBIBuilding, l0th and Pennsylvania AvenuetN.lrl. e tlaEh i nEton r D. C. 20?'324'4427 ,

rNrERlhTI$hL SYlf{tsltfi lt{ FoRE{sIcItftlfiLogY

The FBI will hoet an internationalsymposium on forenEic inmunology at the

CAC NEI4SLETTER APRTL 1986

Page 6

FBI Acadenr in 0uantico, Virginia, {rurJune 23-26, 19S6. Plenary seEEions willbe devoted to I ectures by pr-ari nentscientiste on euch topics as the irmunepesponse, antibody-antigen interactions,irmunof ixation methods, monoclonal anti-bodies, ELISA, individual ization andqual i t), ageurance. A{ternoon seegionsr*il I be detroted to poster sessionE and/

The 1985 Annual report o{ the FBtForensi c Sc i ence Research and Trai n i ngCenter(FSRTC) i s nq* avai I abl e. Th i ereport contains a detai led deEcriptiono{ the activities of FSRTC staff in the{ol I ori ng areasi Forensi c Sc i ence Re-search Gnoup, Forensic Science TrainingUni t, FSRTC Prognanrs/Associations, Seni-nar HoEted by FSRTC, $rrnposia and Tech-nical Confenences Hoeted by the FSRTC,

oF discuEsions of pertinent research,training, scientif ic data and teEtinonytop i cs.

Fon {urther in{ormation contact SAKenneth l,r. Nirmich, Snposium Coordina-ton, FSRTC, FBI Acadernt, 0uantico, VA22135. 703-64t1-dl3l x3307.

Trai n i ng Presentat i ons b), $ta{{, Presen-tat i ons at Conf erences, l.leet i ngs andSymposi a br $ta{{, Trai n i ng Rece i ved by$taff, Professi onal Conferences andt'leetings Attended by Sta{{, and Posi-tions Held in Professional 0rganizationsby Sta{{, Anyone who would like a copyof this 67 page docunent can contact SAJin Kearny, FBI Academl, 0uant ico t/A221 35.

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REPORT ANILABILElltl*tt********t

The Department o{ Criminal Justiceat the UniverEity of Ill inois at Chicagoi s seel( i ng donat i sns of the {ol I al i ngpro{essional jounnal issues. Such dona-tions are tax deductiblel

Journal of Forensic Sciences:Vol. 3(l), Jan, 1978Vol . t3( I ), Jan. 1968

J, of the Fonensic $cience Society:Vols. I through 20

Forensic ScienceForensi c $c i ence Internat i onal :

Any issues

JqNNhL D$hTI(NS NEEDEDtt*ltt*rt*t***tttt*ttt*t

CORRECTIO{*t*****r**

lledicine, Science and The law:Any issuee

Jounnal o{ Cr ininal Lan, Cn iminol ogtand Pol i ce Sc i ence:

Any isgues

Pl eage ulr ite on cal I :

Dr, David A. StoneyDept. Cn iminal Juet iceBox 4348UniuerEity o{ IllinoisChicago, IL 60680(312) ??4-722t

uate ef the Un i venei ty o{ Cal i {orn i a atDau i s. The edi tor apol ogi zes for theeProF and any embarraEsment i t hascaused.

In the January newsletter it waEerroneousl y stated that Laun i e DeHaan,the recipient of the CAC's Paul L. Kirl(foiard, uras a gnaduate sf $acramentoState College. In {act, she is a gnad-

CAC NEISLETTER APRIL 1986

Fage 7

SUBSCRIPTIO{ DISCflNT OFFERED**t**t*tr****t****trt*t*rlt*t

n n tt il n u il tt rr il tl 11 t] n 11 11 n u n il t] il n rt il il n il n t

JoB Opeunes

Elsevier, the publ isher of Forensic$c i ence lnternat i onal , have o{{ered ereduced subscr i opt i on rate {or personalsubscriptions {or OAC members. Theannual subscription rete being of{eredis 1$S0.00. llembers who wish to takeaduantage o{ this o{fer should {ill out

( Job openingE ape obtained {rsn a ver-iety of sources. 6iuen publ icationdeadl ines and delay in receiuing an-nouncenentE frqn other parts o{ thecountryr sqne o{ the openings announcedhere nay be {illed by the tine thisNe$sletten is receiued. Job announce-mentE wi I I nocmal ly be Pun only onetime. Hembers actively Eeeking emplor-ment are encounaged to contact the edi-torial gecretary {on infonmation aboutopenings which becqre auailable brtweennewslettere. )

CRII{IISLISTSheri{{'s Crininal iEts needed in SanBernardino County i2208+32d8 monthl ydepending on expepience. GetherE, ppe-serves, examines end reports on evi-dence. Requines B.S. oF equiualent incrininal ietics, chenistry, bischemistryoF nelated f ield. l.lust pass rigonousphlsical, background inuestigation andbe citizens; will becmre suropn pepson-nel, Phone oF urite Dolores Hershman(714)383-3598, San Bernardino County

SJTIIA Cn iminal ist i cs posi t ion i s wanted b)' al'lay graduate (8.$.- Cr ininal ist ics,A.B.-Chemistn)') of t'letropol itan $tateCol lege, Denver, Colorado. ContactSteuen F1, Benne t t2730 Luell Blud.Dpnver CO 8021 I

the enclosed subscciption request andforward i t, al ong wi th the ir check {on$90,00 to CAC Treaeurer Dan Gregonis.You will autqnatically be billed {sr arenewal subscniption with each {uturedues nenewal,

PerEonnel , 157 l,l. 5th Street, San Ber-nardino, ffi 92415-0440. E0E./m rn/+/h.

SERTILffiISTThe Ventura County Sheriff's Cnime La-bonatony haE an opening {on a serolo-gist. Experience is pre{enred, but notrequired. Salary, depending on expeni-ence, is $1948-294B/nonth. Contact A.Bengh, 0irector, Ventura Count>, Sher-i{{'s Cr ine Laboratory, 800 S. Ui ctor i aAvenue, Ventura CA 93009. (805) 654-2332.

FORE{SIC CHETISTThe Johnson Count),, Kansas, crime labor-atary loceted in the metropolitan KansasCity area haE an opening {or an experi-enced forensi c chemi st. Sal ary i E*,2817&6-*,38r916, Contact Deputr Leebarnum, Supervison, Johneon Count>' Crim-inal ist ics Laboratory, 6000 Lamar, l'lis-sion, KS 66201. 9t3-384-ll00x62tl,

***r************************************Be sure to see the 1985 CAC Salar>,survey that is included with thisnewsletter.

*************************************t**

CAC NEI,'SLETTER APRIL 1986

Page I

MFS fl*{RD TO

The follsring citation in supponto{ the recmnrendation o{ Eeorge SenEa-baugh fon the Crininal iEtics SectionDi st ingu ished Ser-v icE A,lard wae pFesen-ted to the Sriminal istics Section o{ thefioerican Academy of Forensic Science atits 1986 meeting in New Onleane.

Cr iminal ist i cs Sect ionDist ingu i ehed $erv i ce A*ard

George F. Sensabaugh

'In the seventeen ),earg since hereceiued his doctorate frqn UC BerkeleyrDp. Sensabaugh hes engaged in a caneeraE a pesearcher and academician thnoughwhich he haE made meny outstanding con-tributions to the pno{ession of cnimin-el istics.

'A{ten conpl et i ng post doctorelwork at the Uniuereity o{ Cali{onnia,San Diego, and at the Genetics Divisiono1 theNational Institute for FledicalResearch, l.lil l Hi l l , in London, he be-came an Assistant Pro{essor of ForensicScience at UC Berkele>, in l?72t risingto AsEac i ate Pro{essor in 197?, He hesalso been a Visiting ProfessoF o{ Foren-sic Science at the UniuerEity o{ Stnath-clyde in 6lasgor{, Scotland {or the pasttwo yearg.

'Thnoughout his tenure at Berkeley,he has helped to foster the long tradi-tion of criminal ists education begun atthat inEt i tut ion by Dr. Paul Kink. t'lan>,of his former students nq* work as crim-inal ists acFosE the countr/ op havejoi ned {onenei c sc i ence facul t i es atother academi c i nst i tut i ons. He hascontinued as urel I in Benkele),'s tradi-tion o{ basic reEearch. To date, he hae4? publications in the {ields of bio-chemical geneticE and {orensic scienceand has made or co-authored tl9 presen-tationE to scienti{ic meetings.

'Dr. Sensabaugh's reEearch on themodification of pnoteins in driedstains, the biochemical genetics e{enythrocyte acid phosphatase, sperm di-

CAC NET.ISLETTER APRIL I98d

OE{NOE SE{SABAI'BH

aphorase, and esterase-D, and the bio-chemistry o{ pnostatic acid phoephatesehaue fundamentally advanced the practiceo{ fonensic senologl, The semen speci-{ic protein P-30 isolated in his labona-tony hae becsne the baEis {sr an impor-tant new technique for identifring min-ute amountE o{ semen. ldorl( in which hecollabonated on the biochemical geneticss{ senen haE {undamentally aduanced theanal ysi s of sexual assaul t eu i dence i nthis country. EecauEe o{ his interna-tionel reputation in the {ield of blood-stain biochemistry, he has twice beennamed Chairman of the bloodstains pno-gram o{ the Intennational Association o{Fonensic ScienceB.

'In addition to being a talentedreseancher and dedicated teacher, Dr.Sensabaugh has nade a number o{ impor-tant contributions to the profession of{orensic science and to the Acaderrywhich deserve special mention. Thinty-Beuen o{ his technical presentationshave been to the Cal ifornia Associationof Criminal ists and seventeen to theAnerican Academy o{ ForenEic Sciencee,

'Although he himsel{ does not ana-I ),ze case ev i dence, Dr. Sensabaugh hasrecently been called upon to provide keytest inpon), in Eeueral etates concenn i ngthe ual ue and nel i abi I i ty o{ genet i ctyp i ng o{ bi ol ogi cal ev i dence . Hi srole in educating the courts as to thescienti{ic foundation of genetic trpingo{ biological evidence consti tutes anoutstanding sepvice to the publ ic and toour pro{esEion.

'Dr, Sensabaugh is member of thefol I ori ng sc i ent i { i c and professi onalorganizations: Arenican AEgociation forthe Advancemen t of Sc i ence , S i gna XI tfiner i can Soc i ety {or Human 6enet i cstfinerican Chemical Society, Cal i{onniaAasociation o{ Crime Laborator}, Direc-tons, New Yorl( Acadeny of $c iencestSoc i ety {or Forensic Haematogenet i cstand the Electrophoresis Society.

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tt tl il Ir il tl n tt tt il il tI tl n n n tr n tt n il tt n tl n n tt tt ttBRMTH ALCITTIIL TESTS - COTNTROO{ ATTACK$

Sensabaugh (con't)

'He currently seruee on the edi-torial boards o{ three forensic scienceJournal, including the Jounnal s{ Foren-Eic Sciences and was a member o{ theCal i{ornie AsEociation o{ Criminal istsBoard o{ Dinectons for six yearsl sap-ving as Editonial Secretary and Newslet-ter Edi tor frqrr 1977 to 1983. He

chaired the Cal ifornia AsEociation o{Cniminal ists Peen Group in $erologl fortwo years (t978-79,, eerving also as emember o{ the Nat i onal Serol ogr PeerGroup o{ the Criminal iEtics Centi{ica-t i on Study Ccrmi ttee. In 1983, forthese and many other contributions, Dr,Sensabaugh became the first recipient ofthe Dist ingu ished Member toiard o{ thecAc.

The {ol I rui ng mentonendum was wr i t-ten by Cal i{onnia Deputr Attorney 6ene-ral Charlee R.B. Kirl(, In this nemor-andum DAG Kirk discussas the inplicationof the case o{ Peopl e u. Pr i tchard(1984) 162 CAI App,3d Supp. 13. Thenemorandum is neprinted here with pep-mission {nqn the Cal ifornia Departmento{ Justice {or the edification of ouFmembers.

0ctoben 23, 1985

To: Alfred A. Biasotti, Investigation &Enforcement Branch, Sacnamento

Frmr: Charles R. B, Kirk, Deputy Atton-ne), General r $an FranciEco

Subject: Precluding De{ense Attacks UponBreath-Alcohol TeEts l,lhere Attack Inap-pl icable to Defendant

It is cfimon -- and encoupaged in textssuch as 'De{ense o{ Drunk Driving Sasee'-- ta harre de{ense at torne},s i n UdIcaEee attack the accuracy of breath-al cohol teets baEed upon 'possi bi I i t i eE'which are in {act total ly inappl icable

Page I

'Because o{ his distinguished ca-Feer aB a nesearcher and educator andbecau_se o{ hie many yearg o{ senuice tothe pno{es*ion o{ criminal istics, Dr.Sensabaugh richly deserves to receiuethe 1987 Cniminal istics Section Distin-guished $ervice A+ard.

'Respectful I y submi tted,

'Arrards Csrni ttee, tt85-86Anerican Academy o{ Forensic Sciences,Cr iminal ist ics Sect isn

'Jan Bashineki, ChairRichard FnankDonal d Fl yntBanry Fi shen'

to their de{endant. A typical exarnpleis the partition natio: a de{ense'ex-pert' (or a criminal iEt on cross-exami-nation) being aekedifitisnot truethat # o{ the popul at i on {al I s outsi deo{ that ratio, and thenefone a BAC re-sult (particulan'l>' in borderl ine cases,such as .10) could be enroneouE. Shouldsuch a question be asked on either di-rect or cposs-examination of an expertwitness, the prosecutor should g!jSS.! tothe question as lacking foundationr andthe ans$er there{ore being irreleuant.

In People v. Pnitchard (1984) 162 CAIApp.3d Supp. 13, the Appellate Depart-nent o{ the Los Angeles Count), SuperiorCourt speci{ically held that de{eneeev i dence of possi bl e part i t i on rat i oepnor was insufficient to undermine aDUI conviction. Although a decision ofan appel I ate department o{ a super i orcourt is binding precedent onl>, withinthat county, neuertheless such a Pub-I ished opinion is pereuasive authorityand should be used by prosecutorE else-where to blocl( such testitfiony be{ore itis giuen tc a jury.

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CAC NET,ISLETTER APRIL 1986

Page l0

Breath alcohol testing (con't)

In Pr i tchard (pp. t6-17) , the Appel I ateDepartment said: 'ln order to deal withthe si tuat ion rrrhene an exonerat ing f actis pecul iarly within the defendant'Ekns*ledge, and proo{ o{ itE nonexistenceby the prosecution r,rould be relativelydi ff i cul t op i nconven i ent, the courtshave establ i shed 'the rul e o{ conven i -ence urhereby the i n i t i al burden of Fpo-duc i ng ev i dence on the i ssue i E pl acedon the de{endant. (Ci tatisns.)

'l.le hol d the c ircumstances hene in cal I{or appl i cat i on of the nul e o{ conven i -ence. lt was apellant's obligation topresent euidence that his partitionnat i o dev i ated {rqn the norm' .

'Funtherr aFpl ication of the rule ofconven i ence to the par t i t ion nat i o cm-ports with this legislative scheme to{ac i I i tate the prosecut i on of drunkdriuers. Appl ication o{ the rule inthis Eituatisn is not unduly burdensfiieto the defendant as he haE the option ofelecting to el iminate this potentialprobl em by talt i ng the bl ood test , whenit is offered punsuant to Vehicle Codesect i on 13353.

'l^le htrl d that the ru I e o{ conven i enceappl ies aE to the pantition ratio, andby its openation the de{endant is, ine{fect, presumed to have a 2100 to Ipartition natio unless he presents eui-dence as to his personal partition ratiowhich establ ishes that the 2100 to 1

natio ie not valid for him. Generalev i dence of such a possi bi I i ty o{ epporin the partition ratio will not su{{iceto rebut this presumption,'

Although Pritchard is not binding prece-dent in counties other than Los Angeles,the dec i Ei on neuerthel ess c i tes thegeneral I egal pr i nc i pl e o{ the 'rul e o{convenience' (p.16) and cites tr.ro Cali-{ornia Supreme Court caseE and one Courtof Appeal case which apply that princi-ple and ane, therefore, openatiue asprecedent ann*here i n the state. Inaddition to theser casee may be cited In

CAC NB,'SLETTER APRIL 1986

re Andre R. (1984) 158 Cal.App.3d 336,342, where the court appl ied the nule o{convenience to uphold a juvenile 'con-viction' for. possession c{ a concealablef i rearm by a mi nor wi thout wr i tten par-ental perni sei on; the court not i ng thatthe exonenating evidence could be pro-duced only by the minor or his parents,and they had not done so. For thoseseeking more recent authority, they r+ill{ind cases cataloged in I'lcKinney's Di-gest, Crininal Lar,r $ection 2B2r oF inldest's Cal ifonnia Digest, Criminal LawKey 33t1.

The 'r'ul e o{ conven i ence' i E appl i cabl eto a substantial number o{ the types o{attacks nade upon bneath-alcohol instru-mentsp and panticularly the Intoxilyzer.Just as Pr i tchard suggests that dev i a-t i on {rsl the standard part i t i on rat i oi s i nappl i cabl e wi thout proo{ that thedefendant himsel{ falls beyond the nonm,so too are questions designed to castdoubt for want of specificity in theabsence o{ pnoof that the de{endantingested sone eort of hydnocarbon or wagsu{{ering as a {asting diabetic, Ineach o{ these instances, the de{endantiE in the unique position o{ pr.esentingevidence that: (1) his partition ratiodi{ferE {rqn 2100 to I, as demonstrablethrough personal bl ood-breath correl a-tion studieel or'{2} he was suf{ering{rsn diabetes and uras fasting, as couldbe shurn through medical evidence andhis o$rn testimony; or (3) he worked in apaint {actory with a high level o{ hy-drocarbonE i n the ambi ent atmosphere,coupled with scienti{ic evidence sh*ringthat inhaled hydrocanbons would havebeen present in h is system at the t irneof arrest,

A {undanental ernor was cffirtti tted by theprosecutor in Pritchand by not objectingto the quest i on for I aclt o{ {sundat i onand to any ans$rer {er want of relevance.Euidence Code section 350 pnouides thatonly releuant euidence is adnissible,H*r was the evidence concenning parti-tion-ratio deuiation relevant in Frit(con't next page)

tl tt n n 11 rI rr rt n rr tt n il il tl il t] il r1 il tl n il n n tt t] t] ilCel i{or.n ia Aseoc iet i on of Cr ine Leb Dincctors

l'leeting, Novenber l4 & 15, 1985

Surman ized byEston $chwecke

$outhern Section Director

Alcohol teEtE (con't)

chard when there wes no ev i dence thatthe de{endant himself wag a member oIthat snall gpoup o{ people {all ing out-side the norm? Be{ore such a questioncan be asl(ed o{ an expent, there must{irEt be proo{ o{ the preliminary {actthat the de{endant falls outside thenopm. Ev i dence Code Sect i on 403 pFo-videE that:

'(a) The ppoponent of the pro{{eredevidence (Example: hq* deuiatisn {rsnthe part i t i on rat i o can render testresul ts erroneous) has the burden o{producing euidence as to the existenceof the pnel iminary fact (E{AHPLE: thede{endant fal lE outeide the norm), andthe pro{fered {act is inadnissible (E{-

Deueloping Strategiee +on the Crinc Lab(Barry Fisher, LAS0)

l,le are employed hy a non-scienti{icctrrmunity that is conposed of differentgroupe r.lho Eee us in di{{erent lights(Court, District Attorney's, Publ ic De{-endere, Jurors, 0{ficers, Adninirtna-tons), The publ ic seeE us ae modern dayoOuinC)" or 'SherlOck Holmeg'.

The Use o{ buzz uords and 'weasle' t{ordscan be con{using. For example, multi-syllable words and phrases I ike 'consis-tent wi th'.

[,le must meet the needs of thoEe who needour service. In the anea o{ pensonnel,vol unteens can be used. t'lany uol unteersbecsne {ul I -t ime {orensi c sc i ent i sts.

Be v isibl e, bl ilf your cr*n horn and in-ei st on professional i sn i n al I aspectsof laboratory work.

Page I I

S'IPLE: the question cannot be asked oransr,rered over object ion) unl ess thecourt finds that there is evidence su{-{icient to eustain a {inding o{ theexiEtence of the pnel ininany {act (E{Al.l-PLE: the except i an appl i es to de{en-dant) , when:

(l) The relevance o{ the pro{{ered evi-dence depends upon the ex i Etence o{ theprel iminary {act,..'By simpll adapting the bracketed exan-ples to the uarious types e{ queetione{yp i cal I r asked by de{ense counsel tocat douht upon the accuracy o{ testresul ts, yau wi I I see that v i rtual I ynone o{ the typical questions should beasked or answeredr and that obiectionsto such questions should be sustairred.

Develop an attitude o{ cooperation withal I uEePs o{ your service, Developcontacts with other agencies. $et highgoal s, neward ach i euement and have anatt i tude o{ enthusi asttr.

Title 22 -$trte l'ledicel ProtocolUpdete (Jan Bashinsl(i, OPD)

The draft is prepared and close to the{inal stages. The work is going onthrough the 0f{ice of Criminal JusticePlanning (0CJF). Ti tle 22 is to coueral I hasp i tal s, publ i c and pr i vate. I tis curnently being field tested in Ihosp i tal s. There i s en i nfonmat i onguide that provides background material{or the protocol . The protocol wi I I be'recqnnended methods' for meeting thestatutorr standards. hle are esEent i al I yhaving our utay with collection and pre-senuation of this euidence. There is ahope that this may evolve into uni{onm

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CAC NEI,ISLETTER APRIL T98.6

Page 12

CACLD meeting (con't)

rape kit with uniforn training bz videotape.

Srrologr Trchnicel Guidcl inrr(Steue Helsley, BFS)

'Technical 6uidel ine 85-l Serolog/' uragpnesented to the gnoup.

Other plans o{ BFS were opened by }lels-ley, one of which was the possibil ity o{a '{elony' toxicologr pnoglam (non-driver). ThiE progpam would involueadvanced i nstnumentat i on acqu i Ei t i on bythe bureau,

Atteclt Dnunlt Driving - Crnpeign in SenBennrdino County(Sgt. Forrest Bi I I ington, SB$D)

$an Bernardino County is third instate (tied with Orange County {orhighest number o{ {atal accidentE.

The ADD canrpaign was to bring drunkdn i v i ng to the attent i on of the publ i cwith the use of sobniety check points.

The check points were fashioned afterattorney general guidel ines. They wereselected by the nunber of DUI relatedincidents in the erea.

They used e PBT (prel iminary breathtest i ng) techn i que wi th the '$oberl'leter' o{ Lucl(y Labs as one o{ the irF$T'E. The PBT did not represent aproblem with 13352 because it was not ahreath test but onl). a FST.

Cal ifornie Crinlnel isticr Inctitutr(Steue Helsley - BF$)

Proposal {or fiscal }'ear 86-87 whichwould include Epace and positionE. This'FEI l,lest'would be a place foc tnainingand advanced caseworl(.

Lagisletivr Updetr(Frank Fitzpatrick, 0C$0 andKen l'lacl(, SDA)

genic mushroflns to be illegal.

ll37?.5 ll&S and 4230 B&P to legislative-ly to be added {or laborator), drug con-viction money.

P. C. l0 . 16 - d i vers i onE to pa), $50 .00 -assessrrent to cn ime I ab.

Trying to get the follouring to applr:

23t89 VC {on haul ing hazardouE materials$50 ,00O./day/coun t .

Cenmr Cmpection(Rob Stoinoff, SAPD)

Personnel departments o{ten made i tdi{{icult to eduencc {nqr onc cpirinr-I iEt leuel to another. Flexible sta{-{ i ng i s a posei bi I i ty. Fon exampl e,budget position as Crininal ist II and{ il I as Cr iminal ist L $sne s>,stemE maythen have problems advancing the enplol-ees. Considerations csuld be made {or aminimun op maximum tirne {on aduance toCriminal ist II, on possibll autsnaticaduance.

Ncn Leboretories(Lanry Ragle, 0CS0)

l'lost I abs ape ovepcrmrded and haue aneed {or additional epace. Build largefor the {utune and possibly lease outextra space. Labs were visited in Tor-onto, Haryland and FBI. It may be ad-vantageous tc budget for trips to otherlabe in the countr), prior to designingand building.

CAL ID Updrtr - (Ren{no BFS}

$enate bill 190 is appropriating moneyfon project. 901000 cases can be nunwith 401000 o{ those available {or reg-ional caseg,

Cesr Prioritization & Tinckecping(Steve Helsley BFS)

Cnimes against people ape the most im-

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thethe

Senate Bill 288 - $ponee of

CAC NEI,'SLfiTER APRIL 1986

hallucino-

CACLD meeting (con't)

portant. DA'g canplain about turn a-round time. Is sfitething that is notnecessary but just sitting pant of thebacklog? Check with requestor to see i{case is still worth doing. I{ decisionsare made not to { i I e or won't go tocourt - hmr do we knsr? 602 of al I dnugceees {al I through the cracks at esfiepoint,

Establ ishing priorities for cnininal is-tics cases utilizes the {ollcrling threedimensional s),steml (l) client needst(2) pnocessing order and (3) case type.Degrading euidence and in custody casesare not part o{ this organization.

ASCLD Ethicr Ctrnittrr Prognrs Rrport(John Hurdock, 0CS0)

Input is requested to begin {ornulationof ethics plank by ASCLD. The state-nents of eth i cs for EUpeFu i sors andmanageps wi I I be for themselves andmanagemen t o{ the i r emp I o},ees. l'losti nput so {ar haE i ndi cated that i sEhould be detailed enough to csuer moeteituations, But thene ere sste who {eelit should be shorter and more general.l'lost people responding to a Euruey indi-cated that they did not want any formalen{orcement pnocedure.

Pr i or i t i zrt ing Uorlt on Indi u i dtel Gerrr(John l'lundock, CC$0) 6roup DiEcussion

Page 13

Priorities change and there iE a need{or bnoad case evaluation. 0lder cagesshould have increased prioritrr in ssteinstances even over neurer highen pay of{cases. 0n lol par o{{ cases advice oncapabi I i t i es and te potent i al of theevidence should be stated. Ae a nana-g€rr if you are told to do politicallvsensitiue analysis - it is done, Cql-munication to the worker should explainthe priority involved.

6et to )rour bosses be{ore other peopledo and give him altennatives. Be in aposi t i on to tel I oi inpact on otherca5e9.

Al trrnetiur Uorlt Schrdul ing(l'larganet Kuor 0CSt!)6roup Discussion

tri th tight space, shift schedules becemenecegEar/. Volunteers wece asl(ed {onbut {ew came fotward, There{orer manda-tory measures becane necesBaF),. ShiftEurepe uar ied frqn 0530 hounE to 2100houre.

$me e{{ec ts w i I I sur{ace when ex tnaouer-time is Eeen, Thene ane Elss shortand long range morale problems to be{aced.

An additional report rrrill be forthcaningwhen the progran has been insti tutedleng enough to eee any neactions,

n It tt rt tt t] il t] tt tl n il il 11 u tl n tl u il t] il tI tI il n n u n

STATISTTCS CIil'RSE SPO{SORED FY cAC

A short couFse in applications of EtatiEtics to fonenEic problenE r,rill be present byDr, llaria Koretz on tlednesday, J'la)'14. The course urill be taught the da>, be{ore the],lay seninar at the Concord Hilton - the same location ae the seminar. The cost {orthis course wiII be approximately 1i40.00 for CAC menbens and ti75.00 {or nonrnenbens.Seueral of oun nembers have taken counses frm 0n. Konetz through UC and neport veny{avorably on them. The CAC is underwriting a pontion o{ the coEt {or the couFee.Plan to cmre to the seninar a day early and tal(e aduantage of an opportunity to take eval uabl e coupge.

t1 rr t1 r1 rl il rr r1 il r1 il il Il n il rr tI II It tl tt t1 t1 il tt il il il il

CAC NEI''SLETTER APRIL I986

Page 14

lL00D ALCOHOL tthLYgtg

Rrsponm to Criticisr

Kathryn HolnesCha i rman

CAC-Publ ic lleal th Liaison Cqrmi tteeand

Cr iminal istContra Costa County Sheri{{'s 0{{ice

729 Castro StneetI'lar t i nez CA t4553

A recent article in Analytical The pnoblem of sven zealouE expents, andChemistnvr nisrepresented the currinT its remedy, is a legal, not a scienti{icstate o{ the art o{ blood alcohol analy- one. The courts haue prouided amplesis: FirEt, because the article gaue a opportunity for the defense to refutescienti{icallv biased approach to the the contentions of the prosecution. Thesubiect frqn the vieurpoint of an attor- article would have been {ar more appFoF-ney intenested in securing acquittals riate in a journal {or defenEe atton-for his clients, and second, because ne),s.Analvtical Chemistry saw {it to lendcredence to this viewpoint by the use o{ Hune and Fitzgerald tool( exceptionan illustration of a blind Justice dran- to the failure of the scientist appean-ing blood alcohol levels at randqn {rsn ing {or the prosecution to denenstratea bmrl. lh* e{fects o{ alcohol on a particular

individual . There are an overwhelrningI haue prepared this nesponse to number o{ publ ished epidenriologicallthis anticle at the request o{ the Cali- driving, and simulated driving studiesfornia Association of Cniminal ists. involuing many thousands of subjectsRegardless of thein affil iationr the which Eupport the {act that all drivers,testimon)' giuen by members o{ this whethen heavy or occasional drinkersioPgenization indicates that thene is Face car drivens or unskilled driuersjconsiderable scientific consensus on the are impained fon the purpose of drivingcurrent state o{ the art and the relia- a motor vehicle by the time they neach abil itv o{ tests for alcohol, and this blood alcohol leuel o{ 0.102 despiteconsensus ie quite di{{erent frqn the individual reeponEes to the e{{ects o{opinions expressed in your July anticle, alcohol. Groups such as the National

Sa{et>, [ouncil and the *nerican HedicaltlhiIe I am certain thatr tE the Association haue isEued statements thatauthors contend, there are sdne ouer all pepeonE ane impained bx the timezeal ous f orensic sc ient ists work ing {or thEy are E.IDX, mC. In f act, many peo-lapr en{orcement who color their teEtimo- ple are impaired well hefore they neachny to help the prosecution, the oven- the 0.10:l leuel.whelming majority of {orensic scientistsaPe con3cientious indiuiduals concerned Inrpairnent is not a Etate whichabout professional ethics and cautiouE mysteriously appears at a particularabout giving inappropriate weight to level o{ intoxication, but is a gradualtestimony in court' They are called by phenonenon which begins the mmrent anthe prosecution to give testinony be- individual's blood aicohol leuel departscause the curnent scienti{ic evidence in frqn 0.002. Alcohol nevep improves athe anea o{ alcohol teEting is help{ul pEpson'g driuing per{ormance. There isto the prosecution and not because ofBome desire to help win convictions. (con,t next page)

CAC NEI,'SLETTER APRIL 1'8d

Alcohol tests (con't)

alwayg a degnadation in skills. The0,102 level is merely that level atwh i ch we can cl earl y demonstnate , gi venour current test methods, a signi{icantdegradat i on of al I i ndi v i dual s and thatlevel at which the risl( o{ an accidentis su{{iciently increased such that itis unacceptable. t'lany other countrieshave set that I evel o{ unacceptabl eper{onmance {ar I ower, and haue setbl ood al cohol I imi ts of 0.0S1, 0.0S{ sreuen 0,0Sl!

In any trial {or driuing unden thei n{l uence o{ al cohol , the prosecut i onmust establ ish that the individual wasimpaired {or the purposes o{ driving.The typical legal definition o{ drivingunder the in{luence does not requirethat the individual be'drunk'or unableto driue the vehicle, but rather in-cludeE some languege about the indiui-dual be i ng unabl e to dr i ue i n a safe andprudent manner. In {act, many peoplemay appear 'nornal' to cagual observers,but nay Etill be su{ficiently impairedby alcohol to pose a danger on the high-wa)rs, Thusr the presence o{ sl urredspeech, Etaggered gai t, or bl urred u i -sion in an individual $ay corroboratethe allegation of alcohol impairnent,but i ts abEence doee not necessar i I ymean the individual is not impaired.The forensic expert giving testirrony attrial may indeed nefen to symptqns ofalcohol impairment and the approximatelevels at which such snptuns are found.tlerever such teet imony is usual I y pre-sented not as euidence o{ the driven'sparticular alcohol Ievel but as an ex-planation of the smptuns obsenued b),the pol i ce o{{ i cer wh i ch I ed h im to theanrest, The critical testimony regap-ding impairment is that all perEons apeimpaired above a 0.102. Hence, it isnot necessar)' to kn6rlt the speci{ic sfmp-torns or dr i nk i ng tol erance exh i bi ted byan i ndi v i dual ae the resul t o{ al cohol .

0n the other hand, there is no evidenceto support the contention that a parti-cular indiuidual iE not impaired at e0.r0% BAc.

Page ts

l'lost experts in the {ield shane theopinion that all perEons are impaired ata .102 BAC, and as experts, they apeentitled ts express this opinion incourt. Likewise, i{ the de{ense choosesto disagree with this opinion, it isentitled to call its d,ln expert to givetestimony to the contrary. There are alimited number of 'experts'r,tilling togive this opinion despi te evidence tothe contrary,

Another area uhich Hume and Fitz-geral d addness i nadequatel y deal E wi ththe extrapolation to a pneuious bloodalcohol leuel based on a later test.They implr that this is not possible,I+ a suf{ i c i ent amount o{ t ime haspassed, it is indeed not possible, Inthose instances, the prosecution mustrely on the observations o{ the o{{icerto corroborate the blood alcohol level.Forensic scientiEts are quite reluctantto o{fer an opinion in this anea unlessit is qual i{ied by a number o{ aseump-tions which are expresEed in count re-gardi ng the c i rcumstances surroundi ngthe drinking and blood alcohol tegt.

Un{ortunatelY, man}' o{ the studiescunnentl)' cited in the literature il-volve experiments in which test subjectsdrank I arge qr.ran t i t i es of al cohol onempty Etsnachs during {airly short pen-iods o{ time. These represent the worstcase eituations in which absonption andthe increase in blood alcohol concentra-tion are most rapid and lange changee inthe blood alcohol level may occur inshort periods o{ time. This is analo-gous to an individual 'chugging' a largeamount o{ I iquor and cl imbing into aveh i cl e after onl y { i fteen mi nutes,This is not the typical Eituation incaseE of driving under the in{luence.I{, h*rever, thiE is the contention, theexpert will freely adnit that the bloodalcohol level at a prior time could bemuch lower than at the time of sampling.

There aPe many situat ions, holever,when it is quite possible {or the expertto of{er an opinion about the nange o{

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CAC NEWSLETTER APRIL 1986

Page 16

Alcohol teEts (con't)

possible blood alcohol levels at a pre-uious time. $uch a range would conEidepthe variation in absorption and el imina-tion rates which are {ound in uariousindividuals. This nange is not so greatas Hume and Fi tzgeral d woul d have uEbel ieue. They have emphasized the {actthat cunplete absorption o{ alcohol maytalte sevenal hours, implying that aperson will reach his maximum bloodal cohol I eue I smre t ine af ter canp I e teabsorption o{ the alcohol. Such is notthe case, even when absorpt i on i s de-layed by the ingeetion oI {sod. Themax imum bl ood al cohol I euel i e usual I yreached be{ore absorption is cunplete,

The initial rise (to within appro-ximately 0.QEt ol the naximum level) inblood alcohol concentration is {airlyrapid, usuall)'occurring in the {irst 30to 45 minutes regardless of stsnachcon ten {9.2 ,3 ,4 This is usually {ol-lqled by a slq*er rate of absorption tothE maximun blood alcohol level. Thusthere may be I arge changes i n bl oodalcohol concentration initiall>,, but theincrease in concentration is much lessas the maximum alcohol leuel is ap-proached. In cases where the cunpleteabsorption o{ the alcohol takes severalhours, the maximum blood alcohol leuelmay be reached well be{ore absorption iscunpl ete. Thus the rel evant subjectwhich must be addresEed in a trial isnot the amount of time nequined to a-ch i eve canpl ete absorpt i on, but theamount o{ time nequired to reach themaximum blood alcohol leuel. They arenot the same. The ef{ect o{ prolongingthe absorpt i on o{ al cohol i s usual I y tominimize the change in the blood alcoholconcentrat i on wi th t ime anound the t imeof the maximum blood alcohol level.Thus a person who drinke on a full sto-mach is more I ikely to be the same levelat the time o{ driuing as at the time o{the test.

A person who spaces h i s dr i nks overa period of time, as iE trpical in Eo-cial situations whene one drink is corr-sumed every 30 to 45 minutes, will also

CAC NET.'SLETTER APRIL 1986

exh i bi t sl el changee i n bl ood al coholconcentrat i on. Thus, the expert cantestify that, assuming the blood alcoholtest occurred within one to tr,lo hours o{driving and the dninking behauion wageocial, the blsod alcohol level at thetime o{ dniving was sl ightlr higher, thesame, or slightly lqrrer than thE bloodalcohol at the time o{ the test. Thede{endant i s {ree to chal I enge theseassumptions with testimon). that he in-gested I arge efiounts o{ al cohol justbefore driuing, or by pnoviding a diffe-rent hypothet i cal si tuat i on to the ex-pent. Unfortunately {or the defendant,this may not agnee with Etatements madeto officens at the time o{ arrest.

Because the average blood alcohslI euel of those arreEted for dr i v i ngunder the in{luence is approxirnately0,17/. to 0.1172, the nange o{ uncertaintyregarding a blood alcohol level at apneuious tine is usuall), still wellaboue the 0.lg'l level, In those raren-inEtances where the blood alcohol leuelis determined to be nearer to .102, thenthe pFosecution nust rely on the pol iceo{{icer oF other uritnesses to supportthe charge nather than the expert wi t-nesE. In many jurisdictions, the Dis-trict Attonney's o{fice may not chargecases where the blood alcohol level islesE than E.ltl to 0.142 unless corrobo-rating evidence is especially stnong.ThiE is not a fail ing on the part o{ the{orensi c sc i ent i st or the techn i que buti s a resul t of the i nhenent I imi tat i onswh i ch occur i n al I areas o{ {orensi csc i ence: i t i s not possi bl e to kna,l al Io{ the relevant circumstances. That iswhy the iury is changed with the nespon-sibility o{ deciding hor much weight, i{arrr to give to any type o{ testimony.Indeed, i t was not that manl years agothat cases of driving unden the in{lu-ence o{ al cohol were dec i ded Eol el >, onthe ev i dence of the arrest i ng of{ i cerwi th no carroborat i ng bl ood al coholI evel .

Hy trdn exFer i ence wi th tr i al s {ordriving under the influence o{ alcohol

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i s that conu i ct i ons ane not the resul to{ an expert testi{ying about the de{en-dant's blood alcohol leuel at a previoustime, but because o{ the testimony o{the defendant. Frequently he offers ascenario such as thisl he only had twodrinl(s (although it would take at leastsix drinks to get him to the leuel indi-cated b>' the bl ood al cohol test) r+i th in{i{teen minutes be{ore he le{t a bar, heHas weauing in the car because he wastrring te retrieve his cigarettes {rsnthe floon, and he per{ormed the o{fi-cer'F gobriety teste poorly because hehae a, bad l(nee. The number of extenua-t i ng or unusual c i rcunstances and theobv i ous decept i on usual I y I ead the juryto doubt the defendant's testimony.

Hume and Fitzgerald epend consid-erable tine discussing the variabil ityof the Llidnark factor. I am uncertainas to why thie is brought into the arti-cle other than to help give the impres-sion that the area of alEohol testing is{raught with uncertaintieE. An indivi-dual'E tlidnark {actor is irrelevant tohis oF her blood alcshol level. ItBerveE as a use{ul convention {or ex-pl ai n i ng why di fferent peopl e reachdi{{enent blood alcohol levels on simi-I ar quant i t i es o{ dr i nl{s. I t can serueas a general guidel ine in deternininghml many dr inlts ane requ ired f or anindividual te reach a particular bloodalcohol leuel. But it is not used inthe testing o{ blood alcohol levels.

The courts are not interested inhql many dninks were peguired to bring aperson to a giuen blood alcohol level.A bl ood al cohol I eue I of .10'/. i s st i I Iunacceptable whether it required twodrinks on ten dninks. Appeals by defen-dants who have been convicted o{ havinga blood alcohol level in excess o{ .t0X,and who contend that the law is uncon-Etitutionally uague because they couldnot have l(n*ln the i r bl ood al cohol I eve Ihave been denied. Each of us has beenchanged with the duty o{ restricting oundr i nk ing when ule aPe dr i u i ng,

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Perhaps the most egregious misnep-resentat i on i n the Hume and F i tzgeral darticle dealt urith breath testing, Thearticle mentions breath ts blood conuer-si on {actans wh i ch cover a rang€ o{I 142: I to 3478: I , but no where i s i tstated that studies showing la* conven-sion ratios r+ere done many /ears ago brtechniques that have since been replacedby more accurate ones and that the re-sul tE of these studi es coul d not bedupl icated or have otherwise been dis-cOUnted.s, 6, 7 l"lany recent studiesexist using the same equipment that ispresently in use by law enforcement.Ere, 1o, rr, r2, r3 These studieE indicatethat the 2100:1 conversion {actor usedhy breath instrunents is sqnewhat lsrrapproximately 80'1, o{ the time. A personwho takes a breath test wi I I get a re-sult which is equal to or lmrer than hisbl ood a! cohol I evel most o{ the t ime.Appnoximately 5 to l0Z o{ the time, theereath test wi I I be h i gher than thecorresponding blood alcohol level, butnot more than l0'/. o{ the blood alcohollevel higherl

0ccasionally articles in the lit-enature are still encountered in whichthe claim ie made that the conversionfacton is sqne nidiculous number. Thesestudies haue been {lawed {or a number o{peasons, sflne o{ which are! conueFsionsratios have been calculated {rqn extrem-elr lor,, breath alcohol levels (.Og/.,where snal I di{{erences between thebreath and bl ood I evel s cause I argeapparent changes in the convension Fa-tios; the techniques used do not relateto the techn i ques preEentl y i n use;subjects haue been tested before thealcohol has dissipated frun the nrouthgi u i ng readi ngs i ndi cat i ue of mouthalcohol nather than lung alcohol.

Seeeral yeare ago e sect i on wasadded to the Cal i{ornia Vehicle Codewhich required pol ice officers to o{{era free bl ood on un i ne test to dr i verswho had taken a breath teEt and whowished to have their own sample to pe-{ute the breath teEt resul ts. The data

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Alcohol tests (con't)

{rsn thousands of these cases acrose theEtate haue been collected and will Eoonbe publ ished. There is not a singlecase in which a hreath test exceeds theblood level by more than t07, o{ theualue. Theee results {rfir actual {ieldcondi t i ons i ncocporate those van i abl esmentioned in Hume and Fitzgerald'E anti-cle as causing epponeous results. Des-p i te theEe var i abl es, the agreement i squ i te good.

A nunber of resul ts were {oundamong the data in r,lh ich the breath testwas signi{icantly belol the coppespon-ding blood test. This is also {ound inlaboratory test situations and iE causedby the test subject giuing an inadequatesanple. The I imitation of the breathteet is that it does require the coope-nation o{ the subject. Hq,rever, {ailureto cooperate gives an erroneously lqllresul t and wi I I not cause an unwarrantedprosecution o{ an innocent driver.

Hume and Fitzgerald also claim thatbreath alcohol testing is easily a{{ec-ted by contami nat i on. As wi th any Ec i -entific technique, the teEting proceduneis as irnpontant as the equipnrent itsel{.Thus the procedune i ncorporates a l5minute waiting period during r,rhich timethe subject must be ruatched to ensupenothing is placed in the mouth. This isnone than ample time {or anrthing in themouth to dissipate, including the alco-hol in dentunes! The only way sniffingalcohol wi I I cauee an instrument toregisten of{scale is i{ the subjectinhales directly {rqn the bottle o{alcohol and exhales directly into theinstnument. l,rithin e very {ew minutes,the reading will drop to nonmal. It isludicrous to think that a test Eubjectcould inhale alcohol {rsn a containerwithin a {ew minutes o{ the breath testwi thout being detected by the o{ficen.

Regurgi tating alcohol into thenouth can result in an erroneousl), highreading. As a result, Cal ifornia and$an/ crther states requ i re two breathsampl es to const i tute a val i d breath

CAC NEI''SLETTER APRI L T 98d

test . Al cohol d i se i pates so nap i dl yfrsn the mouth that it is not possibleto obtain two consecutive readings whichaFe within 8,07J BAC o{ one another. Ido bel ieve that areas which use only onebreath sampl e woul d have di {{ i cul tysupponting their reEulte. Our expeni-ence in Cal i{ornia has been that a sin-gl e breath test, when i n ernor, i s al -most always lo{,rer than the correspondingblood alcohol Ieuel.

Agai n, the content i on that breathalcohol tests are vulnerable to problemsas the reEult o{ corrtamination has notbeen substantiated by the thouEands o{tests i n the { i el d, where sinul taneouEbreath and blood samples have been ob-tai ned. I can onl y bel i eve that th i sbi ased nepresentat i on o{ the rel i abi I i tyo{ breath testing is the result s{ sel{-Eeruing punposee.

Hume and F i tzgeral d cal I {or thesaving o{ breath samples to detect ope-rator on instrurnent ernor. The currentEtate of the art wi th negand to breathcapture is such that it is unl il(ely thatsuch ennors would be detected by thismethod. Bneath capture deviceE are lesgaccurate and rel iable than today'sbreath Snstruments. Breath capture de-vices ane also subject to randsn epnopso{ Eqne nagn i tude. tn i nEtances wherelange di{{erences between the originalbreath teEt and the captured breathsample are obtained, the ennor is mostI il(ely due to the captune deuice and notthe bneath instrument. The natune ofthe breath capture device is such thateFnope arising fronr the device itsel{can be ne i ther con{ i rmed or di sputed.In many instances, depending on the typeo{ breath instrument and devicer ifiyerroneous breath test resul ts wouldcaPny oeer to the capture deviee.

In consideration of those accusedof driving under the influence of alco-hol , I strongl y support the al ternat i vewe haue adopted in Cal ifornia of of-{er'ing bneath test subiects their *,nblood sample. This pnovides the indivi-( con' t nex t page )

Alcohol tests (con't)

dual with the most accurate body {luidand also allers {or multiple testeshould errors on probleme with the anal-ysi e occur. Al though we have yet toencounter a ei tuat i on where operatorerFon oF a nal funct i on i ng i nstrumentgave an erroneous breath result relativeto the blood level, the pnactice o{providing a blood sample ie ualuable{rqn a philosophical standpoint in thatit gives the defendant an opportunity tochallenge the evidence o{{ered againsthim by the prosecution.

Hume and Fitzgerald also urge theuse o{ at least two tests {on alcoholtaken at least 30 minutes apart to re-solue the problem o{ determining a bloodal cohol I evel at a prev ious t ime. Hor-euer , th i E r,r i I I not sol ve the probl em.In the post-absorptive state, the changein blood alcohol level over 30 minuteE{al I s wi th i n the range of expep imentalerrop. Hence it will not be clear r*he-then any decline is the result o{ elimi-nationr ao)r increase is the reEult o{absorption, or a change eithen way iEthe result of a nonmal fluctuation inthe blood alcohol leuel as the result o{the dynamic between absonption and el im-ination. It is also un'l ikely that anylarge increageg in blood alcohol leuelwoul d be {ound wh i ch resul t {rqn theinitial pre-absonptiue Etate, BecauEethe period o{ rapidly increasing bloodalcohol levels is not sustained {or longperioder rn individual who had ingestedlarge quantities o{ alcohol iust priorto arrest would most I ikely be near theblood alcohol maximum by the time he isquestioned in the field and transportedfor a test.

There are many areas surroundingbl ood al cohol test i ng wh i ch generateconeiderabl e attacl( by attorne),E. 0nl ya {ew o{ these weFe raised in Hume andFi tzgerald'g article, and these are theonl y oneE to wh i ch I haqe responded.The {ield is cunplex and the I iteratureis vast. lt ie never easy to pnesent a{a i r a,nd conc i se d i scuss i on o{ the many{acets of alcohol testing. I do feel,

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though, that Anal yt i cal Chemi stry i sobl i gated to i ts readers to presentin{onmation that is free o{ the obviousdi stort i ons and hal {-truths that weFepresent in the Hume and Fitzgerald arti-cle.

lHumey David N, and Edlard F. Fitzger-ald, Anal. Chem., 57:877A-886A, 1985,

zGul lberg, R., J._Eol . Scl-r_-{nd-Adgi!.g._1982 Vol 10, No 3

sDittmarrE., Dorian, U., Can. Soc. For,Sci. J., 1982 Uol 15, No 2

cShajan i ,N. , Di nn, H. , Can, Soc. For.$ci. J., 1985 Vol 18, No I

sJones, A.,lrlright, 8., et al

6l'lason, l{., Dubo*ski, K., {r_-Ery[!,,1975, Vol 20, No ITDuberEl(ir K,, Laboratory Diaonosis o{Diseases Caused by Toxic Aqents, Sreent97g

ESrnith, hl., Hardingr 0., et al , J. For,Sci. $qs. , 1969, Uol9, No I & 2

eBreenr I'l.r paper given at *tericanAcademy o{ Forensic Sciences, l9gl

loNoordzij, P,r 6th Int. Con{ Proc Alco-hol, Drugs, and Traf{ic Sa{ety Tonontot974, 1973

ttCali{.pont of2, l?74

tzCal i {.port o{3, l9g0

Dept. of Heal th Serv i ces, Re-Ereath Instrument Approval, No,

Dept. of Health Seruicesr Re-Breath Instrument Approval, No,

rsEmerson, V. , Hol I eyhead, R. r et al tJ. For. Sci. $oc., 1980, Vol 20, No I

CAC NEhISLETTER AFRIL 1986