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Report Writing and Courtroom

Testimony

Iowa State University

Computer and Network Forensics

CprE 592-YG

October 23, 2003

By

Sandra J. Stoltenow, Criminalist Supervisor

Iowa DCI Lab

Report Writing

• Document chain-of-custody

• List and describe items examined

• Describe methods of examination, if appropriate

• State results of examination

• State significance of results

• Special interpretations

• Disposition of evidence

List and describe items examined

• Can be delegated to submitter

– Submission form

– Receipt form

May need to be corrected or supplemented

Describe methods of examination, if appropriate

Preparation

Instrumentation

Destructive or nondestructive

Suitability to be re-examined by another expert

State results of examination

• Use layman’s terms if at all possible

• Graphics or tables are helpful

• Be clear and concise

• Explain limitations

State significance of results

• Exhibit A and B were identical and likely have a common source

• Because the genetic profile of the suspect does not match the semen on the victim’s vaginal swab, this suspect is eliminated as the semen donor.

• The suspect was in contact with the victim by e-mail.

Special interpretations

• Assuming a 40% yield, the precursors found in the defendant’s apartment could have made 15 grams of pure methamphetamine.

• Seminal fluid from an additional, unknown male was identified on the vaginal swab.

Disposition of evidence

The Macintosh Computer (serial number

45689) is being returned under separate cover by Federal Express number 1234.

The hard drives labeled Exhibits 14-20 are being forwarded to ABC Data Recovery at the request of the plaintiff.

The server described above is available to be returned to your office at your convenience.

Purpose of a Report

• Notify the submitter of the progress of the analysis

• Can stand alone

Courtroom Testimony

“In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not the man to whom the idea first occurs.”

Sir Francis Drake

“Science advances toward truth though never arriving at certainty.”

Unknown

Outline

• The American Adversary System

• Terms

• Expert Testimony

• Frye v. United States

• Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals inc.

• Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael

The American Adversary System

• Cases are heard by a neutral and passive decision maker

• Setting is highly structured

• Evidence is usually presented by lay witnesses who must testify based on personal knowledge (expert witnesses are exception).

Terms

• Minutes of testimony

• Subpoena

• Interogatory

• Deposition

• Duces Tecum

• Opening Statement

• Direct Exam

• Voir dire

• Cross Exam

• Re-direct, Re-cross, etc.

• Sequestered

More Terms

• Sustained

• Over ruled

• Multifaceted questions

• Chain of Custody

Expert Testimony

• Only expert witnesses are allowed to testify to matters they did not directly perceive.

• The subject must be outside the general knowledge of lay jurors.

• It must involve “scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge” such that it would assist the jury to have an expert explain.

• The witness must have sufficient training and experience.

Frye

• Excluded testimony about a primitive polygraph

• Science can be used in the courtroom only if the procedure is “sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs.”

• When is Frye applicable?

• What is meant by general acceptance?

• Which scientific community?

• How do you accommodate new advances?

Federal Rules of Evidence

• No mention of Frye

• Meant to reduce formality

• Junk science flourished

• Iowa is a Federal Rules of Evidence State

Daubert

• Rejects the Frye for Federal Courts

• Trial judge must serve as gatekeeper to screen unreliable evidence.

Kumho

• Extended the trail judge’s gate keeping role to all expert testimony

• Distinction between scientific and technical or specialized knowledge is not clear.

• Expert, whether scientific or not, must

“employ in the courtroom the same level of intellectual rigor that characterized the practice of an expert in the relevant field.”

So Who is Really Responsible?

• The scientific community Frye

• The jury – Federal Rules of Evidence

• Trial judge – Daubert, Joiner, Kumho

• The appellate courts – Goeb v. Tharaldson

Preparation

• Provide a resume

• Require a pre-trial conference

• Dress the part

• Prepare visual aids

• Practice what you can

Juror Research

• Through short training lay jurors can improve scientific problem solving ability

• Jurors will use past experiences to assess evidence to test which story is most believable

• Only if Jurors lose motivation or ability to fit evidence into story will they resort to peripheral cues.

Why Jurors Lose Motivation

• Too complicated

• Not trained by your testimony

• Too much detail

• Too much jargon

Jury Persuasion

• Talk to jurors. Give them eye contact

• Teach them to evaluate the evidence

• Help the jurors understand that the evidence fits the story

Some Thoughts About Judges

• Black robed, failed scientists?

• Learning the job as they go.

• Previous difficulty with science and technology

• Unbiased?

Last Advice

• Listen to the question

• Pause before answering

• Answer the question

• If you don’t know, say so

Bibliography

Almirall, Jose R., and Kenneth G. Furton

2001 Forensic Science Explained: A Guide for Understanding the Use of Science in the Administration of Justice. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

(0-8493-8123-1)

Anonymous

1993 The Dead Rise Again in the Courtroom. The National Law Journal, June 21, 1993.

Babitsky, S., and J.J. Mangraviti

1999 How to Excel During Depositions: Techniques for Experts that Work. SEAK Incorporated, Falmouth, MA.

Barnard, Kevin, Nichola Gray, and Earl Hodges

2002 Expert Evidence.

http://www.benecke.com/evidence.html or http://www.benecke.com/evidence.pdf

Barnett, Peter D.

2001 Ethics in Forensic Science: Professional Standards for the Practice of Criminalistics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

(ISBN: 0-8493-0860-7)

Baute, Paschal

2002 Expert Witnessing and Daubert: Is Your Expert Witness Prepared for a Daubert/Kumho Challenge?

http://www.acfe.com/public/articles/details.cfm?id=58&get=16

Becker, Ronald F.

1997 Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony Handbook: A Guide for Lawyers, Criminal Investigators, and Forensic Specialists. Charles C. Thomas

Publisher, Springfield, IL.

(ISBN: 0-398-06761-9 or 0-398-06762-7)

Bono, J.P.

1981 The forensic scientist in the judicial system. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 9(2): 160-166.

Bradley, Michael D.

1983 The Scientist and Engineer in Court. American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C.

Brady, William J.

1982 A Physician/Attorney’s Outline of Death Investigation. (Library of Congress Call Number: RA1063.4.B7 1982)

Brereton, LeGay

1977 Evidence in Medicine, Science and the Law. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, 9:45-

Brodsky, Stanley L.

1991 Testifying in Court: Guidelines and Maxims for the Expert Witness. American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.

Bronstein, Daniel A.

1998 Law for the Expert Witness, Second Edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

(ISBN: 0-8493-8135-5)

Burns, Karen Ramey

2002 Challenges of the Haitian Courtroom. A paper presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Atlanta,

Georgia, February 11-16, 2002.

Canadian Bar Association

1977 An Index to Expert Witnesses. Prepared for the Seminar on Forensic Science & Circumstantial Proof, Ontario Branch, Canadian Bar Association,

February 3, 1977, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario, Canada.

Cantor, B.J.

1994 Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence. Federal Judicial Center, Matthew Bender, New York, NY.

1997 The Role of the Expert Witness in a Court Trial. Civil Evidence, Photo. Seminars, Belmont, MA.

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