FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK... Carol Henderson

This is the fourth and final issue of It’s Evident in 2007! Time has flown by … here’s what’s new:

• NCSTL.org's “one-stop-shop” database has grown to over 55,000 records and continues to develop and consolidate forensic-based information.
  
  
• URL-based searches have been developed for www.ncstl.org. NIJ will use this feature to make it easier to share research findings with large groups.
  
  
• The NCSTL receives regular media coverage. This quarter, I was interviewed by Michelle Martin of NPR’s “Tell Me More” on July 24 in Washington DC; Director of Research, Diana Botluk, was interviewed by Eric Horchy of the Suncoast News on “Biometric technology use garners praise from some, critiques from others” which was published on August 4, 2007; and Director of Technology & Distance Education, Dr. Susan Zucker, wrote Less Lethal Technologies, which was accepted for inclusion in the IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) database in August. I will also appear on the Montel Williams Show in November.
  
  
• To inform NCSTL’s constituency, which includes law enforcement, legal professionals, scientists, engineers, educators, and technologists, NCSTL representatives offer training on a multitude of topics and attend conferences nationally and internationally.
  
  – July was a busy month. I participated in the 2007 NIJ Conference in Arlington, VA and served on the panel “The ’CSI Effect’ on Jurors: Does it Exist?” on July 23-24; on July 26, I presented “Digging Up Dirt on Expert Witnesses” at the Masters 12 Conference for Advanced Death Investigation at the St. Louis University School of Medicine; and on July 24, Director of Outreach, Anjali Swienton, presented “Overview of Legal Considerations in the Use of Electromuscular Disruption (EMD) Devices” at the 14th NIJ Conference in Crystal City, VA.
  
  – In August, I attended the AAFS Executive Meeting in Washington, DC and participated in the 2007 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. At the ABA meeting, I served on the panel “Scientific Evidence in the Courts: What’s on the Horizon” and on the panel “The Future of Evidence.”
  
  – I offered two training sessions on courtroom testimony in September. The “Testifying Doesn’t Have to be Murder” Courtroom Testimony Workshop was given on September 6-7 and 10-11. Attendees were from the crime lab and crime scene unit of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. I gave a day-long lecture and during the second day five Stetson Law students, Tyler Pitchford, Lindsey Granados, Maria Cadagan, Meaghan Leisenfelder, and Salina Klinghammer, performed direct and cross examination of the participants. The attendees' testimony was videotaped and critiqued.
  
  – On September 20-21, I attended the NAS Committee Meeting on “Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Science Community” in Woods Hole, MA.
  
  The next issue of It’s Evident will be published in January, 2008. Until then …

RESEARCH FOCUS
ONE WITNESS, TWO HATS, THREE CASES
Catherine M. Guthrie, Research Attorney

It is well established that a police officer may testify as an expert witness in one case and a lay witness in another. However there has been some debate as to whether an officer can offer both kinds of testimony in the same trial; in other words, whether a policeman can wear "two hats" on the witness stand. The author examines the issue as viewed by three different appellate courts via case examples.

The first case presents an interesting evolution in one court's view of dual testimony. The second case provides an in-depth assessment of the problems created when a law enforcement officer testifies as both an expert and a lay witness. Finally, the last example illustrates one of the most recent cases on the issue. Full Paper

RESEARCH EXTRA
Cybercrime Grows Up
Angela Lack, Research Attorney

In its infancy, cybercrime was thought of as nothing more than a game played by teenagers or college students in their rooms late at night. Hackers would break into a company’s database and cause a few headaches, but no serious harm or financial loss would befall the victim.

Cybercrime has evolved and is not just for kids anymore. Organized crime and online cyber criminals using sophisticated web sites are getting into “the game”. In fact, cybercrime has matured so fast it has become a multi-billion dollar business complete with mergers, acquisitions and hostile takeovers akin to any other fast growing industry. Full Paper

LEGAL UPDATE
Electronic Control Devices: Legal Aspects Overview
Elizabeth Fitterman, Research Attorney

A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in 2005 reported the use of TASER® electronic control devices by over 140,000 police officers in the field representing 7,000 of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. Recently, TASER International, Inc., the same source referenced in the GAO’s report, estimated that the number of agencies deploying the use of their electronic control devices (ECDs) had increased substantially to include more than 11,500 agencies, or about 70 percent of all law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Further, possession and use of some type of ECD is lawful by both public agencies and private citizens in nearly all jurisdictions. The trend favoring the use of ECDs inevitably calls to mind the legal implications associated with ECD usage for which this article presents an overview. Full Paper

NCSTL ACTIVITIES and PRESS: Find out where NCSTL staff has been and what we’ve been doing, as well as information about our publications, professional associations, and the press coverage we have received.

It's Evident is published by Dr. Susan Zucker, Director Technology & Distance Education. Coming in the next issue ... Cyber Forenics: Part II and lots more.