Government Technology - February 2008 - (Page 22)

One Space to Organize All Your Web Resources My Briefcase the CSI Effect “media spin,” but he admitted it can alter cases. “One of the things that might happen is, we’re asked to do more tests than we might be asked to do otherwise,” he said. “One of the things district attorneys often argue is we have to do these tests in anticipation of them being raised [as questions] by the defense.” “The reality is that real crime is very messy, and in real life, it isn’t as crisp as it is on TV. It raises unrealistic expectations about technology that really does exist, and in a perfect world, we would be able to do it.” Joshua Marquis, Clatsop County, Ore., District Attorney Track News & Hot Topics Store Videos & Resources Bookmark Whitepapers & Articles Save External URLs/RSS Feeds Take Our Tutorial Today! /briefcase/tour Sponsored by: Confidence in a connected world. Marquis said he put crime technicians on the witness stand for four hours in one case to discuss the tests that weren’t done and why they weren’t necessary. “Basically I did it because, if we didn’t, the implication would be that we were hiding something or failed to do something.” And although DNA can be incredibly helpful in the right situation, it’s not a magic bullet in every crime, he added. “DNA helps in a lot of cases, but there are a lot of cases in which it doesn’t do you any good at all, like a consent rape case.” Useful or not, today’s juries simply demand more forensic evidence, according to Susan Riseling, chief of police for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And those extra tests increase costs and slow the pace of criminal cases. “CSI has led to a test-everything mindset. When there is a lot of blood and you take, say, 35 samples at a scene, you test 12 and want to stop there, but the defense then wants to argue that the lab didn’t test all 35,” she said. “Blood spatters the same way; splatter patterns can have lots of samples, and labs test a percentage of them. These take time and money, and cases pile up.” Riseling calls DNA the new fingerprint. “When fingerprints first came into being forensically, juries wanted to see the fingerprint evidence,” she said. “When there were no fingerprints, people doubted the person was really there.” Such a scenario may have played out in the 2005 Robert Blake murder case. A Los Angeles jury acquitted the actor because of a lack of forensic evidence tying him to the murder of his wife. That verdict prompted Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley to label the jury “incredibly stupid.” Life Imitates Art Another potential impact of the CSI Effect is greater public attention on — and more appreciation for — forensics facilities. For instance, the CSI shows may have helped Los Angeles County get a new $102 million forensics center (See L.A. Builds Model Lab, page 21) that was needed for years and finally opened in September 2007. The popularity of the shows and the subsequent interest in forensic science, helped focus attention on the need for a better facility as elected officials decided how to spend tax dollars. “[These TV shows are] really helpful because they keep the issue in front of the public eye,” Fisher said, adding that the county’s old facility was so cramped “you had to go into the hallway to change your mind.” Most real-life crime labs — even brandnew ones — look nothing like the gleaming facilities shown on TV. “Today, the only familiarity the average person has with a forensics lab is it’s this wonderful pristine, sciencelike environment,” said Kimberlianne Podlas, an attorney and assistant professor of media law and ethics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The reality is, crime labs are cramped. But Podlas, who has researched the CSI Effect, said there’s nothing new about the public having high and maybe unreasonable 22 http://www.govtech.com/briefcase/tour http://www.govtech.com/briefcase/tour http://www.govtech.com

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Government Technology - February 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Screen Products Four Questions for... CSI Effect Bad Medicine Making Health Care Personal Cashing In GIS for Less Nabbing Speedsters First Person: Records Management Chatter Box Oregon Data Centers Go Green Products Two Cents Spectrum Up Close Personal Computing signal:noise Government Solutions - Spring 2008 Power Play Double Duty Cleaning House Twice Prepared Smart Move The Path to Success Foundation for Service

Government Technology - February 2008

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