Project Tricia Griffith rebuttal: the truth about forensics same standard

tricia griffith wrote:
Anti-K, this whole forum has example after example after example that an intruder did not commit this crime.

No one can show one scintilla of evidence of an intruder.

As owner, I do my best to stay out of actual discussions about a crime.

The JBR case is the one expection.

Websleuths is a leader in true crime information as well as discussion. People come here to get information. It is imperative we deal with the facts. Not fantasy.

All I ask for are facts and a logical connecting of the dots. Logic and facts.

When I get time I will be going through the forum to make sure the JonBenet Ramsey forum is being held up to the high standards just like all our other forums on Websleuths.

The days of allowing anyone to post anything because it's part of their "theory" are gone. Facts and logic. Very simple.

Host Tricia Griffith is a veteran radio disc jockey and owner of Websleuths.com and owner of Forums for Justice.org.

In the marshy waters of Florida's Indian River, a local judge makes a grisly discovery: the body of a young woman, bound and floating in the water. Now police are searching for the person who brought 22-year-old Misty Morse to her watery grave.

Host Tricia Griffith is a veteran radio disc jockey and owner of Websleuths.com and owner of Forums for Justice.org.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Peter D. Barnett

SUMMARY

Professional practice concentrates on the physical, chemical and microscopical examination of physical evidence particularly trace evidence (hairs, fibers, etc.), impression evidence (fingerprints, documents, tool marks), field investigation (scene documentation, evidence collection), firearms examinations (including muzzle distance determination, trajectory reconstruction), and incident reconstruction.

Employment
Education
Experience
Professional Affiliations
Certifications



Technical Papers
Awards
Other Activities
Personal
Contact Information

EMPLOYMENT

PARTNER, Forensic Science Associates, 1978 - present

CONSULTING CRIMINALIST, 1971 - present

CRIMINALIST, Paul L. Kirk & Associates, Berkeley, California, July 1969 - January 1971

CRIMINALIST, San Diego Police Department, San Diego, California, July 1968 - July 1969

EDUCATION

Graduate work in Criminalistics, University of California, Berkeley, 1969-1970

Bachelor of Science in Criminalistics, University of California, 1968

Attended San Francisco State University, September, 1965 - June, 1966, Major: Chemistry

Attended University of California, Berkeley, September 1962 - January 1964, Major: Chemical Engineering

Attended University of Redlands, Redlands, California, September 1960 - June 1962. Major: Engineering

EXPERIENCE

Experienced in the examination and analysis of physical evidence including field and laboratory examination of all types of physical evidence and investigation of a variety of types of crime and accident scenes. With the San Diego Police Department, responsibilities included crime scene investigation, laboratory examination of evidence such as narcotics, blood samples (for alcohol and drugs), firearms, physiological fluid samples, trace evidence comparison (fibers, paint, hair, etc.), supervision of laboratory technicians, training of police officers, etc.

Consulting assignments beginning in 1969 with Paul L. Kirk and Associates have included a wide variety of incidents and many different types of physical evidence. Typical field assignments involve inspection of incident scenes, documentation and collection of physical evidence from those scenes, and the reconstruction of the incident. Typical laboratory assignments include examination of clothing for relevant physical evidence, examination of firearms and related forensic ballistic problems, trace evidence examination (hair, fibers, glass), document examination (handwriting, typewriting, ink comparison, altered or obliterated documents, FAX or photocopied documents, anonymous documents), and fingerprint examinations. Types of cases included death investigation (homicide, suicide, or accidental), assaults, automobile or other types of accidents, slip/trip and fall, industrial accidents, and personnel matters.

Consultation can be provided in preparing for the cross examination of expert witnesses, location of experts in specialized fields, and overall review of the physical evidence and technical aspects of pending litigation.

Clients include Private attorneys, public defenders, district attorneys, law enforcement agencies, corporations, insurance companies, unions, independent insurance adjusters, and private individuals.

Qualified as an expert witness in Superior Court in numerous counties of the State of California as well as in Nevada, Texas, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Federal and Military Courts as well as Administrative hearings (DMV, NLRB). Have presented expert testimony regarding questioned documents examination, auto accidents, product liability, firearms and ballistics, physiological fluids, trace evidence, reconstruction of accident and crime scenes, and examination of various other types of physical evidence.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Fellow, American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Criminalistics Section)

Member, California Association of Criminalists

Member, American Society for Testing and Materials

Forensic Science Society, Great Britain (Affiliate)

CERTIFICATIONS

Diplomate, American Board of Criminalistics

BOOKS

Ethics in Forensic Science: Professional Standards for the Practice of Criminalistics, New York: CRC Press (2001)

"Criminalistics," in McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology 9th Editiong, McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Whalley, R., and Barnett, P.D., Legal vs. Forensic Definition of Under the Influence. Presented at the 33rd Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, May, 1969.

Barnett, P.D., and Berger, R., The Determination of the Age of Latent Fingerprints, J. Forensic Science Society, 16 (1977) 249.

Barnett, P.D., Trace Elements Analysis of Heroin by X-Ray Fluorescence. Presented at the 47th Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, May, 1976.

Barnett, P.D., Comparison of Edges of Paper from Pads. Presented at the 54th Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, October, 1979.

Barnett, P.D., Probabilities and Human Hair Comparison. Presented at the 55th Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, May, 1980.

Barnett, P.D., and Ogle, R.R., Examination of Headlamp Filaments. Presented at the 56th Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, October, 1980.

Barnett, P.D., Blake, E.B., and Ogle, R.R., The Role of the Defense Expert. Presented at the American Academy of Forensic Science, Los Angeles, California, February, 1981.
Barnett, P.D., and Ogle, R.R., Probabilities and Human Hair Comparison, J. Forensic Science, 27 (1982):272-278.

Barnett, P.D., The Utility of On-Line Searching in the Crime Laboratory. Presented at the 58th Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, October, 1981.

Barnett, P.D., and Hurley, N.M., Reconstruction of a Shotgun Shooting. Presented at the First Inter-American Congress of Forensic Sciences, Sacramento, California, November, 1982.

Barnett, P.D., A Systematic Approach to Trace Evidence. Presented at the 61st Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, May, 1983.

Barnett, P.D., Trace Evidence Examination - A Rapid Examination and Classification Scheme. Presented at the American academy of Forensic Science, February, 1984.

Barnett, P.D., Interpretation of Trace Element Composition of Bullet Lead. Presented at the 63rd Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, May, 1984.

Barnett, P.D., Strong Negative Conclusions in Hair Comparison - A Rare Event. Letter to the Editor, J. Canadian So. Forensic Science 18(2): 69-70, June 1985.

Barnett, P.D., Ethical Considerations in the Practice of Forensic Science. Presented at the 192nd National Meeting, American Chemical Society, September 9, 1986, Anaheim, CA.

Barnett, P.D., and Blake, E.T., Microscopic Comparison of Human Head Hair, Results of a Blind Trial Experiment. Presented at Inter-Micro-86, Chicago, IL, July 24, 1986.

Barnett, P.D., and Super-Mihalovich, J., Ricochet of Bullets from Automobile Windshields. Presented at the 73rd Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, Sacramento, CA, May, 1989.

Barnett, P.D., The Examination of Hanging Chads in Election Ballots. Presented at the 73rd Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, San Mateo, CA, May 1989.

Barnett, P.D., and Bagatelos, P.S., Examination of Ballots in Contested Elections: Hanging Chads, Identifying Marks and Alterations. Presented at the American Academy of Forensic Science Annual Meeting, February 22, 191, Anaheim, CA.

Barnett, P.D., Microscopy of Foreign Bodies from Body Cavities. Presented at Inter-Micro 92, Chicago, IL, July 13-16 1992.

Bowman, D., and Barnett, P.D., Deterioration of Fibers in an Aquatic Environment: Preliminary Observations. Presented at Inter-Micro 92, Chicago, IL, July 13-16, 1992.

Barnett, P.D., Application of Multilinear Events Sequencing (MES) Analysis to the Reconstruction of a Shooting Incident. Presented at the 83rd Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, Oakland, CA, May 1994.

Barnett, P.D., Current Status and Activities of ASTM Committee E-30 On Forensic Science. Presented at the 83rd Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, Oakland, CA, May 1994.

Barnett, P.D., The Role of Standards in Forensic Science, Standardization News, 23:24-27, April 1995.

Barnett, P.D., Standards Needs in Forensic Science. Presented to a seminar at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg MD, June 15, 1995.

Barnett, P.D., and Shaffer, S.A., Forensic Science on the Internet. Presented at the 85th Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, Walnut Creek, CA, May, 1995.

Barnett, P.D., Methodological Approach to Crime Scene Investigation: The Dangers of Technology, in Hicks, John, et al. Forensic Evidence Analysis and Crime Scene Investigation, SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 2941, 1997, pp. 102-108.

Barnett, P.D., The American Board of Criminalistics Certification Program for Criminalists Specializing in Trace Evidence Examination. Presented at the Joint Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists and the Forensic Science Society, Harrogate, England, July, 1997.

Barnett, P.D., Identification of Shoe Impressions from a Double Amputee: Is It Possible?. Presented at the Joint Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists and the Forensic Science Society, Harrogate, England, July, 1997.

Barnett, P.D., and Shaffer, S.A., Digital Discovery - How to Provide It and How to Use It. Presented at the 91st Semi-Annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists, Monterey, CA, May, 1998.

Barnett, P.D., Comparison of Synthetic Fiber Types in Vacuum Debris from Different Households, presented at InterMicro-98, Chicago, IL, August 12, 1998

Barnett, P.D., Evaluation of the Significance of Trace Evidence: Three Cases, presented at the Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences Meeting, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, August 16, 1998

Barnett, P.D., History of the San Francisco Microscopical Society, presented at InterMicro-99 June 28 - July 1, 1999, Chicago, IL

Barnett, P.D., Future of Hair Microscopy, panel discussion at InterMicro-99, June 28 - July 1, 1999, Chicago, IL

Barnett, P.D., Microscopy in Criminalistics: Past, Present and Future, presented at the 1999 Pacific Conference on Chemistry and Spectroscopy, Ontario CA, October 6-8, 1999

Barnett, P.D., Reconstruction of the Shooting of a Dog, presented at the 94th Semi-annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists (Ontario CA, October 14-16, 1999)

Barnett, P.D., The Role of Forensic Science Professional Organizations in the New Mellenium, presented at the 94th Semi-annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists (Ontario CA,Octber 14-16,1999) and at the meeting of the Forensic Science Society, (Nottingham, England, November 5-7, 1999)

Barnett, P.D., Culinary Forensics: Investigation of a Pizza, presented at the 99th Semi-annual Seminar of the California Association of Criminalists (San Francisco, CA, May 9-11, 2002)

Barnett, P.D., Fact or Fiction: The Forensic Laboratory Report, presented at the Forensic Science and Fiction, Joint Seminar of the Forensic Science Society and the California Association of Criminalists (Oxford, England, March 19-22, 2003)

Barnett, P.D., The Dropped Card: The Consequences of Not Playing with a Full Deck, presented at the Joint Seminar of the Joint Seminar of the Northwest Association of Forensic Scientists and the California Association of Criminalists, (Reno, NV, April 8-11, 2003)

Barnett, P.D., Obscuring the Obverse: The Obligations of Disclosure, presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Dallas, TX, February 16-21, 2004)

AWARDS

California Association of Criminalists Service Award - 1977

California Association of Criminalists Outstanding Service Award - 1984

California Association of Criminalists Distinguished Service Award - 1989

California Association of Criminalists Distinguished Member Award - 1992

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Moderator, Panel Discussion on "Ethics in Forensic Science" at American Academy of Forensic Science Annual Meeting, 1984

Moderator, Special Session on "Applications of Computers in Forensic Science", American Academy of Forensic Science Annual Meeting, 1987

Editorial Secretary, California Association of Criminalists, 1985 - 1989

Membership Secretary and Criminalistics Subcommittee Chairman, ASTM Committee E-30 (Forensic Science) 1989-1991

Chairman, ASTM Committee E-30 (Forensic Science) 1991-1993

Chairman, Hair and Fiber Peer Group, American Board of Criminalistics / California Association of Criminalists - 1991 to present

Member, Board of Examiners, American Board of Criminalistics

President-Elect, California Association of Criminalists, 1995-1996

President, California Association of Criminalists, 1996-1997

CONSULTING AND EDUCATION IN FORENSIC SCIENCE

Norah Rudin

View Norah's curriculum vitae.

Norah Rudin holds a B.A. from Pomona College and a Ph.D. from Brandeis University. She is a member of the California Association of Criminalists, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Criminalistics. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, she served three years as a full-time consultant/technical leader for the California Department of Justice DNA Laboratory and has also served as consulting technical leader for the Idaho Department of Law Enforcement DNA Laboratory, the San Francisco Crime Laboratory DNA Section, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department DNA Laboratory. Dr. Rudin has co-authored An Introduction to DNA Forensic Analysis and Principles and Practice of Criminalistics: The Profession of Forensic Science. She is also the author of the Dictionary of Modern Biology. Dr. Rudin has taught a variety of general forensic and forensic DNA courses for the University of California at Berkeley extension and on-line. She is frequently invited to speak at various legal symposia and forensic conferences, and recently served a guberatorial appointment to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science Scientific Advisory Committee. She is currently co-chair of the Constitution Project Committee on DNA Collection. She remains active as an independent consultant and expert witness in forensic DNA.


Dr. Rudin and Mr. Inman have formed the non-profit company SCIEG (Scientific Collaboration, Innovation, and Education) for the purpose of developing Lab Retriever, a software tool to perform likelihood ratios with a probability of drop-out, and more generally to further forensic science education in general.