California Crime Laboratory

Review Task Force

An Examination of

Forensic Science in California

November 2009

California Crime Laboratory

Review Task Force

An Examination of

Forensic Science in California

November 2009

California Crime Laboratory Review Task Force

Members

Dane Gillette, Task Force Chair Chief Assistant Attorney General

Representing: California Attorney Generals Office, Department of Justice

Barry Fisher, Vice Chair

Crime Laboratory Director (retired)

Los Angeles County Sheriffs Departments

Scientific Services Bureau

Representing: The California State Sheriffs Association, from a department with a crime laboratory

Michael Burt, Criminal Defense Attorney Law Office of Michael Burt

Representing: A private criminal defense attorney organization

Dolores A. Carr, District Attorney Santa Clara County

Representing: The California District Attorneys Association, from an office with a crime laboratory

Arturo Castro, Attorney

Office of the General Counsel

Administrative Office of the Courts

Representing: Judicial Council of California

Jennifer Friedman, Deputy Public Defender Los Angeles County Public Defenders Office

Representing: The California Public Defenders Association

Dean M. Gialamas, Director

Orange County Sheriffs Departments

Forensic Science Service Division

Representing: The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors

Robert A. Jarzen, Director

Laboratory of Forensic Services

Sacramento County District Attorneys Office

Representing: The California Association of

Crime Laboratory Directors

Elizabeth A. Johnson, Ph.D., Forensic Scientist Appointed by: The Office of the President pro Tempore

of the Senate

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Members

Sam Lucia, Lieutenant San Bernardino County Sheriffs Departments

Scientific Investigations Division

Representing: The California Peace Officers Association

Gregory Matheson, Director

Los Angeles Police Departments

Criminalistics Laboratory

Representing: The California Police Chiefs Association,

from a department with a crime laboratory

James McLaughlin, Chief Planning and Analysis Division

Representing: California Highway Patrol

Jennifer Mihalovich, Criminalist III

Oakland Police Departments Criminalistics Laboratory

Representing: The California Association of Criminalists

Steven Nash, Detective (retired) Marin County Sheriffs Department

Representing: The International Association for Identification

Jeff Rodzen, Ph.D., Senior Wildlife Forensic Specialist

California Department of Fish and Games

Wildlife Forensics Laboratory

Appointed by: The Governor

William C. Thompson, J.D., Ph.D., Professor

University of California, Irvine

Department of Criminology, Law and Society

Appointed by: The Office of the Speaker of the Assembly

Charlotte Wacker, Director

University of California, Davis, Body Donation Program

Appointed by: The Governor

The findings and recommendations expressed in this report are solely those of the California Crime Laboratory Review Task Force, and should not be considered as representing those of any department or agency of the California State Government. The opinions and recommendations expressed in this report reflect the consensus of the Task Force members.

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Special Recognition

We wish to recognize and acknowledge the individuals who staffed the Task Force and provided invaluable administrative support, critical technical skills, and a major contribution in the preparation of the Final Report.

California Department of Justice

Michael Chamberlain Deputy Attorney General, Staff Counsel to Task Force Colleen Higgins Staff Services Manager Leah Barros Student Assistant Celia Parks Administrative Assistant

In addition, we would like to express our gratitude to the many members of the public, including members of law enforcement agencies and the legal, academic and scientific communities, who attended one or more of the public Task Force meetings. Many contributed ideas and comments during the meetings. Several individuals provided particularly useful and perceptive input and they are noted below.

Mary Gibbons Manager, Oakland Police Departments Criminalistics Division Kevin Davis California Highway Patrol, in attendance with or for Chief James

McLaughlin

California Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Services

Jill Spriggs Chief Eva Steinberger Assistant Chief in charge of DNA Programs Bill Phillips Director, Toxicology Laboratory

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Acknowledgments

We also wish to acknowledge the staff of the California Attorney Generals Communications Office, Communications and Imaging Resource Center (CIRC), who contributed to the Final Report.

Jerry Hill Staff Services Manager Daphne Hom Managing Editor Allison Meraz Editor Oscar Estrella Graphic Designer Tricia Morgensen Graphic Designer Janet Mistchenko Graphic Designer

Special thanks to Stan Brown, CIRC photographer, and the CIRC printing staff who assisted in the Final Reports production.

Photo Credits

The California Crime Laboratory Review Task Force is grateful for the photographs provided for this report by the following facilities: Sacramento County District Attorneys Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Departments OC Crime Laboratory, Santa Clara County District Attorneys Laboratory of Criminalistics, BFS Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory, BFS Fresno Regional Laboratory, and the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, CSU Los Angeles.

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.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 2

Organization and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 3

Staff and Training

Recruitment and Retention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Chapter 4

Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Chapter 5

Performance Standards and Equipment

Workload Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Equipment and Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Accreditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Chapter 6

Statewide Forensic Science Oversight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Appendices A. Task Force Member Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

B. Penal Code Section 11062 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

C. Crime Laboratory Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

D. Law Enforcement Agency Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

E. District Attorney Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

F. Supplemental Questionnaire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

G. List of Meeting Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

H. Recommendations of the 2009 National Academy of Sciences Report. . . . . . . . . . . 141

I. Table of Comparative Salaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

J. Presentation on ASCLD/LAB Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

K. Existing State Oversight Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Executive Summary

An Examination of Forensic Science

in California

Over the years, a network of forensic laboratories was created throughout California to serve the states criminal justice system. The California Department of Justice established several state-level labs while counties or cities developed their own entities. Since the criminal justice system depends on high-quality forensic science services, California enacted legislation in October 2007 to review the states crime laboratory system (Assembly Bill 1079, Richardson) with a mandate to the Department of Justice to create and chair the California Crime Laboratory Review Task Force. The legislation added section 11062 to the California Penal Code,1

which directed the Task Force to make recommendations as to how best to configure, fund, and improve the delivery of