Michael G. Sheppo, Director, Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC

Kevin Lothridge, Chief Executive Officer, National Forensic Science Technology Center, Largo, FL

What are the scientific foundations of forensic science? To what extent are the pattern identification disciplines already ‘scientific,’ and to what extent is additional research and study needed in order to place them on a truly ‘scientific’ footing? What exactly does this label ‘scientific’ mean, anyway, and how much does it matter, for understanding, evaluating, and possibly improving the pattern identification disciplines? This panel will offer a variety of perspectives and frameworks for thinking about these questions, questions that have gained particular currency in the wake of both Daubert challenges to the admissibility of pattern identification evidence, and the National Academy of Science’s 2009 report on forensic science.

Moderator: Jay Siegel, Director, Forensic Science Program, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN

Presenters:

• Joseph P. Bono, Adjunct Instructor, Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, President, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Indianapolis, IN
• David Faigman, Professor of Law, Hastings College of the Law, University of California, San Francisco, CA
  Presentation PDF 32kB
• Jim Fraser, Director, Centre for Forensic Science, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
• Jennifer Mnookin, Professor, Law Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
  Presentation PDF 328kB

The future of forensic science will involve efforts to eliminate bias in expert opinion and quantification of uncertainty. While automated systems such as AFIS (for latent prints) promise a higher degree of objectivity they may bring in other issues of bias. Statistics may help quantify uncertainty but there are differing opinions on how to go about it.

Moderator: Sargur Srihari, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY

Presenters:

• Glenn Langenburg, Forensic Scientist, Latent Prints, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, St. Paul, MN
  Presentation (PDF 1.6MB)
• Itiel Dror, Cognitive Neuroscientist, Department of Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
  Presentation (PDF 1.2MB)

Angel Maturino Reséndiz killed as many as 24 people over a 12-year period before he was arrested in July 1999. Most of the murders occurred in close proximity to railroad tracks which he used to travel throughout the United States.

Several of the crimes occurred in Texas. The recovery and identification of latent fingerprint evidence by Debbie Benningfield from the Houston Police Department provided the key link to allow authorities to know who they were looking for and eventually track him down.

There is only one known survivor of an attack by Reséndiz. Holly Dunn Pendleton and her boyfriend, Christopher Mair, were attacked as they walked along the railroad tracks in Lexinton, Kentucky. Christopher was bludgeoned to death, and Holly was raped, beaten and stabbed. Holly currently helps other victims of rape, sexual assault, and crime. She also founded “Holly’s House” in her native Evansville, Indiana to benefit those victims of rape, sexual assault, and crime.

While the story has been presented in many ways this will be the first time that Debbie Benningfield and Holly Dunn will be appearing together to provide their compelling first-hand accounts.

Moderator: Leonard Butt, Forensic Scientist, Forensic Sciences Division, Maryland State Police, Pikesville, MD

Presenters:

• Debbie Benningfield, Consultant, DLB Forensics, Tomball, TX
• Holly Dunn Pendelton, Motivational Speaker/Victims Advocate, Holly K. Dunn, LLC, Evansville, IN
• Q&A

An overwhelming response, both from the United States and abroad, was received as a result of the Impression and Pattern Evidence Symposium’s “Call for Papers” issued earlier this year. The poster session provides an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to present their work in a public forum.

• Deciphering the Symbols and Codes on Footwear Labels Rhonda Banks, Forensic Scientist, Forensic Services Division, Oregon State Police, Clackamas, OR
  Poster (PDF 616kB)
• The Significance of Associating Air Force I Shoes with Partial Footwear Impressions Based on Physical Size Elyse Bekiempis, Crime Laboratory Analyst, Impression Evidence, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Jacksonville, FL
  Poster (PDF 360kB)
• Vehicle Stance Databases David P. Bicigo, Forensic Science Manager, Forensic Science Division, Michigan State Police, Bridgeport, MI
  Poster (PDF 804kB)
• Use of Polarized Light for Visualization and Documentation of Blood Patterns on Dark Surfaces Rebecca E. Bucht, Graduate Center at CUNY, Associate Consultant, Cognitive Consultants International, New York, NY
  Poster (PDF 2.7MB)
• Shape Measurement Tools in Impression Evidence: Application to Bitemarks Mary A. Bush, Assistant Professor, SUNY at Buffalo, NY
  Poster (PDF 176kB)
• New Firearms Forensic Technology Based on Infrared Technology Stanley Derr, President, SED Technology LLC, Fairfax, VA
  Poster (PDF 316kB)
• A Study of the Variability in Footwear Impression Comparison Conclusions Kate Duffy, Graduate, Centre for Forensic Science, University of Strathclyde, Bolton, Ontario, Canada
  Poster (PDF 160kB)
• Dry Casting: A Method for Casting Snow Impressions Shelli Friesen, Criminalist, Boulder Police Department, Boulder, CO
  Poster (PDF 164kB)
• Determining the Significance of Outsole Wear Characteristics During the Forensic Examination of Footwear Impression Evidence Lesley Hammer, Forensic Scientist, Hammer Forensics LLC, Anchorage, AK
  Poster (PDF 6.2MB)
• Estimation of Likelihood Ratios for Forensic Handwriting Analysis Amanda Hepler, Postdoctoral Fellow, Document Forensics Laboratory, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
• Toward a Quantative Basis for Efficiency of Friction Ridge Pattern Detail Michael Hsiao, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
  Poster (PDF 292kB)
• The Significance of Die-Cut Footwear Class Characteristics Alan Kainuma, Criminalist, Scientific Investigation Section/Questioned Documents Unit, Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu, HI
  Poster (PDF 328kB)
• Using Gentian Violet To Enhance Dust Impressions Recovered From Porous And Non-Porous Surfaces Jan Seaman Kelly, Forensic Scientist II, Crime Laboratory, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Las Vegas, NV
  Poster (PDF 92kB)
• The ARK (Admissibility Resource Kit) Greg Klees, Firearms and Toolmark Examiner, National Laboratory Center, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Ammendale, MD
• The Case of the Counterfeit Nike Tanya C. Lee, Forensic Specialist IV, Crime Laboratory, Kansas City, MO Police Department, Kansas City, MO
  Poster (PDF 5.8MB)
• Barefoot Morphology Shelly Massey, Forensic Identification Specialist, Campbell River Forensic Identification Section, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Campbell River, Bristish Columbia, Canada
  Poster (PDF 3.1MB)
• What Detail? Neal Morin, Special Agent, Firearm and Toolmark, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Raleigh, NC
  Poster (PDF 3.4MB)
• Pattern and Impression Evidence on the Human Body - Case Reports Suzanne L. Noffsinger, Forensic Scientist, Trace Evidence, Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory, Dayton, OH
  Poster (PDF 144kB)
• The Significance of Class Associations in Footwear Comparisons Sandy Parent, Forensic Scientist, Crime Laboratory, Texas Department of Public Safety, Austin, TX
• Quantifying the Dermatoglyphic Growth Patterns in Children Through Adolescence Leonard C. Pratt, Vice President, Field Operations, Ultra-Scan Corporation, Amherst, NY
  Poster (PDF 1.6MB)
• Microscopic Analysis of Sharp Force Trauma in Bone and Cartilage Chris Rainwater, Forensic Anthropologist, Office of Chief Medical Examiner, New York, NY
• Quantifying the Effects of Database Size and Sample Quality on Measures of Individualization Validity and Accuracy in Forensics Christopher P. Saunders, Assistant Professor, Applied Information Technology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
• A New Method for Casting Three Dimensional Shoeprints and Tire Marks Yaron Shor, Forensic Officer, Division of Identification and Forensic Science, Israel Police, Jerusalem, Israel
  Poster (PDF 852kB)
• The Significance of Documenting Shoes for Elimination Purposes at a Major Scene Christine Snyder, Crime Scene Analyst, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Sanford, FL
• Research and Development of Magneto-Rheological Fluids Eric Paul Sorrentino, Adjunct Professor, Forensic Science Department, Pace University, New York, NY
  Poster (PDF 4MB)
• The Statistical Evaluation of a Torn Duct Tape Physical Matches Frederic A. Tulleners, Director, Forensic Science Graduate Program, University of California, Davis, CA
  Poster (PDF 80kB)
• A New Approach Using Graph-based Recognition for Latent Fingerprint Identification Mark A. Walch, President, The Gannon Technologies Group, McLean, VA
• Handwriting Comparison Using ESDA LiftsDwayne Wisbey, Forensic Document Examiner and Deputy Sheriff, Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, Manlius, NY
  Poster (PDF 672kB)
• Innovative Techniques for Collecting Snow Impression Evidence James Wolfe, Adjunct Faculty, Justice Center, University of Alaska - Anchorage, Anchorage, AK
  Poster (PDF 544kB)
• Blood Reagents on Dark Surfaces Kelly Woodward, Forensic Scientist, Latent Print Section, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Topeka, KS
  Poster (PDF 340kB)
• Development of Synthetically Generated LEA Signatures to Generalize Probability of False Positive Identification Estimates Guangfan Zhang, Lead Research Scientist, Signal Processing, Intelligent Automation, Inc., Rockville, MD
  Poster (PDF 708kB)