Detailed entries (34)
A three-page Scientific Investigation Division training handout entitled 'Collection and Preservation of Body Fluids,' distributed to SID criminalists. Item 14 instructs collecting as much stain as possible when DNA analysis may be required; the handout also explicitly states that distinct stains must be collected separately. Used to impeach criminalists who testified that departures from procedure were at supervisory discretion.
A draft crime scene field unit protocol and procedures manual begun by the LAPD Scientific Investigation Division in 1992 but never formally implemented, attributed in part to the departure of a supervising criminalist before completion. The document existed in binder form and was referenced as not constituting binding policy as of 1995; witnesses variously confirmed they had never seen it or had only partially reviewed it.
A prosecution demonstrative exhibit consisting of a posterboard with still photographs illustrating the step-by-step blood swatch collection procedure, featuring a criminalist as the subject. The board was challenged as omitting steps visible in contemporaneous videotape, including dropped swatches and envelope documentation.
The LAPD DNA unit protocol and procedures manual, with sections addressing evidence handling and walk-in procedures (Section 4, approximately two pages), yield gels (Section 15), slot-blots (Section 16), and quality assurance requirements including spatial and temporal separation of exemplar and evidentiary samples (Section 25). Used to establish that a criminalist's handling of a suspect's reference tube alongside crime scene specimens violated his own written protocol.
Section 238.46 of the LAPD Manual, specifying the coroner notification obligations of investigating officers upon encountering deaths under enumerated circumstances, including suspected criminal homicide. The 1994 edition was entered into evidence as Defense 1016, with only section 238.46 admitted and the remainder redacted by the court.
LAPD Special Order No. 21, issued in conjunction with the California Health and Safety Code, specifying officer obligations regarding notification of the coroner. Admitted at trial over a hearsay objection.
A prosecution demonstrative posterboard depicting the evidence drying process in multiple photographic cells, illustrating the transfer of cloth swatches from plastic bags into test tubes and placement in the drying cabinet.
A prosecution demonstrative posterboard depicting the evidence packaging phase in five photographic cells, illustrating drying, bindle-folding, labeling, and sealing of swatches into coin envelopes.
A blue gauze pad in a coin envelope, designated as Item No. 10, which a criminalist demonstrated scooping into a coin envelope on redirect. Defense established on recross that the pad had been folded when first produced and became wrinkled only as a result of the demonstration.
A photograph depicting the type of valise or crime scene kit used by SID criminalists, confirmed by a criminalist as typical of the equipment carried to crime scenes.
A photograph of water bottles and swab packages of the type used by SID criminalists at crime scenes, confirmed as typical by a criminalist witness.
A handout from the LAPD SID mini academy covering crime scene investigation procedures, shown to a criminalist who could not confirm whether it was the specific handout she had received.
A two-page handout on forensic photography procedures distributed at an LAPD training. A witness acknowledged receiving some such handout but could not confirm this specific document.
A demonstrative board used in the criminal trial and displayed again during the civil trial by a defense DNA expert, comparing clinical and forensic DNA testing settings to illustrate differences in laboratory standards and contamination risk.
Instructions included in blood collection kits provided to homicide detectives, introduced and discussed during civil trial testimony about proper blood evidence collection procedures.
A demonstrative slide prepared by a defense DNA expert depicting wet blood swatches stored in plastic bags alongside a depiction of the bacterial degradation process, used to illustrate the mechanism by which improper packaging could compromise DNA evidence.
A document titled 'Golden Rule of Homicide Investigation,' setting out a standard-of-care statement requiring that nothing at a crime scene be touched, changed, or altered before it is identified, measured, and photographed. Read into the record; the witness agreed with its contents.
A hair examination checklist derived from the Connecticut State Police manual, introduced and used as the basis for cross-examination of an FBI hair examiner on examination methodology.
A list of hair examination terms derived from an FBI handbook, introduced during cross-examination of an FBI hair examiner; the prosecution objected that it was not an exact reproduction of the source book.
An unsigned 1974 memorandum purportedly from LAPD Chief Darryl Gates, addressed to all LAPD personnel, concerning crime scene protection procedures. Foundation was challenged; the SID director testified she was unaware of the document and that it predated her employment. The court found its current validity unclear.
Paper booties of the type worn by SID criminalists at the Bundy crime scene, introduced as a prosecution demonstrative exhibit.
Two disposable glass pipettes taped together with an evidence tag, of the type used to loosen dried swatches from test tubes, introduced as part of the prosecution's evidence-handling demonstration.
A disposable test tube of the type used in SID evidence processing, introduced as part of the prosecution's evidence-handling demonstration.
An example Fitzco blood swatch card with outer envelope and four filter-paper circles used for blood preservation, introduced as a demonstrative exhibit and passed through the jury box.
An evidence collection demonstration board featuring a photographic cell depicting white swatches visible on a cement surface, used during testimony about the swatch collection process at the Bundy scene.
A fresh paper bag of the same type used by SID for packaging evidence at crime scenes, introduced as a reference comparison exhibit during testimony.
Section 510.10 of the LAPD Manual governing the prompt booking of evidence, including blood samples collected from suspects, prohibiting personal storage of evidence by employees. Witnesses characterized the provision as a 'guide' rather than a strict requirement.
The LAPD Homicide Manual, containing standards for preliminary homicide investigation, note-keeping, and related procedures. A detective admitted to having read the manual only within the previous six months, shortly before testifying.
Section of the LAPD Manual (numbered 6525.2 or 525.20 depending on edition, page 367 in the 1992 edition) governing the preservation of wet stains, requiring that items containing wet blood be permitted to dry at room temperature and prohibiting the use of plastic containers for packaging.
The California Department of Justice laboratory protocol, including Section 6.3 governing examination of samples (requiring one item at a time and separation of suspect from victim samples) and the quality assurance manual at page 92, specifying that analysis must be repeated if an allelic control fails.
Cellmark Diagnostics' written standard operating procedures, including provisions requiring glove changes between samples and use of bleach to clean equipment between extractions, and protocol language specifying that a test result is 'inconclusive' when a reagent blank fails.
A publication by the U.S. Department of Justice (authored by Lee, Gaensslen, Kearney, and Bigby) titled 'Guidelines for the Collection and Preservation of DNA Evidence,' setting federal standards for DNA evidence handling. One criminalist testified to having never seen or heard of the publication before the case.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's Physical Evidence Policy and Procedures Manual, issued August 1987 and distributed February 1988, covering policies including when sexual assault evidence kits should and should not be performed.
LAPD policy governing the notification of next of kin in homicide cases, establishing the order and method by which detectives are required to notify family members. Used to examine whether investigators followed proper protocol in notifying the decedent's relatives.
Additional references (15)
Brief references from transcripts that don't warrant an individual page. Each has a single source or is mentioned only in passing.
- 1994 Discovery Production — LAPD, Cellmark, and DOJ Protocol Manuals — A collective production of testing protocols and procedure manuals from LAPD, Cellmark Diagnostics, and the California Department of Justice provided to the defense in late summer and early fall of 1994, cited by the prosecution to rebut defense claims about lack of timely disclosure.
- California Association of Criminalists Code of Ethics — The California Association of Criminalists code of ethics, with paragraph 2-E read into the record during testimony about professional obligations of forensic scientists.
- Coroner's Investigators Manual and Operations Bureau Manual — The Los Angeles County Coroner's investigators manual (page 6.0.1, 'Field evidence procedures') and the Operations Bureau manual (section 230), read into the record to establish the duties of coroner's investigators at crime scenes.
- Dr. Lakshmanan's Deputy Medical Examiner and Procedure Manual (12th Ed.) — The 12th edition of the Los Angeles County Deputy Medical Examiner and Procedure Manual, with the 'Homicides' section at page 40 read at length into the record to establish the applicable standard of care for homicide autopsies.
- LAPD Crime Lab Field Manual — Page 125 (Infectious Biological Evidence) — Page 125 of the LAPD crime lab field manual, containing procedures for handling potentially infectious biological evidence. Referenced during cross-examination; sustained objections blocked reading of specific provisions.
- LAPD Homicide Kit — Standard Contents — The standard contents of an LAPD homicide kit issued to detectives, comprising coveralls, work gloves, rubber gloves, pliers, rope, flashlights, rulers, tape measures, plastic bags, envelopes, grease pencils, and a compass.
- LAPD Lab Policy — Storage of Swatches in Plastic Bags — The LAPD crime laboratory policy on storing swatches in plastic bags, raised during testimony as an area of inquiry into whether the policy was reconsidered or revised following the handling procedures in this case.
- LAPD Manual — General Reporting Instructions — Section of the LAPD Manual titled 'General Reporting Instructions,' used on cross-examination and revisited on redirect during testimony about officer reporting obligations.
- LAPD Manual — SID Responsibility to Instruct Officers — A provision of the LAPD Manual specifying the Scientific Investigation Division's responsibility to instruct officers on evidence collection methods. A criminalist confirmed the provision reflected his understanding of his duties.
- LAPD Manual and Crime Lab Procedures — Booking and Swatching Biological Evidence — LAPD manual provisions and crime lab procedures governing the booking and swatching of biological evidence, including the representative sampling doctrine. A criminalist acknowledged that no written document supports the 'representative sampling' approach and that booking of crime scene items was not completed until …
- LAPD Manual Section 510.12 — Freezer Evidence Booking (Six-Hour Rule) — Section 510.12 of the LAPD Manual requiring that evidence destined for freezer storage be booked within six hours. A criminalist confirmed neither she nor her colleague complied with this requirement.
- LAPD Police Commission Board Rule 12 — Evidentiary Vehicle Storage — LAPD Police Commission Board Rule 12, governing the standards and requirements for storage of evidentiary vehicles, referenced to establish the regulatory standards to which a vehicle storage facility was subject.
- PCR Test Manual (Civil Trial, Blasier Cross-Examination) — A PCR testing manual used during the civil trial, with the defense attempting to establish that weak dots in results could indicate mixture, contamination, DX gene artifacts, or cross-hybridization.
- Roche DNA Typing Kits — Amplification Run No. 33 — Roche DNA typing kit reagents used in amplification run number 33, discussed as a possible source of anomalies observed in negative controls showing unexpected activity during DNA analysis.
- SID Crime Scene Field Unit — 11-Volume Protocol Manual — An 11-volume 'Crime Scene Field Unit Protocol and Procedures Manual' maintained by the LAPD Scientific Investigation Division. A criminalist testified to never having seen or received a copy.