Good morning. Now, there are a number of matters on calendar today. I think there is one matter that can be resolved in fairly short order, and that relates to the hair sample that the court did grant an order for a hair sample. The defense submitted an order to the court requesting to limit that hair sample to one hair. I did have my clerk contact the District Attorney's office to determine whether they were in agreement with that order, and the indication was that they were not, and therefore I've done nothing with regard to that order to this point. Ms. Clark, how much hair do the people need?
Well, Your Honor, hair samples -- as I'm sure the defense must be aware -- in order to be effectively compared with an evidence sample recovered from a crime scene, has to be taken from each area of the suspect's head, and that means that a minimum of five to ten hairs from each area, which usually amounts to about a hundred hairs. Any scientist, no matter how inexperienced, is aware of that fact. You cannot do an effective comparison between a known standard and an evidence standard without that size of sample.
We're asking for as many hairs as the criminalist or expert determines is necessary to effectively compare the standard hairs from the head of the defendant with the hairs found at the crime scene. And I've never seen a court attempt to restrict that, because that is obviously a matter that a criminalist would have to determine based on what he can recover.
Your Honor, according to Dr. Henry Lee, our chief criminalist who is the head of the Department of Criminology in Connecticut, he tells us one to three hairs are sufficient. I think perhaps this may be an appropriate matter for the court to have a hearing on. I think 100 hairs is unduly invasive, makes the inventorying of the hairs a very, very difficult task, and certainly allows for the possibility of the comingling of samples, which could contaminate any test. So we would ask for a hearing on this. I've been practicing for a long time. I have never, ever heard of such a request.
KEY QUOTEAll right. This is what I'm prepared to do at this point in time: that is to order, no more than 10 hairs at this point. If the prosecution at some point feels that they are in need of more hairs than the 10 that I'm going to allow at this point, then we will have that hearing with experts, if necessary. This is not a matter that the court has independent expert knowledge concerning, so that's going to be the order at this point in time, subject to a further hearing with evidence, if necessary, from both sides for anything beyond 10 hairs.
Your Honor, I don't think that counsel has conferred with Mr. Lee concerning the nature of the tests involved. If Mr. Lee is -- and if Mr. Lee has informed counsel that only one to three hairs are needed for microscopic comparison, then he has misinformed counsel, and I can state that categorically. I'm very surprised to hear Mr. Shapiro has never heard of the number of hairs I have just indicated to the court being required before, because that is a standard thing. When a microscopic analysis is endeavored, it is required that you have standards from every area of the head, 10 hairs per area. That's a standard. I'm not talking about anything unusual here, and what Mr. Lee is talking about --
-- Excuse me, is P.C.R. work. We're talking about comparison for microscopic as well. We're not just talking about P.C.R. only.
At this point you're of the opinion, and it may indeed be the correct conclusion, that you're going to need more than that. The bottom line is that if, in fact, you do need more than that, you are going to have to produce an expert to justify that to the court. And if indeed that justification is made, I will sign the appropriate order.
On the matter of hair, before you leave that issue, we do not have an indication as to how many follicles or shafts were found that the people are going to use for a point of comparison. May we ask the court to make such inquiry so we may have knowledge of that now?
I -- I was told just this morning, and I cannot recall -- I'm not going to make a representation. We have an expert here who can tell the court precisely how many follicles and how many shafts there are. I'd rather let them say.
All right. Now, you indicate you do have an expert here. Do you want to proceed on this issue of the number of hairs right now, or would you prefer to do that some time later? What is your preference?
Well, Your Honor, as I understand it, the court had required us to proceed this morning on the issue of the blood split that was requested.
So the expert who is going to testify to that matter can also address matters of the hair because she's the director of the crime lab for the Los Angeles Police Department. So we can do it all at once.
a minimum of five to ten hairs from each area, which usually amounts to about a hundred hairs. Any scientist, no matter how inexperienced, is aware of that fact.
according to Dr. Henry Lee, our chief criminalist who is the head of the Department of Criminology in Connecticut, he tells us one to three hairs are sufficient.
If Mr. Lee has informed counsel that only one to three hairs are needed for microscopic comparison, then he has misinformed counsel, and I can state that categorically.
if, in fact, you do need more than that, you are going to have to produce an expert to justify that to the court. And if indeed that justification is made, I will sign the appropriate order.