Forensic Science Plays Important Role in Trials : Testimony Often Clinches Cases, but More Private Labs Needed, Lawyers Say

The case was one man’s word against another, with no other witnesses. But when one of the attorneys called in criminalist Keith Inman of Forensic Science Services to testify, the case was decided.

Man A was suing Man B for throwing acid on him. But Man B claimed the other was coming at him with a hammer and he threw the acid in self-defense.

However, Inman was able to prove from laboratory studies of the evidence, that by the way the acid hit Man A’s body and clothing, his arms had to be folded and there was no way he could have been holding a hammer in a threatening position.

Case closed.

Finding a Need

Forensic Science Services in Signal Hill is one of only six or seven private forensic labs in the state and the only lab in Los Angeles County that covers all areas of forensic science. Most evidence evaluation for trials is done through the city’s coroner’s officer or the sheriff’s laboratories. But lawyers are finding the need for private lab services more and more.

Inman founded Forensic Science Services after spending seven years working for the Orange County Sheriff’s coroner’s crime lab, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s crime lab and the Los Angeles Chief Medical Examiner/Coroner’s office. During that time he worked on many highly publicized cases, such as Ron Settles, the Freeway Killer and the Hillside Strangler.

Forensic science is the scientific analysis and examination of physical evidence, its interpretation and its presentation in court. Its primary objective is the determination of physical facts that may be significant in legal cases.

“But we’re not Quincys,” Inman said, referring to the TV show. “Quincy didn’t really communicate how slow science can be. And he (the character) was kind of an investigator, lawyer, coroner, criminalist, administrator, everything rolled up into one. We’re not pathologists. We’re not medical doctors that deal with things like the cause of death. But we can take whatever physical evidence there may be on a body and examine that.”

Inman said criminalists are different from detectives and investigators because, “we ask the evidence questions, not people.

“For example, in a rape case, a detective will ask a woman what happened. I don’t ask her, I ask the evidence. I use scientific means in asking the questions. The value is that physical evidence never forgets and doesn’t lie.”

‘Enormous Case Load’

Marissa Batt, deputy in charge of the Glendale District Attorney’s office, said even her office will consult with Inman’s private lab. “The public labs are under enormous case load and time constraints, so I’ll call in Keith to offer assistance to the labs on complicated cases, or to double check and explain and clarify results for me. He can devote time that the public labs don’t have.”

And private sector attorneys don’t have any public lab services available to them. “If it wasn’t for Forensic Science Services, I wouldn’t be able to prove my cases,” said Robert Moss, a Beverly Hills attorney who uses the lab services for personal injury and criminal cases.

Bill Weiss, a Los Angeles County public defender, said Inman also does more than just check evidence. “He’s an educator and teacher to me. If I want to cross examine someone about evidence, he tells me what to look at, what to ask, what is important.

“And on criminal cases, Keith usually finds that the public lab’s work is correct, but I’d be less than diligent if I just accepted their results.”

Despite television shows that usually show the climax of the case to be an eyewitness who appears out of nowhere to win the case for the good guys, attorneys say that physical evidence can often be the turning point in real-life trials.

‘Bicycle Rapist’

Lauren Weis, a deputy district attorney in Santa Monica, just won a conviction against a man known as the “bicycle rapist.”

“Keith’s work made the difference in my case,” Weis said. “A lot of people wouldn’t have prosecuted this guy. The lab work being done didn’t match with the other evidence we had built up in this case. Keith came in with a fantastic new idea for the lab to go into when analyzing this evidence, and it finally matched up and we got the conviction.”

In many cases, such as rape, physical evidence is imperative because there usually are not witnesses. But even when there are witnesses, Batt said, the jury wants to see physical evidence.

“Witnesses can have their credibility impeached,” she said. “Blood, fibers, fingerprints . . . they don’t lie. Jurors want visual aids. They want things they can touch, feel and see. This way, they feel like they’re ‘participating’ in solving a case.”

Weiss agreed. “Many jurors have scientific backgrounds or analytical minds so they want evidence. If scientific evidence is presented and unchallenged, jurors will definitely pay attention to it. So as a defense attorney, I need to challenge that evidence and I need someone like Keith to help me do that.”

And besides his work in the lab, the next important step is his testimony on the stand.

“Because of time and policy restraints, public labs generally write pretty terse reports,” Inman said. “Yet, the complexity and the significance of evidence is usually quite large. I can go into all of those details.”

Batt adds, “Keith’s a born, natural teacher. He’s wonderful on the stand. He can take confusing, subtle evidence and explain it clearly so lay people can understand. I’ve taken classes in criminology, but I’ve learned more from Keith than I have in the classes.”

Because Forensic Science Services works for “both” sides--prosecution and the defense, as well as civil cases, Inman’s credibility is seen as high. “If evidence doesn’t check out the way I want it to, I can’t sway Keith, and wouldn’t really even try to,” said Weiss. “He’s an excellent witness because he’s so sincere.”

Weiss said a recent California Supreme Court case may make the work of labs like Inman’s even more important. In People vs. Albert Greenwood Brown, the case against Brown was overturned by the court because the blood testing, according to the court, was performed by law enforcement people who are not a neutral, detached scientific community.

“The public lab people are on the payroll,” Batt said. “Keith’s not, and the juries know the difference.”

Inman does more than just apply his work to court cases, too. Several years ago he spent many volunteer hours working together with the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW). “I was really frustrated by the evidence I was getting (when working for the law enforcement labs) from hospitals on rape cases,” he said. “The evidence collection kit was inadequate; the training of staff on how to collect the evidence was inadequate. Cases were being thrown out or lost because of this.”

Together with LACAAW, Inman presented workshops to emergency room personnel, hospital administrators, and got better evidence collection kits accepted by the county and city. “Even now working in the private sector, I can see the difference this education has made.”

Inman says part of the reason he enjoys his work is because every case is different. “You have a chance to apply your knowledge to really unique circumstances. Bringing that gap between taking what you know and applying it to a set of circumstances is a major fascination.”

But there is another side to the work, too. “Being involved in death and destruction makes you more aware of your life, the value of your life, the value of your relationships. I’m surrounded by so much tragedy. You can’t help but be affected by that, too, and it makes you more appreciative of what you’ve got.”