"Rueben, iced tea with lemon, and humus" replied Walt.
"Coming right up" said Doc who turned and headed behind the bar giving the ticket to Sam the short order cook on the other side of the pass through.
As he made his way through lunch Walt was thankful there were no interuptions. He'd had precious little "self" time recently. Even his subconscieous was crowded with weird dreams like the one this morning. Walt finished his rueben and headed back toward's the lab. As he made his way between the old Florida hotel and one of the ubiquitous state buildings he listened to the staccato strikes of the jack hammer balde on concrete. The side walk was being replaced after nearly 80 years of service with a new wider, wheel chair accessible side walk. Walt contemplated the necessity of replacing the whole walk and not just the termini at each end of the block as the jack hammer droned on in the background.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Chris Bacot suggests we all write a paragraph...a chain short story....
July 29 at 5:34pm · Comment · Like / Unlike
Rick Miley
Kristen Farmer was a crew-cut punk princess with a good body and a bad attitude...
July 29 at 6:27pm · Delete
Chris Bacot
...She stepped out of Wiley's cafe onto the cobble stone street. The wind freshened. It was 10 or so degrees cooler than when she entered and hour ago. She flicked the hand rolled cigarette onto King Street and gazed out to the Gulf where the anvil clouds raced upto the stratosphere at break neck speeds....
Dot Kirksey Bacot
Seemingly she glided alongthe cobbled street totally unaware of the mysterious vapor that was about to overcome her and change her life in an awesom manner.....
Ann Vickers
Kristen then raced from King Street down to the bay where she boarded her Shannon 43 ketch, Elysium, cast off the dock lines, slowly raised the sails and set sail for...
Rick Miley
the angriest looking cloud she could identify in the gathering dusk. The Shannon was a "gift" from a Boston attorney she met in a high stakes poker game two years prior in a private high roller's suite along the Mississippi gulf coast. He had gone all-in with a pair of pair of aces and when Kristen called him on it, he offered to up the ante with the boat - against everything she brought into the room. The poor guy actually threw up when she turned over the third Jack...
Chris Bacot
....He would get over it, but Kristen would never recover from her love affair with Elysium. Elly for short. Kristen would thinnk to herself from time to time and the thin almost imperceptible smile would appear. They started out slow, doing day sails. She would put Elly through the paces, each time asking a bit more. Each time Elly would deliver, so it came as a bit of a surprise when....
Dot Kirksey Bacot
Kristen said "I've got to get on with my life". In the deepest recesses of her heart she knew it was all over. Immediately she knew that it was time for her to.....
Rick Miley
stop reminiscing. The chop in the bay gave way to 5 foot seas beyond the pass. And it was sure to get worse. Kristen felt her pulse quicken and a surge of adrenelin warmed her skin. It wans't fear. She had been through scarier situations than this OFF the water - much scarier. No, this was more like the rush an athlete would experience at the start of a big event. This was something she had TRAINED for.
Chris Bacot
As her nerves calmed, and she pushed the uneasy thoughts into to recesses of her memory yet again, she realized she was starving. She looked out at the horizon and trimmed the main sheet to rid a slight luff. Satisfied, she checked her heading, set the autopilot, then made her way down the companion way to the galley where she opened a chilled Sam Adams and prepared the most tastey.....
Dot Kirksey Bacot
crab and grouper cassarole. The Greek salad was to die for. With this combination,she knew she didn't have to worry about adding one ounce to her toned physique. She also knew that she would get in plenty of exercise with all of the work that would be hers while sailing solo in the midst of.....
Chris Bacot
the hurricane season. She had taken care to consult the long term forcasts. Like many she knew weather predictions did not amout to much beyond a three days horizon. Even when it came to tropical storms and hurricanes. She recalled Hurricane Johnny back in the late 80 or was it the early 90's? It trudged back and forth from Tampa to ... Read MoreAppalachicola just off the coast of Florida's big bend. Spinning upto 123 mph and at times sitting only 40 miles off the coast, it casued immeasurable damage. She hoped that she would not have to deal with weather like that though she was ready for it. As she worked her way back up the companion way she heard a strange noise comig from the aft quarter berth and was surprised to......
Chris Bacot
JESUS! Walter woke with a start. What the hell was that all about? "Why should I dream about some ex-punker on a ketch off the Florida Gulf Coast"? As he gathered his wits....
Chris Bacot
Walter slowly raised himself off the bed into a sitting position. His feet dangled inches above the floor. He felt the cold draft coming from the window, but sweat pored from his forehead. The dream, a rarity for him, was vivid. Who was the young... lady? .....and the ketch, he tried to recall the letters painted across the stern. He lowered himself the short distance to the floor, checking his balance before shuffling to....
to the bathroom to clean up. A post-it on the mirror reminded him of a deposition in the early morning and of an unrelated trial in the afternoon. Fortunately both cases were in the same circuit and therefore minimized his travels. 'Advocate for the evidence' he thought as he splashed cold water on his face ...
....and shaved without soap or cream. He patted his face dry and tip toed the cold hall way into the kitchen where he placed the kettle onto the gas flame and waited the eight minutes for the water to boil. This gave him time to prepare the French Press, ...one of many concessions he made to the past. In fact when he examined his life ..his "work" life and his "home" life... they were a bit paradoxical. At work he used ...
state of the art analytical instrumentation for tasks automated extraction to real time PCR for quantitation to capillary electrophoresis and the latest multiplex STR chemistries and softwares for the Short Tandem Repeats DNA analysis. While at home he preferred hard bound books to online libraries, letters drafted in fountain pen (his grandfather's) and snail- mailed to e-mail. And of course coffee prepared in the French Press to and automatic drip maker. He poured the coffee into a cup of some weight that already contained warmed heavy cream and ...
...it truly made a palatable difference. The cup was a "gift" from the Uptown Cafe, he'd run out with it one day, years ago, and failed to return it. He examined the foil pouch of Community Coffee and thought to himself that the same coffee grounds can go into an auto drip and produce a marginal cup of coffee or they can go through a French Press and produce a most memorable cup. It just takes a bit of effort and of course time. Time...this was one thing Walter had preceious little of. He noted the time on his Timex wrist watch as he wound it up. It was 6:46, he needed to get to....
St. Margaret's by 7:05. St. Margo's was one of the oldest yet least reveered parrishes in the Diocese. Walt used to sneak in and spend the night when he needed a break from home in his teen years. He always felt a connection... more as sanctuary/shelter than a sanctuary for the spirit. But it was good to be Episcopal...Good ole Catholic Lite...All the sin with only half the guilt...A thin smile slowly formed, then just as quickly vanished. Ash ...
Wednesday. No more fun for the next 40 days or so. 7:05 seemed odd, didn't it? Why not 7 "de la punta"? Walt would go and pray as he did most mornings First and foremost for himself, then for those that surrounded him, angels and devils alike. He pulled up his collar, stepped out into the the cold mist, and sauntered the 5 blocks to St. Margos with....
...no trepidation in his heart. Morning prayers said, Walt felt better still. His sins were washed away yet again. Until which time he committed the next...in thought, word, or deed. Jesus, things done, things left undone, things said, things left unsaid. They get you coming and going he thought. Still on he whole he felt good about himself. He had a reasonable track record with the ten...
commandments. His recollection was that he was batting .600. Great for baseball, but he occaisionally wondered if it was good enough to get him past St. Pete, sacrements or no. As he made his way from Margo's to the lab 5 blocks north, he began to focus on his depostion du jour. An assault that had gone from bad to worse. The victim "crossed the bar" before the first responders made it to the scene. Three subjects had been identified. From the evidence ...
submitted the following conclusions could be made; there were chemical indications of blood on the business end of the knife; the DNA profile from those same red brown stains on the blade matched the victim; the DNA profile from one of the subjects matched the DNA profile from the handle of the knife; the DNA profiles from the two other subjects did not match DNA profiles from any of the evidence submitted; and a conclusion that would not be found in the report......Once this deposition was over council for two of the three subjects would file for a severence, that is to say separate trials, and the finger pointing would begin in earnest. "I tried to talk him out of it, but...." .....'Sorry my friend, but you are on your own now..' Two blocks off the lab was Roy G Biv's, a mainstay of the not quite downtown, but not quite midtown crowd. Back in the day it was a beer or two and a sandwhich, cops, lab rats, SAs, PDs, and occaisonally someone from the bench, all crowded into this institution. Now it was just lunch, no beer. Probably for...
the better. Who would want one of the three arms of government completely impaired?? As he passed by Roy's, Walt nodded to the owner; "Rueben and coffee around noon, ok Doc?" Doc smiled, nodded, and thought to himselft 'He's come a long way from living on coffee, Winstons, and peanut butter toast'. "How's Father Mark?" asked Doc. "Finest kind", replied Walt as he quickened his pace then shot over his shoulder as passed, "He's got a nice tawney port going at the 10:30 Mass on Sunday. Now for ...
a cup of joe, some Gypsy Kings on the box, and a few hours with GeneMapperIDX before the deposition. Walt smiled as he began the review of the analyszed data from the 43 extracted samples. The combination of dyes and sizes of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) products produced by the PCR reaction enabled him or...........
any other qualified analyst for the matter to obtain a DNA profile that for all intents and purposes was unique. When a probative match was made a frequency of the that profile in the general population would be calculated with POPSTATS, a proprietary software that was accessable only through accredited government laboratories. The frequency, often in the trillions or more for a 13 locus match gave wieght to that match for the benefit of juries and the court. On the flip side statistics from an evidentiary sample with results at one locus that matched a standard could be 1 in 2 or weaker.........
Walt verified the allele calls for each peak, at each locus for all 43 extracted samples. Now to find a fellow analyst to do the second read to ensure consensus on the project. He caught Roxanne Heckshire coming out of the bullpen. She was much younger than his 48 years, but had about the same time on the forensic bench. He liked her straight forward personality. She was fun to be around, but when it came to brass tacs Roxanne did not mince words. She took the second read form, wheeled on her left heel, and shot over her shoulder "I'll have it by COB". Walt moved into the bull pen and the coffee pot. Pouring it into a cup with a bit of half and half he noted that the body didn't seem as rich as the cup he'd enjoyed back in his flat. One sip and a grimmace confirmed his suspicions, the brew tasted like ass. He forced the cup down as he reviewed the file for his deposition. Everything was in order, technical information and administrative documents. He ducked into his supervisor's office to let her know he was headed towards the Jones, Jones, Williamson depostion. Carlye Sue Banks had been in the business since 1989. She had moved up into the supervisor's slot at a relatively early age, but was more than qualified. Her integrity was beyond reproach, although PDs frequently tried to rattle her (and others) by calling in to question the very same. Her attention to detail and quality was top notch and these traits were instilled in every individual under her charge. She was patient and compassionate, but did not suffer fools. Perhaps what impressed Walt most was her ability to recall the minutae of cases released long ago. He would call her out on this and tell her she was scaring him. She would smile, knowing full well the gift she possessed was something special. To have a memory like that he thought. After clearing with Carlye Sue he hit the bricks retracing in part his early morning steps, past Roy G. Biv's, then diverted several blocks east and five south to the front entrance of the courthouse. As he approached the metal detector he presented his credentials. The deputy inquired if Walt was carrying. Walt chuckled and replied that the only thing lab rats in Florida carried concealed were pippets. The look on the deputy's face indicated Walt's humor missed the mark, but he proceeded through the detector at any rate. The alarm sounded. Walt returned to the entrance side, felt the Uncle Henry pocket knife in his pocket and handed it to the frowning deputy. Walt passed through the scan with out consequence on the second attempt. The deputy handed Walt a claim ticket for the knife. Walt thanked him, appologized for the third time, and headed to the stair well and the fourth floor.....
....
Walt sprinted up the four flights feeling pretty good for a man of 50. He arrived in room 401 and was greeted by three Assistant Public Defenders Marge Wainwright ((Edward Jones), Michael Stanov (Michael Jones), and Betsy Keller (Allan Williamson), a stenographer, and the Assistant State's Attorney Glenn Wilson. Walt had worked with Glenn a handfull of times over the years. However, this was his first opportunity to work with any of the PDs. The stenographer looked familiar, but out of context. He suspected any previous contact involved alcohol, dancing, and an akward exit strategy all within an 8 to 10 hour period. Best not to waste anymore effort on figuring that one out at the present. Though he made a mental note to depart the deposition without any small talk afterwards.
Marge Wainwright asked the preliminaries regarding Walt's formal education and training and experience specifically related to the field. This was followed by a series of questions regarding quality assurance, specifically any contamination issues regarding the case. Walt made assurances that there were none and that this was indicated by the fact that none of the negative controls demonstrated contamination. Further, he indicated that the primary evidence (the knife and swabs thereof) and the DNA extracts had not been consummed and therefore were available for the defense to test independently should they care to. Finally with 10 or so minutes of preliminary questions, the inquisition began in earnest with Wainwright as lead for the defense. Was the evidence found in properly sealed containers? Yes. Did the descriptions of the evidence in the intake module correspond with the items you observed upon opening the containers? Yes. Did you do any preliminary examinations prior to DNA testing? Yes. Specifically what tests and on what items? Walt referred to his case file. Unlike other disciplines in forensics, forensic biology is arguably the most diverse and often times the most time consuming. As such cases are typically not simple and therefore the testing and results are not easily memorized. Best to go from the notes in any event. "I examined the knife for any red brown stains". For what reason? "My case tracking form indicates the primary responder indicates the assault was with a knife. Given this information it would make sense to do an examination for possible blood". Same old questions, same response. And what did your examination for blood reveal? "There were chemical indications of blood found on the blade of the knife"....... And did you perform any additional testing on the knife? "I performed STR -DNA testing on a sample of the stain that gave chemical indications of blood and I performed the same type of testing on a sample I collected from the handle of the knife" And what were the results? "I obtained a complete DNA profile from both of these samples." And did you compare these profiles? "Yes, while they are not a match to each other they both come from male contributors. Finally Mr. Girardeau, Did you perform any other testing or analysis? "Yes, I received buccal swabs from Edward Jones, Michael Jones, Allan Williamson and the deceased Kyle Miller. I conducted STR -DNA testing on these items and obtained complete DNA profiles from each." And did you perform comparisons and if so what were your conclusions? "The DNA profile from the red brown stain on the blade of the knife matches the DNA profile from Kyle Miller. The DNA profile from the handle of the knife matches the DNA profile from Micheal Jones" And there it was, everyone had the reports well ahead of the depositioin, but it never did mitigate the ackwardness of the situation. Counsel for E. Jones (Wainwright) and A. Williamson (Keller) said nothing. Michael Stanov (for Michael Jones) started in asking if there were any other conclusions that could be made. Walt indicated that there were and said they were in the report. In short the profile from the blood on the knife could not have come from any of the defendants and the profile from handle of the knife could not have come from the deceased nor the two other defandants. He went on the give the match statistics for both profiles to drive home the point, much as he would when asked to do by ASA Wilson in trial, if it went that far....
There were some futile attempts to cast doubt on evidence handling, the overall examination and testing, but Walt handled them well and invited the defense to perform an independent examination of the evidence. This was not his place, it was in fact the purvue of the States Attorney's Office to tender this offer in anticipation of a motion from defense. Glenn Wilson however took no offense on behalf of the people of the great state of Florida and offered a "mmmhmmm" as an official endorsement of Walt's offer.
Defense offered the state an opportunity to question Walt, but Glen Wilson declined saying he was satisfied with the deposition. And so Walt was released. Glen thanked him for coming down, a formality, but still appreciated. None came forth from the other side of the table. Each attorney contetemplating how they would handle their part of the severance. Walt opened the door to room 410 and entered the great hall of the circuit court house and bounded the four flights down to he street and out into the light towards a Rueben.. ....
Walt reached the street level and presented the property receipt for the folding knife to the deputy. In return the deputy presented Walt with the Uncle Henry. Walt put on his Foster Grants and stepped out into the light. The drizzle was gone and the clouds had burned off. It was 12:06 and he was ready for his Rueben. He retraced his steps back towards the lab and stopped two blocks short at Roy G. Biv's. He stepped inside and out of foot traffic, removed his shades and allowed his eyes to acclimate to the dim lighting. He drifted by the bar where he imagined himself with a Dewar's neat and a Bud back. He did not have to imagine the contact buzz from the second hand smoke. Shortly he would though, as Roy's did not meet the proposed law that would eleminate smoking in bars that did not make > 80% of thier revenue from alcohol sales. No, while Roy's was great bar, it was a better deli. Doc would add a smoking bar off the side when the law passed. Roy nodded to various members of the executive and judicial branches of government. Most of these folks were way out on the limb of their respective branches of government. More or less work-a-day Joes like himself. There was the occaisional big gun, this was the state's capitol after all. He picked an empty booth towards the back and approached it. From the corner of his eye he saw the Honorable Catherine Becker. He recalled the first time he appeared before her to testify...he approached the witness stand, stopped short and looked for the deputy clerk of the court, but saw none. Walt was a bit surprised when he heard Judge Becker address him. He was even more surprised when he turned to face her. She was in his estimation, quite lovely.
Becker: "Raise your right hand"
Walt raises hand
Becker: "Do you..."
Walt: "til death do us part" was what Walt was thinking.
Becker was a veteran on the bench and while she was no clairvoyant she was a judge not only in matters of law, but of general human behavior and apparently she read Walt's hesitation with some degree of accuracy. She offered Walt a small private smile as he refocused his attention on matters at hand.
Walt had made discreet inquiries as to her Honor's status and was pleased to know that she was single and might be interested in meeting Walt. Walt considered this for several days and consulted with aquaitances much more saavy than himself. In the final analysis it was decided that there would be no meeting. Walt had an abysmal track record that included several divorces and numerous short term relationships. He did not need to count a circuit Judge in either category. Walt tendered his regrets through one of the senior PDs in the circuit. Becker sent reply that she was dissapointed, but understood. This message was sent via Marcia Riley a deputy clerk of the court and friend of Walt's. Apparently Becker had taken the time to locate a friend of Walt's who could shed light on his history and therefore possibly his reservations.
As he passed by her table, Walt nodded slightly, smiled like a school boy and offered "Your honor". Part question and part salutation. The judge reciprocated with the small smile he remembered from their first meeting.
Walt siddled into the booth as Doc walked up.
Doc: "How they goin?"
Walt: "Finest kind, Doc"
Doc: "What'll you have?"......
July 29 at 5:34pm · Comment · Like / Unlike
Rick Miley
Kristen Farmer was a crew-cut punk princess with a good body and a bad attitude...
July 29 at 6:27pm · Delete
Chris Bacot
...She stepped out of Wiley's cafe onto the cobble stone street. The wind freshened. It was 10 or so degrees cooler than when she entered and hour ago. She flicked the hand rolled cigarette onto King Street and gazed out to the Gulf where the anvil clouds raced upto the stratosphere at break neck speeds....
Dot Kirksey Bacot
Seemingly she glided alongthe cobbled street totally unaware of the mysterious vapor that was about to overcome her and change her life in an awesom manner.....
Ann Vickers
Kristen then raced from King Street down to the bay where she boarded her Shannon 43 ketch, Elysium, cast off the dock lines, slowly raised the sails and set sail for...
Rick Miley
the angriest looking cloud she could identify in the gathering dusk. The Shannon was a "gift" from a Boston attorney she met in a high stakes poker game two years prior in a private high roller's suite along the Mississippi gulf coast. He had gone all-in with a pair of pair of aces and when Kristen called him on it, he offered to up the ante with the boat - against everything she brought into the room. The poor guy actually threw up when she turned over the third Jack...
Chris Bacot
....He would get over it, but Kristen would never recover from her love affair with Elysium. Elly for short. Kristen would thinnk to herself from time to time and the thin almost imperceptible smile would appear. They started out slow, doing day sails. She would put Elly through the paces, each time asking a bit more. Each time Elly would deliver, so it came as a bit of a surprise when....
Dot Kirksey Bacot
Kristen said "I've got to get on with my life". In the deepest recesses of her heart she knew it was all over. Immediately she knew that it was time for her to.....
Rick Miley
stop reminiscing. The chop in the bay gave way to 5 foot seas beyond the pass. And it was sure to get worse. Kristen felt her pulse quicken and a surge of adrenelin warmed her skin. It wans't fear. She had been through scarier situations than this OFF the water - much scarier. No, this was more like the rush an athlete would experience at the start of a big event. This was something she had TRAINED for.
Chris Bacot
As her nerves calmed, and she pushed the uneasy thoughts into to recesses of her memory yet again, she realized she was starving. She looked out at the horizon and trimmed the main sheet to rid a slight luff. Satisfied, she checked her heading, set the autopilot, then made her way down the companion way to the galley where she opened a chilled Sam Adams and prepared the most tastey.....
Dot Kirksey Bacot
crab and grouper cassarole. The Greek salad was to die for. With this combination,she knew she didn't have to worry about adding one ounce to her toned physique. She also knew that she would get in plenty of exercise with all of the work that would be hers while sailing solo in the midst of.....
Chris Bacot
the hurricane season. She had taken care to consult the long term forcasts. Like many she knew weather predictions did not amout to much beyond a three days horizon. Even when it came to tropical storms and hurricanes. She recalled Hurricane Johnny back in the late 80 or was it the early 90's? It trudged back and forth from Tampa to ... Read MoreAppalachicola just off the coast of Florida's big bend. Spinning upto 123 mph and at times sitting only 40 miles off the coast, it casued immeasurable damage. She hoped that she would not have to deal with weather like that though she was ready for it. As she worked her way back up the companion way she heard a strange noise comig from the aft quarter berth and was surprised to......
Chris Bacot
JESUS! Walter woke with a start. What the hell was that all about? "Why should I dream about some ex-punker on a ketch off the Florida Gulf Coast"? As he gathered his wits....
Chris Bacot
Walter slowly raised himself off the bed into a sitting position. His feet dangled inches above the floor. He felt the cold draft coming from the window, but sweat pored from his forehead. The dream, a rarity for him, was vivid. Who was the young... lady? .....and the ketch, he tried to recall the letters painted across the stern. He lowered himself the short distance to the floor, checking his balance before shuffling to....
to the bathroom to clean up. A post-it on the mirror reminded him of a deposition in the early morning and of an unrelated trial in the afternoon. Fortunately both cases were in the same circuit and therefore minimized his travels. 'Advocate for the evidence' he thought as he splashed cold water on his face ...
....and shaved without soap or cream. He patted his face dry and tip toed the cold hall way into the kitchen where he placed the kettle onto the gas flame and waited the eight minutes for the water to boil. This gave him time to prepare the French Press, ...one of many concessions he made to the past. In fact when he examined his life ..his "work" life and his "home" life... they were a bit paradoxical. At work he used ...
state of the art analytical instrumentation for tasks automated extraction to real time PCR for quantitation to capillary electrophoresis and the latest multiplex STR chemistries and softwares for the Short Tandem Repeats DNA analysis. While at home he preferred hard bound books to online libraries, letters drafted in fountain pen (his grandfather's) and snail- mailed to e-mail. And of course coffee prepared in the French Press to and automatic drip maker. He poured the coffee into a cup of some weight that already contained warmed heavy cream and ...
...it truly made a palatable difference. The cup was a "gift" from the Uptown Cafe, he'd run out with it one day, years ago, and failed to return it. He examined the foil pouch of Community Coffee and thought to himself that the same coffee grounds can go into an auto drip and produce a marginal cup of coffee or they can go through a French Press and produce a most memorable cup. It just takes a bit of effort and of course time. Time...this was one thing Walter had preceious little of. He noted the time on his Timex wrist watch as he wound it up. It was 6:46, he needed to get to....
St. Margaret's by 7:05. St. Margo's was one of the oldest yet least reveered parrishes in the Diocese. Walt used to sneak in and spend the night when he needed a break from home in his teen years. He always felt a connection... more as sanctuary/shelter than a sanctuary for the spirit. But it was good to be Episcopal...Good ole Catholic Lite...All the sin with only half the guilt...A thin smile slowly formed, then just as quickly vanished. Ash ...
Wednesday. No more fun for the next 40 days or so. 7:05 seemed odd, didn't it? Why not 7 "de la punta"? Walt would go and pray as he did most mornings First and foremost for himself, then for those that surrounded him, angels and devils alike. He pulled up his collar, stepped out into the the cold mist, and sauntered the 5 blocks to St. Margos with....
...no trepidation in his heart. Morning prayers said, Walt felt better still. His sins were washed away yet again. Until which time he committed the next...in thought, word, or deed. Jesus, things done, things left undone, things said, things left unsaid. They get you coming and going he thought. Still on he whole he felt good about himself. He had a reasonable track record with the ten...
commandments. His recollection was that he was batting .600. Great for baseball, but he occaisionally wondered if it was good enough to get him past St. Pete, sacrements or no. As he made his way from Margo's to the lab 5 blocks north, he began to focus on his depostion du jour. An assault that had gone from bad to worse. The victim "crossed the bar" before the first responders made it to the scene. Three subjects had been identified. From the evidence ...
submitted the following conclusions could be made; there were chemical indications of blood on the business end of the knife; the DNA profile from those same red brown stains on the blade matched the victim; the DNA profile from one of the subjects matched the DNA profile from the handle of the knife; the DNA profiles from the two other subjects did not match DNA profiles from any of the evidence submitted; and a conclusion that would not be found in the report......Once this deposition was over council for two of the three subjects would file for a severence, that is to say separate trials, and the finger pointing would begin in earnest. "I tried to talk him out of it, but...." .....'Sorry my friend, but you are on your own now..' Two blocks off the lab was Roy G Biv's, a mainstay of the not quite downtown, but not quite midtown crowd. Back in the day it was a beer or two and a sandwhich, cops, lab rats, SAs, PDs, and occaisonally someone from the bench, all crowded into this institution. Now it was just lunch, no beer. Probably for...
the better. Who would want one of the three arms of government completely impaired?? As he passed by Roy's, Walt nodded to the owner; "Rueben and coffee around noon, ok Doc?" Doc smiled, nodded, and thought to himselft 'He's come a long way from living on coffee, Winstons, and peanut butter toast'. "How's Father Mark?" asked Doc. "Finest kind", replied Walt as he quickened his pace then shot over his shoulder as passed, "He's got a nice tawney port going at the 10:30 Mass on Sunday. Now for ...
a cup of joe, some Gypsy Kings on the box, and a few hours with GeneMapperIDX before the deposition. Walt smiled as he began the review of the analyszed data from the 43 extracted samples. The combination of dyes and sizes of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) products produced by the PCR reaction enabled him or...........
any other qualified analyst for the matter to obtain a DNA profile that for all intents and purposes was unique. When a probative match was made a frequency of the that profile in the general population would be calculated with POPSTATS, a proprietary software that was accessable only through accredited government laboratories. The frequency, often in the trillions or more for a 13 locus match gave wieght to that match for the benefit of juries and the court. On the flip side statistics from an evidentiary sample with results at one locus that matched a standard could be 1 in 2 or weaker.........
Walt verified the allele calls for each peak, at each locus for all 43 extracted samples. Now to find a fellow analyst to do the second read to ensure consensus on the project. He caught Roxanne Heckshire coming out of the bullpen. She was much younger than his 48 years, but had about the same time on the forensic bench. He liked her straight forward personality. She was fun to be around, but when it came to brass tacs Roxanne did not mince words. She took the second read form, wheeled on her left heel, and shot over her shoulder "I'll have it by COB". Walt moved into the bull pen and the coffee pot. Pouring it into a cup with a bit of half and half he noted that the body didn't seem as rich as the cup he'd enjoyed back in his flat. One sip and a grimmace confirmed his suspicions, the brew tasted like ass. He forced the cup down as he reviewed the file for his deposition. Everything was in order, technical information and administrative documents. He ducked into his supervisor's office to let her know he was headed towards the Jones, Jones, Williamson depostion. Carlye Sue Banks had been in the business since 1989. She had moved up into the supervisor's slot at a relatively early age, but was more than qualified. Her integrity was beyond reproach, although PDs frequently tried to rattle her (and others) by calling in to question the very same. Her attention to detail and quality was top notch and these traits were instilled in every individual under her charge. She was patient and compassionate, but did not suffer fools. Perhaps what impressed Walt most was her ability to recall the minutae of cases released long ago. He would call her out on this and tell her she was scaring him. She would smile, knowing full well the gift she possessed was something special. To have a memory like that he thought. After clearing with Carlye Sue he hit the bricks retracing in part his early morning steps, past Roy G. Biv's, then diverted several blocks east and five south to the front entrance of the courthouse. As he approached the metal detector he presented his credentials. The deputy inquired if Walt was carrying. Walt chuckled and replied that the only thing lab rats in Florida carried concealed were pippets. The look on the deputy's face indicated Walt's humor missed the mark, but he proceeded through the detector at any rate. The alarm sounded. Walt returned to the entrance side, felt the Uncle Henry pocket knife in his pocket and handed it to the frowning deputy. Walt passed through the scan with out consequence on the second attempt. The deputy handed Walt a claim ticket for the knife. Walt thanked him, appologized for the third time, and headed to the stair well and the fourth floor.....
....
Walt sprinted up the four flights feeling pretty good for a man of 50. He arrived in room 401 and was greeted by three Assistant Public Defenders Marge Wainwright ((Edward Jones), Michael Stanov (Michael Jones), and Betsy Keller (Allan Williamson), a stenographer, and the Assistant State's Attorney Glenn Wilson. Walt had worked with Glenn a handfull of times over the years. However, this was his first opportunity to work with any of the PDs. The stenographer looked familiar, but out of context. He suspected any previous contact involved alcohol, dancing, and an akward exit strategy all within an 8 to 10 hour period. Best not to waste anymore effort on figuring that one out at the present. Though he made a mental note to depart the deposition without any small talk afterwards.
Marge Wainwright asked the preliminaries regarding Walt's formal education and training and experience specifically related to the field. This was followed by a series of questions regarding quality assurance, specifically any contamination issues regarding the case. Walt made assurances that there were none and that this was indicated by the fact that none of the negative controls demonstrated contamination. Further, he indicated that the primary evidence (the knife and swabs thereof) and the DNA extracts had not been consummed and therefore were available for the defense to test independently should they care to. Finally with 10 or so minutes of preliminary questions, the inquisition began in earnest with Wainwright as lead for the defense. Was the evidence found in properly sealed containers? Yes. Did the descriptions of the evidence in the intake module correspond with the items you observed upon opening the containers? Yes. Did you do any preliminary examinations prior to DNA testing? Yes. Specifically what tests and on what items? Walt referred to his case file. Unlike other disciplines in forensics, forensic biology is arguably the most diverse and often times the most time consuming. As such cases are typically not simple and therefore the testing and results are not easily memorized. Best to go from the notes in any event. "I examined the knife for any red brown stains". For what reason? "My case tracking form indicates the primary responder indicates the assault was with a knife. Given this information it would make sense to do an examination for possible blood". Same old questions, same response. And what did your examination for blood reveal? "There were chemical indications of blood found on the blade of the knife"....... And did you perform any additional testing on the knife? "I performed STR -DNA testing on a sample of the stain that gave chemical indications of blood and I performed the same type of testing on a sample I collected from the handle of the knife" And what were the results? "I obtained a complete DNA profile from both of these samples." And did you compare these profiles? "Yes, while they are not a match to each other they both come from male contributors. Finally Mr. Girardeau, Did you perform any other testing or analysis? "Yes, I received buccal swabs from Edward Jones, Michael Jones, Allan Williamson and the deceased Kyle Miller. I conducted STR -DNA testing on these items and obtained complete DNA profiles from each." And did you perform comparisons and if so what were your conclusions? "The DNA profile from the red brown stain on the blade of the knife matches the DNA profile from Kyle Miller. The DNA profile from the handle of the knife matches the DNA profile from Micheal Jones" And there it was, everyone had the reports well ahead of the depositioin, but it never did mitigate the ackwardness of the situation. Counsel for E. Jones (Wainwright) and A. Williamson (Keller) said nothing. Michael Stanov (for Michael Jones) started in asking if there were any other conclusions that could be made. Walt indicated that there were and said they were in the report. In short the profile from the blood on the knife could not have come from any of the defendants and the profile from handle of the knife could not have come from the deceased nor the two other defandants. He went on the give the match statistics for both profiles to drive home the point, much as he would when asked to do by ASA Wilson in trial, if it went that far....
There were some futile attempts to cast doubt on evidence handling, the overall examination and testing, but Walt handled them well and invited the defense to perform an independent examination of the evidence. This was not his place, it was in fact the purvue of the States Attorney's Office to tender this offer in anticipation of a motion from defense. Glenn Wilson however took no offense on behalf of the people of the great state of Florida and offered a "mmmhmmm" as an official endorsement of Walt's offer.
Defense offered the state an opportunity to question Walt, but Glen Wilson declined saying he was satisfied with the deposition. And so Walt was released. Glen thanked him for coming down, a formality, but still appreciated. None came forth from the other side of the table. Each attorney contetemplating how they would handle their part of the severance. Walt opened the door to room 410 and entered the great hall of the circuit court house and bounded the four flights down to he street and out into the light towards a Rueben.. ....
Walt reached the street level and presented the property receipt for the folding knife to the deputy. In return the deputy presented Walt with the Uncle Henry. Walt put on his Foster Grants and stepped out into the light. The drizzle was gone and the clouds had burned off. It was 12:06 and he was ready for his Rueben. He retraced his steps back towards the lab and stopped two blocks short at Roy G. Biv's. He stepped inside and out of foot traffic, removed his shades and allowed his eyes to acclimate to the dim lighting. He drifted by the bar where he imagined himself with a Dewar's neat and a Bud back. He did not have to imagine the contact buzz from the second hand smoke. Shortly he would though, as Roy's did not meet the proposed law that would eleminate smoking in bars that did not make > 80% of thier revenue from alcohol sales. No, while Roy's was great bar, it was a better deli. Doc would add a smoking bar off the side when the law passed. Roy nodded to various members of the executive and judicial branches of government. Most of these folks were way out on the limb of their respective branches of government. More or less work-a-day Joes like himself. There was the occaisional big gun, this was the state's capitol after all. He picked an empty booth towards the back and approached it. From the corner of his eye he saw the Honorable Catherine Becker. He recalled the first time he appeared before her to testify...he approached the witness stand, stopped short and looked for the deputy clerk of the court, but saw none. Walt was a bit surprised when he heard Judge Becker address him. He was even more surprised when he turned to face her. She was in his estimation, quite lovely.
Becker: "Raise your right hand"
Walt raises hand
Becker: "Do you..."
Walt: "til death do us part" was what Walt was thinking.
Becker was a veteran on the bench and while she was no clairvoyant she was a judge not only in matters of law, but of general human behavior and apparently she read Walt's hesitation with some degree of accuracy. She offered Walt a small private smile as he refocused his attention on matters at hand.
Walt had made discreet inquiries as to her Honor's status and was pleased to know that she was single and might be interested in meeting Walt. Walt considered this for several days and consulted with aquaitances much more saavy than himself. In the final analysis it was decided that there would be no meeting. Walt had an abysmal track record that included several divorces and numerous short term relationships. He did not need to count a circuit Judge in either category. Walt tendered his regrets through one of the senior PDs in the circuit. Becker sent reply that she was dissapointed, but understood. This message was sent via Marcia Riley a deputy clerk of the court and friend of Walt's. Apparently Becker had taken the time to locate a friend of Walt's who could shed light on his history and therefore possibly his reservations.
As he passed by her table, Walt nodded slightly, smiled like a school boy and offered "Your honor". Part question and part salutation. The judge reciprocated with the small smile he remembered from their first meeting.
Walt siddled into the booth as Doc walked up.
Doc: "How they goin?"
Walt: "Finest kind, Doc"
Doc: "What'll you have?"......
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