623.2Blood and Other Bodily Fluids
Suggested Questions for Expert in Forensic Biology re: Identification of Blood and Body Fluids
1. Please state your name.
2. In what capacity are you employed?
3. What is a forensic biologist?
4. How long have you worked as a forensic biologist?
5. What is your educational background?
6. What specialized education and training have you had in the field of forensic biology since your employment with the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory?
7. [Check with the expert before trial.] Have you ever previously testified as an expert in the field of forensic biology?
8. Approximately how many times?
Tender the witness to the court as an expert in forensic biology or forensic molecular genetics in the identification of blood and body fluids.
9. Please explain to the court what types of tests are routinely performed in your laboratory, and used in this matter before the court, to identify blood or body fluids.
10. [If a luminol examination was performed, ask the following question.] Please describe to the court what a luminol examination is and how it is conducted.
11. Did you examine evidence submitted to you in this case by _______________?
12. I show you what has been marked for identification as State’s Exhibit number ____.
a. Are you able to identify this exhibit, and if so, how?
b. When did you first receive it, from whom did you receive it, and to whom did you return it?
c. Is it substantially in the same condition as when you returned it and was it in your care, custody, and control until its return?
Offer exhibit into evidence.
13. What tests did you conduct on State’s Exhibit number ___?
14. Are those tests generally accepted in the field as being scientifically reliable?
15. Please describe the results of your analysis on State’s Exhibit number __.
Follow-up as needed to clarify the results of the examination, and ask the witness to explain the degree to which other members of the population besides the defendant can be excluded as sources of the sample.