Jackson Defense Targets Analysis Delay

Jackson Defense Targets Analysis Delay By LINDA DEUTSCH SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Jurors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial heard Thursday that authorities did not do fingerprint analysis on adult magazines from the singer's home until long after they were seized. Attorney Robert Sanger used cross-examination of the prosecution's forensic experts to try to undermine the reliability of fingerprint evidence that is expected to be shown to the jury, suggesting it could degrade over time. One magazine allegedly has a single fingerprint from Jackson's accuser and one print from Jackson. The defense claims the accuser handled the magazine during grand jury hearings before it was subjected to fingerprint analysis. Witness Antonio Cantu, chief of forensics for the Secret Service, said he was not aware of the delay in the fingerprint tests and acknowledged it would have been preferable for the tests to have been done immediately. Cantu did not test evidence in the Jackson case but was put on the stand by the prosecution to give jurors technical information about how fingerprints are analyzed by various methods. Jackson is accused of molesting a boy at his Neverland ranch in February or March 2003. The magazines were seized in November 2003. The grand jury heard testimony in spring 2004 and fingerprinting was done later that year. Sanger asked Cantu if he would expect analysis to be done after the material had been presented to a grand jury. "You would expect to do that analysis first," Cantu said. "Were you aware that the fingerprint analysis in this case was not done until a year after the evidence was seized?" asked the attorney. "I was not aware of that," said Cantu. Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss sought to show that it wouldn't make much difference when the material was analyzed as long as it was properly bagged and preserved. But the witness said that chemically, the residue from fingerprints can change over time. Sanger raised the issue of evidence degradation and Cantu said it was possible that fingerprints could degrade. But under direct questioning Cantu tried to tell the jury that some fingerprints have lasted as long as 50 years. The comment was stricken from the record because the witness is not a fingerprint identification expert. Rather, as a chemist, he develops methods for detecting fingerprints but does not match prints for identification purposes. Sheriff's technician Lisa Hemman, called by the prosecution to discuss methods of examining evidence from Neverland, offered an explanation of why fingerprint analysis was not done immediately. "We wanted to preserve DNA evidence. Processing for fingerprints could destroy DNA. So you do the testing for DNA before you do the fingerprint testing," she said. The jury has already heard that no DNA from the boy or his family was found. The defense also asked Cantu and Hemman about a case involving the FBI's erroneous matching of a fingerprint from an Oregon attorney to a print found near the scene of the terrorist bombings of trains in Madrid. Cantu acknowledged that there has been controversy over that case. Hemman acknowledged that in the face of the erroneous matching there were increased efforts to validate fingerprint identification techniques. Jackson attorney Brian Oxman remained away from the trial after being hospitalized with pneumonia Wednesday. In Las Vegas, meanwhile, a prosecution witness was being held on unrelated charges of kidnapping, burglary and robbery. Former Jackson bodyguard Christopher Eric Carter, 25, was indicted Tuesday. AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report http://www.portervillerecorder.c ... nment/d891j7lg0.txt

答案XX

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