The Frye hearing in Florida: an attempt to exclude scientific evidence

State Supreme Courts require a minimum threshold of reliability and acceptance in the scientific community for all medical and similar evidence to be admitted at trial. In Florida and some other states, the courts adhere to what is known as the Frye standard, whereas in most states and in Federal Courts, it is the so-called Daubert standard. The jurisdiction of the present case is Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida. Forensic pathologists seldom, if ever, are requested to participate in such hearings, unlike their toxicological and basic science colleagues who are more involved in research methodology and technical procedures. The burden is on the proponent of the evidence to prove the general acceptance of both the underlying scientific principle of the test and procedures used to apply that principle to the facts of the case at hand. The trial judge has the sole discretion to determine this question and general acceptance must be established by a preponderance of the evidence. The authors describe in detail a hearing in a case in which they were all involved. One author (WQS) had researched and documented the original scientific methodology in the literature. The situation involved a car and tractor trailer crash with the two occupants of the car dying of multiple trauma, whereas the truck driver was not injured. Autopsy of the auto driver revealed multiple injuries with exsanguination, and only vitreous humor and liver tissue, but not blood, were tested for ethyl alcohol. The estate of the driver of the automobile brought suit against the owner of the trucking company for wrongful death. The plaintiff requested a Frye hearing to question the reliability of testing other body specimens to translate to probable blood alcohol level. The testimony, submitted documents, and eventual decision by the judge are discussed.     

The comparison of toluene determination between headspace-solid phase microextraction and headspace methods in glue-sniffer's blood and urine samples

An accurate and simple method was developed to determine the level of toluene in urine and blood quantitatively by using the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with headspace--solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) technique. An assembly of SPME with a replaceable extraction fiber, coated with 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane, was used. The detection limit of toluene in blood and urine with HS-SPME technique was 10 times higher than that with headspace (HS) technique. To compare the HS-SPME with HS technique for the determination of toluene in biological fluids, blood and urine samples from glue sniffers were analyzed by both methods. The level of toluene by the two techniques was highly correlated: the correlation coefficient (r2) between the two sets of values were 0.98 and 0.96 in urine and blood, respectively.     

Paint and tape: collection and storage of microtraces of paint in adhesive tape

The collection and preservation of microtrace evidence with the aid of an adhesive tape is a method of choice in forensic science. This technique is rapid and easy and allows the concentration of microtraces on a carrier, which facilitates further investigations in the laboratory. Adhesive tapes are currently used to secure microtraces of fibers and glass, but hardly for traces of automotive paint and other lacquers for fear of interference with the analysis of binders. A collection of automotive paint consisting of original and repair lacquers collected by tape has been evaluated. After various times of storage within the tape, these samples were compared with untreated references by microscope FT-IR and microspectrophotometry (MSP). Another set of paints was collected in 1984, stored within the tape until 1995, and examined the same way. About 170 layers of lacquer with various types of binder were examined. With the exception of one clear lacquer no difference between treated samples and references was detected. This small difference observed could be correlated to the exposure to xylene (extractant) and was not caused by the storage within the adhesive tape.     

Sudden infant death, large intestinal volvulus, and a duplication cyst of the terminal ileum

A previously well 7-week-old boy was found unresponsive and cyanotic in his cot in the morning. Resuscitative attempts achieved only partial response with subsequent terminal cardiac arrest occurring later in the day. At autopsy a large intestinal volvulus was found associated with disseminated Clostridium perfringens sepsis. In addition, a duplication cyst of the terminal ileum was present. Although rare, right-sided colonic volvulus may be a cause of unexpected death in infancy. While predisposing factors to volvulus may include intestinal duplication cysts, the anatomic relation of the duplication to the volvulus must be carefully determined before a causal relation can be accepted; the cyst in this case was most likely incidental to the terminal event.     

Unexpected childhood death due to hemolytic uremic syndrome

Two cases of unexpected childhood death due to hemolytic uremic syndrome are reported. A 21-month-old girl who was discovered dead in bed following a short illness was found at autopsy to have overwhelming sepsis resulting from transmural colitis. Escherichia coli serotype 0157A was isolated from the intestine, and renal changes of hemolytic uremic syndrome were found. A 4-year-old girl died suddenly in hospital from intracranial hemorrhage while being treated for hemolytic uremic syndrome-related renal failure. Culture of urine and feces grew verocytotoxin producing E. coli. These cases demonstrate that hemolytic uremic syndrome may be a rare cause of unexpected childhood death and that the diagnosis may not be established prior to autopsy. Postmortem culture of tissues and fluids in cases of suspected sepsis in children may be essential in establishing this diagnosis, because histologic evaluation may be compromised by profound sepsis and tissue putrefaction. Accuracy in diagnosis may have significant public health and medicolegal consequences.     

Pathologic features of childhood pedestrian fatalities

A retrospective analysis of 68 cases of fatal childhood pedestrian accidents in South Australia that occurred over a 20-year period from January 1977 to December 1996 was undertaken. The age range was 12 months to 16 years (average, 7.6 years), with a male to female ratio of 41:27. The most common site of significant injury was the head (91.2%), followed by the abdomen (50%), chest (47.1%), and neck (38.2%). The most frequently encountered significant injury combinations involved the head, chest, and abdomen (14.7%); the head and chest (11.8%); and the head, neck, and abdomen (11.8%). Injuries were severe, consisting of extensive compound and comminuted skull fractures, neck fractures, and massive intraparenchymal brain and internal organ damage with avulsions and fragmentation. Non-life-threatening limb injuries occurred in 88% of cases. A distinct subgroup involved infants and younger children playing in driveways at home who were hit by reversing vehicles. The injuries were often of such a severe nature that death was instantaneous and with no possibility of successful medical intervention. More deaths occurred during the winter than summer months.     

Morphine-3-D glucuronide stability in postmortem specimens exposed to bacterial enzymatic hydrolysis

Medical examiners frequently rely on the finding of free morphine present in postmortem specimens to assist in certifying deaths associated with narcotics. In vitro hydrolysis of morphine-3-D glucuronide (M3DG) to free morphine was studied using variable specimen pH, initial degree of specimen putrefaction, storage temperature and time, and the effectiveness of sodium fluoride (NaF) preservation. Reagent M3DG was added to opiate-free fresh blood and urine and to autopsy-derived blood specimens. Reagent bovine glucuronidase was also added to certain specimens. Freshly collected and refrigerated NaF-preserved blood produced minimal free morphine, whereas four of five autopsy blood specimens produced free morphine from M3DG. Increased storage time, temperature, and initial degree of putrefaction resulted in greater free morphine generation despite the absence of viable bacteria. Hydrolysis occurring during specimen storage can generate free morphine from M3DG and may result in erroneous conclusions in certifying narcotic deaths.