AFDAA MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 9 & 10, 2003
DAY 1
Registration began at 8:00am Thursday January 9, 2003 with all attendees signing in and paying meeting registration fees, AFDAA application fees, or Membership dues depending on the membership status of the attendee.
Chairman Ron Rubocki called the meeting to order at approximately 8:55 am with opening remarks welcoming everyone and reviewing the agenda for the meeting.
Stephen Gammon from the University of North Texas Health Science Center gave a quick update on the Missing Persons Database. The database should be online soon. UNT is in the process of developing a collection kit for reference samples from relatives of missing persons. A training video on how to collect these samples is also in progress. The video will be available to law enforcement agencies and will be on CD/DVD format. John Planz also asked for AFDAA members to let him know what types and amounts of evidence we have received in the past in missing person cases so that UNT can get an idea of what to expect when they open their doors. Cases involving child abductions will receive the highest priority. There will be no fee for their services for DNA typing and entering missing persons and family reference samples into CODIS for law enforcement agencies within the state of Texas. There is hope that the service will be offered to other agencies outside the state of Texas, in the near future, for a reduced fee, with AFDAA members receiving a discount. For information or to contact the Missing Persons Database, please call 817-735-0188, fax 817-735-2424, or e-mail .
The first presenter for the meeting was George Schiro from the Acadiana Crime Lab. He gave two presentations. His first presentation was entitled "Crime Scene Investigation Basics". The second presentation was entitled "Extraction of Human DNA from Fly Larvae Found on Decomposing Tissue".
Promega sponsored the morning break.
The third presentation of the day was given by Melba Ketchum from DNA Diagnostics entitled "Crime and Animal Genetics: An Emerging Science". Her presentation focused on case studies, ethical considerations, selective breeding, and parent verification. She gave examples of how animal genetics are becoming more common in forensic cases.
After lunch, Melba Ketchum continued her presentation.
The last presenter of the day was William Thompson from the University of California, Irvine. He gave a presentation entitled "Interpreting DNA Evidence: Psychological, Ethical, and Statistical Considerations". In his presentation, he gave examples of cases in which there may have been questionable DNA interpretations.
At approximately 5:15 pm, Ron Rubocki adjourned the first day of the meeting. A pizza party was held after the meeting at the Texas Trooper's Association. The pizza was served courtesy of AFDAA.
DAY 2
The second day of the meeting was called to order by Ron Rubocki at approximately 8:20 am on Friday January 10, 2003.
Catherine Caballero reminded all applicants to turn in their applications and dues at this time in order to be considered for membership at today's business meeting.
The first presenter of the day was Arthur Young of National Medical Services. His lecture was entitled "Back to Basics: Body Fluid Identification 2003".
Morning break was sponsored by AFDAA.
Catherine Caballero, Field Application Specialist, from Applied Biosystems presented on "Applied Biosystems Human Identification Group Update".
Lisa Lane, Regional Technical Specialist from Promega Corporation gave a presentation on "Promega Product Update".
At approximately 11:15 am, Ron Rubocki called the business meeting to order. Approximately 103 members were present.
Gary Molina presented the Meeting Minutes from the July 2002 meeting for group acceptance. A motion was made by Joe Warren to accept the minutes and seconded by George Schiro. The motion passed with no opposition.
Vice Chair Wil Young presented new member applicants:
--April Orbison - TX DPS, Austin
--James Nichols - TX DPS, Garland
--Karla Carmichael - Ft. Worth P. D.
--Sundaye Lopez - Ft. Worth P. D.
--Pat Johnson - TX DPS Field Laboratory Manager
--Mary Long - DNA Solutions
--Lisa Lane - Regional Technical Specialist from Promega Corporation
--Tiffany Best - Harris County Medical Examiner's Office
--Angela Rodriguez - TX DPS, Lubbock
--Uyen Ngo - TX DPS, Houston
--Kristy Smejkal - TX DPS, Houston
A motion was made by Ron Rubocki to accept the applicants and seconded by Arthur Young. The motion passed with no opposition. [Secretary's Note: Several applicants, whose applications and dues were turned in for consideration at this meeting, were accidentally overlooked by the officers. AFDAA sends our regrets.]
Catherine Caballero gave a treasury report citing a balance of $3,096.73. Approximately $800 was collected at this meeting for dues and registration fees. We have incurred approximately $600 in expenses for this meeting including the fees for the website. Catherine spoke about the online registration for this meeting and the success we had with it. The main problem with this system was that most attendees (>50%) registered two days prior to the meeting. This gave the officers little time to prepare for the bigger turnout than they were expecting. The officers have suggested having a deadline for online registration. Members that register prior to this deadline can attend the meeting for free as in the past. Non-members who register prior to the deadline will be charged a $5.00 fee to attend or $10 dues with an AFDAA membership application. All participants that do not pre-register or who register online after the deadline will be asked to pay a $10.00 registration fee, regardless of membership status. This will help cover any last minute expenses incurred by the unexpected late registrants. A motion was made by George Schiro to accept the fee proposal and the motion was seconded. The motion passed without opposition.
Ron Rubocki asked for suggestions for future topics for our next meeting.
Wil Young led a discussion on the need to update our by-laws, especially in the area of ethics. Laura Schile suggested we incorporate a Code of Ethics into our by-laws.
Forrest Davis made a motion to form an Ethics Committee, Laura Schile seconded the motion. Motion passed with no opposition and one abstention.
Those wishing to volunteer for the Ethics Committee are asked to contact Wil Young, Vice Chair.
Ron Rubocki gave a summary of the events that took place after the last meeting in regards to some concerns raised by a member in reference to other members possibly not abiding to the present by-laws. Under the current by-laws, those AFDAA members not abiding by the by-laws could have their membership revoked. An ad hoc committee had been formed to look at some data from these individuals in question. The committee members consisted of:
--Wil Young, Vice Chair, AFDAA, Texas DPS Austin Laboratory
--Catherine Caballero, Treasurer, AFDAA, Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA
--Gary Molina, Secretary, AFDAA, Texas DPS Austin Laboratory
--Joe Warren, University of North Texas Health Science Center
--Bill Watson, Orchid Cellmark, Nashville, TN
--Arthur Young, National Medical Services, Willow Grove, PA
--Pat Wojkiewicz, North Louisiana Crime Laboratory, Shreveport, LA
--John Kresbach, Albuquerque Police Department Crime Laboratory, Albuquerque NM
--Garon Foster, Bexar County Forensic Science Center, San Antonio, TX
--Patricia Graham - Texas DPS, Corpus Christi
Those ad hoc committee members present at the meeting gave their conclusions of the information given to them, which included responses from those in question. All committee members present recommended that no further action should be taken on this issue. John Planz made the motion to accept the committee's findings, Jane Burgett seconded the motion. The motion passed with one member opposing.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Aliece Watts and seconded by Joe Warren
Minutes respectively submitted by Gary Molina, Secretary, for the January 2003 AFDAA meeting.