8127/frame/fm

 
2.
From Generalist to Specialist (and Back Again)
The comparative advantages of a specialist vs. a generalist remain one of the
more-enduring sources of contention in practically any craft or discipline.
In the scientific arena, the pendulum has swung across and back again. The
earliest Greek scientists were, by default, generalists simply because not
conducted tests on himself after, for instance, smoking a cigarette, and obtained the same positive
results that Dr. Skuse insisted were definitive evidence of nitroglycerine.
In 1985, working at the behest of the Granada Television “World in Action” program, Professor
Brian Caddy set up a team to determine the reliability of the Griess test. The team tested many different
samples, including cigarettes, playing cards, and nitrocellulose-containing wood varnish, all of which
gave positive reactions to the Greiss reagent. Shortly after the airing of this program, Dr. Skuse
unexpectedly took an early retirement from the Home Office forensic laboratory. Almost simulta-
neously, the Home Office itself commissioned a detailed study of the Greiss test.
In 1985, Chris Mullin published 
 
Error in Judgment
, a book about the Birmingham Six. In large
part because of this book, the men were granted a new appeal which was heard in November, 1987.
Although the court now allowed that “as a result of fresh evidence there is now a grave doubt as to
the nature of the method used for testing by Dr. Skuse at Morecambe, …” they continued to disregard
the forensic evidence as central to the convictions. They remained convinced by the eyewitness and
testimonial evidence presented, and dismissed the appeal.
Ultimately, the case would be referred back to the British Court of Appeals three times before
the chief prosecutor publicly admitted that the forensic evidence was worthless and that the confessions
had been beaten out of the suspects. In March 1991, the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions
and the six men were released after serving more than 16 years in prison. The Greiss test was liberally
used throughout the 1970s and early 1980s to provide evidence against a number of Irish Nationals
who were convicted of various bombings in England. Many of these convictions have now been
overturned, including those of the Guildford four and the Maguire seven.
 
Reference:
Based on Mullin, C., 
 
Error of Judgment: The Truth about the Birmingham Bombings,
Chatto
& Windus Ltd., London, 1986.
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The Evolution of Forensic Science
41
enough knowledge existed to create the need or even the opportunity for
specialization. As science progressed, then exploded throughout the Enlight-
enment, and into the 20th century, specialization became inevitable. To
understand string theory requires so much dedicated time and energy that
one is left with little time to devote to quantum mechanics, much less its
relation to cosmic evolution. However, of late, the value of interdisciplinary
relationships has received increased attention. It has become clear that no
one discipline can continue to exist, much less flourish, in isolation; the
borders between disciplines have become gathering places for the conver-
gence of knowledge. This trend is exemplified in E. O. Wilson’s book 
 
Consil-
ience
(1998), where he advocates a common framework and interdependency
of all knowledge.
Forensic science has also taken a journey from generalist to specialist,
and back again. A few of the very first criminalists were generalists. Although
he was not, by training, a scientist, Hans Gross was most definitely the first
declared generalist. In 1891, the Austrian magistrate and professor of criminal
law published 
 
Criminal Investigation
, the first comprehensive description of
the uses of physical evidence in solving crime. This tradition was continued
by the distinguished line of French forensic scientists. Bertillon quite natu-
rally expanded the taking of physical measurements to the gathering of fin-
gerprints and the photographing of both convicts and crime scenes. He even
began to dabble in impression evidence and document examination. Because
he had become internationally renowned as an expert “police” scientist,
questions about all kinds of physical evidence were directed his way and he
responded. Mathiew Orfila, primarily known for his work on toxicology, also
made significant contributions to the identification of blood and seminal
stains, both macroscopically and microscopically (Gaensslen, 1983).
Although Lacassagne, Balthazard, Orfila, and Locard each specialized in a