Oh, you could say that in my area of the criminal justice system (that is, the morgue) there's no need for weapons ( Read more... )

Oddly, I've never been injured in the thirty years I've been on the job. My late husband used to say that I was the proverbial duck with the water rolling off its back. Nothing seems to stick to me - insults, injuries... I suppose he was right.

How did you get where you are today professionally? Did you always want to do the job you do now? Did you just fall into it? Do you have dreams of promotion? Another profession? Talk about it!When I first became a doctor, I suppose I did it because I wanted to help people. Forensics seemed interesting, though. It held my attention much more than ( Read more... )

Of course the rules are different for everyone. Hell, the rules are different for each squad, whether the brass likes to admit it or not. In a system where we are overloaded on lab results and under-budgeted on manpower, not to mention influenced by the media and politics, we are forced to cut corners on occasion and to pick and choose who gets ( Read more... )

I frequently have my morning coffee before I go to bed.  There are at least six Dunks between the station and my apartment, which makes it difficult to not get coffee.  More often than not, I'll be leaving the station at some hour when normal Cambridge-ites are just going to work.  

The only time that I re-evaluate scenes or look at motives or think about a case beyond “what’s my deadline for getting these results back?” is when I’m called to testify in court as an expert witness.

I’ve been subpoenaed hundreds of times in my career.  Normally, the process is fairly routine.   The evidence that I testify about is not ( Read more... )

In my office there’s a bulletin board in plain sight. On it are the cases that remain unsolved, the ones that got away, if you will. I never forget that they’re there. They don’t intimidate me or make me uneasy in any way. They’re simply a reminder. And when I have a down moment or need something to keep me busy, I pick one up and re-evaluate ( Read more... )