Entomology and the Law—Flies as Forensic Indicators

THE AUTHORS STATE THAT “[t]he primary purpose of this book is to provide both the entomologist and the trial lawyer with the information necessary to navigate successfully the hazards that threaten forensic entomology evidence. ” To a large extent, they have accomplished their goal. However, their effort falls short on covering the entire subject of “forensic” entomology because part I of the book, capably written by accepted entomology expert Bernard Greenberg, limits itself almost exclusively to the subdiscipline that most forensic entomologists call “medicocriminal” entomologyÑthe use of insect evidence to estimate the time, and occasionally the site, of human death. Although the authors acknowledge the existence of food contamination cases, they essentially ignore the multitude of civil cases wherein forensic entomologists play a fundamental role: private nuisance actions (most often involving ßies in an agricultural setting), alleged spider bites, frequent fraud-and-abuse of the fast-food industry by those anxious to threaten lawsuits over supposed “contamination” of food products by maggots and other insects, myiasis in childor elder-abuse cases and nursing home neglect, and litigation involving structural pests. Therefore, although the subtitle “Flies as Forensic Indicators” provides some clariÞcation, the subject matter of this book might have been better reßected by a title such as “Entomology and Criminal Law. ” That shortcoming accepted, this is a well-written, fairly easy read of 306 pages that will ultimately be most useful to trial lawyers confronting entomology evidence for the Þrst time. It should impart sufÞcient knowledge in short order to make counsel savvy enough to ask the proper questions or to anticipate them being asked. Part II, authored by law professor (and entomology graduate) John Kunich, provides an interesting overview of admissibility issues in relation to scientiÞc evidence. This part should be useful to attorneys and entomologists alike, because excluding evidence from the courtroom, on any of a number of legal theories, is perhaps the most effective way to see that such evidence does not inßuence the result at trial. Therefore, Kunich does a nice job of covering pretrial motions and explaining to the uninitiated why they are so important. This book will not enable nonentomologists to become forensic experts, nor to identify the Diptera taxa covered, nor to analyze forensic entomology evidence. It will, however, serve as a useful reference for the experienced medical and veterinary entomologist who is asked for an opinion in the medicocriminal context or who wishes to know more about the subject. Notable are the excellent historical overview that Greenberg provides and the various keys intended to cover Holarctic, South American, Oriental, European and Australian blow ßy species, supplemented with good line drawings or scanning electron microscope photographs. That most of these keys have been published before is not a shortcoming; indeed, those who are not reprint hounds will Þnd the compendium very helpful. Published by Cambridge University Press, the sample I received was copyrighted in 2002, well-bound, and set in a very legible Utopia 9/13 point typeface. The language was generally error-free, except that the proofreaders not surprisingly ignored throughout the American entomological convention whereby common names of true ßies are written as two separate words (e.g., blow ßy rather than blowßy). Furthermore, and unfortunately for the QueenÕs English and the proofreaders as well, the distinction between “affect” and “effect” was frequently misconstrued. As a minor point, the greenbottle ßy Phaenicia coeruleiviridis had the speciÞc name misspelled as caeruleiviridis. The case histories recounted by Greenberg demonstrate the analytical arguments often encountered in forensic entomology litigation as well as the depth of feeling that can be engendered by this sort of courtroom experience. YouÕve got to live it to understand fully, but this book gets close.