This case may be a manslaughter case. The investigator states the alarm system was not properly maintained. The investigator writes in his report that there was a delay in notification of the occupants due to what he perceives is a fire alarm system did not timely activate. Are you say if a person did not know the difference from a fire alarm system and a life safety notification system the judge is still going to let him testify?

Are you saying, if the fire has nothing to do with any electrical system the judge is still going to exclude him because he does not know the definition of watt.

I never get put into the corner with an absolute statement when speaking about 921 or 1033. The is a got you question that you cannot recover from.

There was a judge that prevented an expert from testifying about low-temperature long-term heating. The judge believed there was insufficient evidence to support the idea. Two other courts found the opposite with the same expert testifying. Two three judge panels in the court of appeal agreed with the expert’s position on the subject. Independent testing by a third unconnected party later supported the expert’s opinion. In that one case, who got it wrong, the judge or the expert? Yes, judges have the right, but it does not mean their decision was correct.

See, you are assuming. I was not speaking about the low-temperature ignition that was addressed in the Truck Insurance Exchange v Magnetek from Colorado. The cases I was addressing were in Louisiana. One of the courts that ruled in favor of this concept was the U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit. The second was the Court of Appeals of Louisiana, 3rd Circuit. The paper I am referring to is the Low Temperature Ignition of Wood.

What may be just as bad as the spalding and shiny alligatoring is the investigator that develops a timeline as to when the fire could have started and the testifies a person set the fire when that person was not in the build in the beginning of the timeline. What I am saying even persons that one would consider highly qualified and meet all your requirements as to 1033 can still come off the wall to help in a conviction.

Jim Mazerat
Forensic Investigations Group