The Week 82 Forensic Science Geek of the Week Challenge is Announced

The Forensic Science Geek of the Week

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The week 82 “www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com Forensic Science Geek of the Week” honors goes to: Jay Tiftickjian, Esquire

According to our Geek, the following is offered:

Denver attorney Jay Tiftickjian carries a Preeminent AV® rating in Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating an attorney can achieve based on confidential ratings by members of the Colorado Judiciary and Colorado Bar. Martindale-Hubbell is the nation’s oldest and most respected legal directory, and a Preeminent AV® rating is an outstanding achievement, demonstrating an attorney’s superb legal ability and professional ethics. A Preeminent AV® rating demonstrates an attorney has reached the height of professional excellence.

In 2010, Mr. Tiftickjian was granted Life Membership status with the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar based on his contributions to criminal defense in Colorado. There are currently fewer than 20 Life Members of the CCDB, and attorney Tiftickjian is proud to be the youngest Life Member.

Mr. Tiftickjian is listed in the prestigious Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers™ for criminal defense. The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers is a national directory for only those practicing attorneys at the top of their field, and is the definitive guide of the most distinguished lawyers and law firms in the United States.

In 2010 and 2011, Mr. Tiftickjian was nominated as a Super Lawyer: Rising Star for recognition of the up and coming defense attorneys in Colorado. This award recognizes the best criminal defense attorneys in Colorado under 40 as voted on by the Colorado Bar. No more than 2.5 percent of attorneys receive this award. Mr. Tiftickjian was also profiled in 2010 and 2011’s 5280 Magazine for Denver DUI/DWI defense and criminal defense.

Mr. Tiftickjian is a member of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), The National College of DUI Defense (NCDD), The Colorado Bar Association (CBA) and The Colorado Criminal Defense Bar (CCDB). He has also received certification in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) DUI field sobriety test practitioner and instructor course.

Mr. Tiftickjian regularly attends sessions within the National College for DUI Defense, including its yearly DUI training conducted at Harvard Law School. This is the NCDD’s signature program to develop DUI trial skills, including innovative ways to attack breath tests, blood tests, field sobriety tests, and the prosecution’s police officers and expert witnesses.

Congratulations to our Forensic Science Geek of the Week winner!

OFFICIAL QUESTION:

: Forensic Science Geek of the Week Challenge

1. What is computer program that is pictured above?

2. What type of search is is conducting?

3. Are there any known issues with respect to this type of search’s forensic suitability? If so, what?

Our Geek of the Week answered:.

This is enCase and it looks to be doing a harddrive search, although I am not certain of this as I have never had my paws on the program. It is known to have problems with searching emails.

[BLOGGER’S NOTE: This is a tough one in terms of question number 2 and 3 for the very reason Attorney Tiftickjian suggests. The defense bar and defense investigators are not supposed to have access to enCase. The program itself is preforming what is called a hash value search. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) database of SHA-1 hash values is a database library of SHA-1 hash values of supposedly adjudicated child pornography images. What precisely it contains and how it is determined to be “adjudicated” is not totally available to the private sector, further increasing the difficulty of computer forensic examinations for the defendants. Specifically, the screenshot featured in our Geek of the Week challenge shows the results of matching files against hash sets. The “Hash Set” column shows what “package” the file belongs to. The comments in the signature column tell you about interesting bits – for instance, logo.sys is a bitmap even though its extension is .sys.]

The Hall of Fame for the www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com Forensic Science Geek of the Week:

Week 1: Chuck Ramsay, Esquire

Week 2: Rick McIndoe, PhD

Week 3: Christine Funk, Esquire

Week 4: Stephen Daniels

Week 5: Stephen Daniels

Week 6: Richard Middlebrook, Esquire

Week 7: Christine Funk, Esquire

Week 8: Ron Moore, B.S., J.D.

Week 9: Ron Moore, B.S., J.D.

Week 10: Kelly Case, Esquire and Michael Dye, Esquire

Week 11: Brian Manchester, Esquire