Law & Order in the Chemistry Lab

At 9:30 PM on the evening of Tuesday, November 17th, police were called to the apartment of Samuel Herrick at 110 West Park Street where they found Herrick dead from a single gunshot wound to the head, victim of an apparent suicide. But as the investigation developed the focus turned quickly from suicide to murder and, on December 4th, Herrick's girlfriend, Donna Stevens, was charged with the crime.

This grim scenario could have been taken from the front page of the local newspaper, an episode of Columbo, or an action-packed feature film. But it wasn't. It was the premise for an unusual assignment in chemistry professor Robert Q. Thompson's analytical chemistry class.

students Students were asked to play the roles of expert witnesses for the prosecution and defense in the fictional Ms. Stevens' mock trial. During lab sessions they performed a variety of forensic tests on samples of evidence from the crime scene and from suspects - including blood samples, gunshot residues, and even a suicide note - preparing their cases, and shaping their arguments.

"All of the samples were simulated for safety's sake," says Thompson, "but they were as close as possible to what actual forensic investigators would find.

"I wanted to create a situation in which students would take the project on as their own and be excited about doing analytical chemistry - to see that it really does have an impact."

Students not only had the opportunity to gain expertise with specific analytical procedures, but they saw how the work of forensic chemists contributes to the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases. Overall they found the experience both worthwhile and entertaining.

"I liked it," says senior biochemistry major Matt Soellner, who performed postmortem blood-alcohol analysis for the prosecution. "I felt like you really got to know the instrumentation and analytical techniques." ]

Sophomore Sam Hopkins, who argued for the defense, agrees. "It was cool. I learned a lot from it."

"I think it went very well," says Thompson reflecting on the experience. "For many students it really captured their interest. They felt like they were making a contribution to some goal. They were worrying about accuracy and precision and how to present results." He plans to continue using the exercise and hopes, in future classes, to make the scenario even more realistic.

Thompson and junior chemistry major Ruth Hook prepared the murder scenario and evidence with the support of one of this year's four teaching assistantships made possible under the McGregor-Oresman Scholar Program. A four-year grant that promotes close intellectual collaboration between faculty and students, the program, now in its second year, is supported by a $75,000 grant from the McGregor Fund and a matching grant from Donald Oresman '46. In its first year the program sponsored work by 12 Oberlin faculty members, and 10 faculty-student teams received support for research they conducted this past summer.

the jury

The grand finale of Thompson's class - the mock trial - had all the character and suspense of a real courtroom drama, complete with eloquent opening statements, aggressive cross examination, persuasive closing arguments, and tense deliberations. In her dramatic opening argument for the prosecution, senior Emily Merrill set the tone for the proceedings. "This is not suicide but murder. Forensic science has enabled us to prove beyond reasonable doubt that we have caught the guilty party. The evidence is overwhelming."

The defense tried to cast doubt on the veracity of the prosecution's evidence by emphasizing the role of interpretation in the presentation of forensic results. "The evidence is not substantial enough," Sam Hopkins argued, "to determine beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Stevens committed this crime."

But, as in a real trial, only one side can win. The verdict? Guilty as charged.