California Forensic Science Institute (CFSI) contact:
Rose Ochi, Executive Director, (323) 343-4879, [email protected]
Note to editors and news directors: CSI Producer Anthony Zuiker, L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley, and California Forensic Science Institute Executive Director Ochi will be available for interviews following the 2:30 p.m. presentation to Zuiker.
Journalists are welcome to cover the entire awards luncheon. Prior arrangements are encouraged. For details, contact an individual listed above as soon as possible or call the CFSI at Cal State L.A. at (323) 343-4815.
This links to a map of the Brookside Restaurant (at golf course), 1133 Rosemont Ave., Pasadena: http://tinyurl.com/brookside-club.
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CALIFORNIA FORENSIC SCIENCE INSTITUTE
TO HONOR CSI PRODUCER ZUIKER NOV. 20
Another ‘CSI effect’? Cal State L.A. program cites show’s creator
for opening ‘public’s eye’ to scientific side of evidence
Los Angeles, CA – With its massive popularity, CBS’s CSI drama franchise has rivaled Sherlock Holmes adventures in putting scientific evidence from fictional crimes on the minds of millions around the globe. Some say the booming crime-scene investigation genre may have even created in the real prosecutorial world “a CSI effect” by exposing viewers to the fascinating world of forensics.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, Anthony Zuiker, the creator and producer of the long-running CSI series, will be honored by Cal State L.A.’s California Forensic Science Institute (CFSI).
According to CFSI Executive Director Rose Ochi, “Anthony Zuiker’s innovations have opened the public’s eye to the importance of investing in forensic personnel and new technology.”
The “CSI effect,” Ochi said, has stimulated public interest and created greater understanding of the role of science in law enforcement and in the courtroom.
“This, in turn, has fueled demands for more forensic funding for trained personnel, and new technology,” she said.
Zuiker will be among several to be honored at the CFSI annual awards luncheon Thursday, Nov. 20, at the Brookside Clubhouse in Pasadena, following the institute’s golf tournament. The institute, working closely with law enforcement and other agencies, provides training for forensic science professionals and promotes public education in the field.
CBS debuted Zuiker’s critically acclaimed procedural series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in 2000. The show quickly became a hit and spawned two spin-offs, CSI: Miami starring David Caruso, now in its seventh season, and CSI: New York starring Gary Sinise, which premiered in 2004.
Zuiker serves as executive producer of CSI, which is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. The series has been nominated for numerous Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. And CSI: Miami continues to dominate its timeslot in the United States and around the world.
Some prosecutors and criminalists contend that the show’s popularity has created a “CSI effect” in which jurors have greater awareness of forensic science and, along with it, unrealistic expectations in the courtroom for rock-solid scientific evidence in nearly every case.
Zuiker told CBS’s The Early Show, “The ‘CSI effect’ is, in my opinion, the most amazing thing that has ever come out of the series. For the first time in American history, you're not allowed to fool the jury anymore.”
(While some prosecutors and defense attorneys contend that juries are more likely to expect dramatic – and clearly conclusive – evidence based on the shows’ depictions, some researchers have found no evidence for such a rise in jury expectations.)
Also to be honored at the luncheon are William T. Fujioka, chief executive officer of Los Angeles County, for public leadership in supporting a regional crime lab; Ming Hsieh, founder of Cogent Systems, for revolutionizing the technology behind fingerprint analysis; and Arthur Kassel, a civic leader and major benefactor in supporting public safety. Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, L.A. County Undersheriff Larry Waldie and L.A. Police Department Deputy Chief Charlie Beck will be on hand to commend them and others, who have developed forensics training in drug toxicology, trauma, and DNA.
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 205,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu