High-Profile Cases: The Los Angeles Experience

Abstract A well-managed public information program is crucial to the medical examiner’s reputation and ability to communicate necessary information to the public. Most of the work that forensic professionals do is hidden from the public eye. It is only in widely publicized cases that the public becomes aware of the details of forensic work. Much of the public perception of forensic work comes from how we handle these cases and how they are portrayed in print, television, or electronic media. This chapter is designed to teach participants the principles of providing public information, using lessons learned from high-profile incidents in Los Angeles County over the past 20 years. It is our hope that, by discussing case examples and general principles of public information, this chapter facilitates communication between the medical examiner, the media, and the public.