DR. CROW: May we get started, please?

This morning, we're going to have several presentations, and I will ask Chris to introduce the people, since he knows them, and then, after lunch, the Commission will be back again, and there are many issues left over from what we were talking about yesterday still to be discussed, and we will come back to those again after lunch.

I'm glad you're here, Phil, because several of the questions yesterday you would have had something to say about, I can predict with absolute certainty.

MR. ASPLEN: Good morning, folks.

You should have all, by now, received a copy of the USA Today which explains some of the work that we're doing here.

While this group does not need a newspaper headline to emphasize the importance of its work, I think it is at least reflective of the importance of its work, and I think is a good sign of the public interest in what we're doing.

However, let me start off initially by saying that I've heard that the way some of the press is portraying what we're doing assumes that the Attorney General has already decided that this is, in fact, what is to be done, that she's wanting that and we're looking into the legalities of it.

I think it's fair to say that, at least in the conversations that I have had with the Attorney General's staff, that puts the cart before the horse pretty considerably, and we're really in much earlier stages of that whole proposition.

So, we'll make our attempts to kind of straighten out that perception, if you will, as we take calls, as I'm sure we will, in the office over the next couple of days.

Again, we structured today to begin the process of bringing different representatives in to the Commission to talk to us about their particular views and perspectives on some of these issues.

As such, we went out to individual organizations and asked for recommendations as to who they felt would be appropriate to come and talk to the Commission on some of these issues.

Let me say very specifically -- and you'll get rather tired of hearing me say this, however -- every one of these individuals has really expressed to me that, while they may be here on behalf of a particular organization, the National DA's Association or the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, most organizations don't have formal policies on this particular issue, on privacy regarding taking DNA from arrestees and such, and as such, their views are their personal views.

However, they are from the perspective of their particular organization. Their organization, in most cases, do not have formal policies.

If they do, I'm sure that they will illustrate that and explain that. However, I do want to put on the record that these are the personal views, but again from their individual perspectives.

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