Every once in a little while life introduces you to someone very special….and memorable. Such is James G. Wigmore, otherwise known to friends as “Jim”. I met Jim many years ago at the Borkenstein Program at Indiana University. Beyond the fact that Jim was an engaging teacher, and forensic toxicologist, he was also from Ontario! I immediately approached him and asked him to consider becoming an advisor to Ladybug. He accepted. And so began a great journey. Whenever I needed information about something related to breath alcohol, alcohol studies or criminal cases, Jim was my “go to” guy. When we set out to develop a software app that gave customers what they really wanted…accurate readings…we called in Jim to help us tweak Watson’s formula. I remember thinking to myself that Jim was like having a personal Wikipedia of everything alcohol. Since the onset of Jim’s career, he has amassed a phenomenal database of human alcohol studies that today accounts for 9,400 papers. More importantly, his recollection of these papers and the science within them is awe inspiring. Jim is what separates Ladybug from the competition. He gives us “the” edge.
Today, Jim is more than a scientific and respected advisor of Ladybug, he is a friend. An avid walker, coffee connoisseur, world traveler, devoted husband to Penelope, proud grandfather and generous friend…these are just some of the adjectives I can now use to describe Jim.
Very recently, Jim honored his fabulous career by writing Wigmore on Alcohol. Wigmore on Alcohol is a paperback version of what Jim has been to Ladybug all these years…a personal Wikipedia of human alcohol studies. It is 561 pages of studies divided into 8 chapters – Blood, Breath and Urine alcohol analysis, Effect of Alcohol on Driving Abilities, Postmortem alcohol etc. – and further organized into 66 sections. Such diverse topics as the mouth alcohol effect, blood alcohol swabs, Widmark calculations, postmortem diffusion and putrefaction, blackouts, dermal absorption of alcohol, and breath alcohol specificity are covered. It is crock full of the science of alcohol and, for those of us in the “biz”, it’s fabulous! Published by Irwin Law and available either directly through Irwin or here on Ladybug’s own website, this publication has already been cited as “the new alcohol Bible” by Dr. Kurt M. Dubowski, George Lynn Cross Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine, The University of Oklahoma.
While Wigmore on Alcohol is already on a trajectory to become the “go to” reference book for attorneys, judges and other court going professionals, to me Wigmore on Alcohol is more than a book. It is Jim. Full of knowledge and anecdotes that make delving into the oftentimes complicated science of alcohol interesting and engaging. To all of you who will come to rely on this publication the way I rely on Jim, enjoy…like the man who wrote this book, it will not disappoint.
