In this life, there are a select few that will leave their legacy behind long after they leave this world. After my first time meeting John Jay Tobin, I realized that I was lucky enough to be in the same room as a man with a seemingly endless legacy. His story is uplifting and empowering to the point where I want the whole world to know it.
I do not know him well, but I deduced by the way he carries himself that he is not one to boast. His business card, which he had multiple copies stacked neatly on his desk read, "Dr. Jay Tobin, Jr."
in big, bold letters, and underneath, it read, "Forensic Science Program Coordinator, Graduate and Professional Studies." In the back of his tiny, yet well-organized office, there lay a framed picture of him with his son and daughter. Dr. Jay has five children and five grandchildren. His oldest daughter has a PhD working at Johns Hopkins University. What a beautiful family he had. He has worked great jobs over the years that gave him the ability to support his family as all men wish to do.For example, he was once the Forensic Science Division Chief Chemist for the Maryland State Police. He started this job in 1972. Simply put, he said, “Kyle, you must figure out only three things in this life to be successful. One, you must find something you’re passionate about. Two, you must follow this passion to the depths of hell, if necessary. Three, you must turn this passion into a job. You must do this through education and experience.” I already thought that this was great advice, but he went on to say something I will never forget for the rest of my life. He said, “If you apply yourself and make a career out of doing what you enjoy doing the most, you will feel like you never truly worked a day in your life.”
Dr. Jay loved doing the work he did, and he was very good at it. Although he did not have a mastered knowledge of any certain degree of study he worked with, he more than made it up with his intuition and “never say never" attitude. While working in the forensic science division, he told me he did a lot of work with drug analysis and trace evidence such as hair, fiber, explosives and gunshot residue. He was to gather up evidence and analyze it in order to prove guilt or innocence of the men or women that committed some of the most hellacious crimes in Maryland at that time. In other words, he did the work that is often portrayed in popular TV crime shows, such as "CSI" and "NCIS." His team thrived above the rest, especially in the days with less useful technology.
With great success, comes great responsibility. In 2001, after 29 years as a forensic scientist and manager, Dr. Jay received a well-deserved promotion. He got promoted to the Director of the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division. At this point, it is clear to me that Dr. Jay is a hardworking man. His time working in the Forensic Science Division positively affected the families of the victims that he gave a peace of mind to after helping to solve cases involving their family members. He lifted up the spirits of all those who worked for him as well. He had fun and enjoyed his work, and he wanted those he worked with to feel the same way.
It is impossible for everything in this life to be “hunky dory” all the time. If you are thinking all of this may sound too good, then you are right. Within six months of him becoming the new director, something happened that changed his life forever. When he answered, his voice lowered in tone, which indicated that it saddened him to talk about his experience.
This story is about a man, a man whose name is being left out for reasons you will hear in a moment. He worked under Dr. Jay as a Firearms Examiner in the Forensic Science Unit. The examiner was under pressure from the Innocent Project lawyers for falsifying his credentials. This pressure became so great that the employee ultimately would take his own life. Dr. Jay was left to deal with the aftermath that this had on the laboratory, both in case management and with the laboratory personnel.
A death in the workplace is something Dr. Jay had never experienced before. He had to adapt quickly to this sudden tragedy. He set up meetings with everyone to explain what had happened. He also set up anonymous grief counseling in his office for anybody in the office that needed it. He told me that no one came to the office grief counseling. He breathed a sigh of relief because the death took a toll on him more so than it did on anyone else, he said. He blamed himself for the death of this man, and he eventually sought out therapy to help him cope with the death of his coworker.
Additionally, this man’s death put the police department in quite a bind. Every defense attorney wanted each case reopened that this man helped close. Appeals were filed to be re-examined on nearly 130 cases. This was a lot of work to do in such a little time, as they had only 180 days to finish them all. All of this work had to be done by only two people in the office. Dr. Jay contacted the ATF department, Alcohol Tax and Firearms, and asked for their help. They got the help they needed, yet they still barely met their deadline of 180 days.
To continue, Dr. Jay told me that one of the skills that is used most often while on the job is critical thinking. For example, he learned how to act in a professional environment. His boss could fire him at any time for any reason he wanted. This was called the ability to fire for cause. He also learned that politics was a big part of his job description, which he was not good at. He had always been more of a scientist than a politician; however, he learned quickly. Like a child being thrown in water for the first time, it was a truly sink or swim time for him, and he not only swam but he flourished.
Another issue that he faced while in charge was having to listen to all the whining and crying of staff members. Most of these problems were personnel issues, which could have simply been solved with more money. He told them the budget was set by the state, but the stubborn, boisterous scientists seemingly did not listen to him because, after a while, they kept asking the same questions. Dr. Jay was ultimately able to convince the hierarchy of the State Police that the forensic scientists needed parity in their paychecks as well as in their forensic disciplines. From this, the Forensic Scientist Series was developed. It provided equality in pay regardless of degree status.
The most important challenge that Dr. Jay faced with the director was keeping a perfectly operational lab environment at all times. The lab needed to operate under correct policy, ASCLD/LAB guidelines, at all times. His job was to make sure the lab was in compliance which the strict guidelines of ASCLD. He had to deal with spot audits that came once or twice per year that could check anything they wanted to from the labs. That included everything from personal records to cleanliness of the sink. This was all very important because if anything was wrong with the lab, this could taint the reputation of the lab and thus affect the results of the cases examined.
2006 was a big year for Dr. Jay. In the beginning, he faced a big problem when Martin O’Malley was elected Governor of Maryland early in the year. Almost immediately, Governor O’Malley ordered that the 25,000 DNA profiles that had not been uploaded to the CODIS Database be done so immediately. CODIS is the nation DNA Database of convicted offenders. The challenge was met, and the samples were completed ahead of time. Dr. Jay was able to do this by getting the State to provide overtime for the DNA Unit. Case work on forensic casework was also able to continue, thus bringing to justice those individuals who were suspected of committing crimes.
During the summer of 2006, Dr. Jay was offered a position at Stevenson University to work as a professor and mentor to younger students. Once the Maryland Police Department heard of this, they wanted to help him; they did not want him to go. They offered him some incentives to stay. Some of these incentives were very valuable to the current Forensic Science Program at Stevenson University. Dr. Jay continued to work for the MSP for an additional two years. During this time, Dr. Jay was also the Program Coordinator for the Forensic Science Program at Stevenson. The program developed a working rapport with the students and the laboratory. The Baltimore County Lab also became a partner with the program, which provided the students with even more opportunities to see forensic science in its “true light."
Now, years later, Stevenson’s forensic science program is arguably one of the best in the entire country. Stevenson’s mock trial is also one of the best in the nation. In fact, these mock trials are portrayed as so real that companies from all over the world send their employers to Stevenson just to show them what a real trial will look like. Dr. Jay did this all for Stevenson University, not himself. He states, “My reward is seeing my students get jobs coming out of college. It makes my day when they come back and visit me and thank me for everything I’ve done for them.”
I applaud Dr. Jay for his selflessness from his position of power. In this world today, we see those in higher power, wanting to stay in power. They will often lie and cheat and do whatever it takes to stay at the top of the proverbial food chain. Not Dr. Jay. He is an undervalued member of the Stevenson community, and those that do not already know about him should get to know him.
Dr. Jay: Thank you for inspiring me each and every day to reach for the stars and to never give up on my dreams.
Your Mentee,
Kyle Rudman
