title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: On the same day, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said Parliament should impeach Johnson if the Government lost before the Supreme Court and Johnson refused to resign; Liz Saville Roberts, the leader of the party in the House of Commons, had said earlier that week that Johnson should also be impeached if he refused to extend Brexit negotiations and entered discussions with other parties to gather support. Impeachment is an arcane parliamentary procedure which has never been successfully levelled towards a prime minister or a Cabinet minister: the last individual to be impeached was Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; and the last serious attempt was an unsuccessful 2004 effort by Price and ten other MPs to impeach then-prime minister Tony Blair. Johnson, then a member of the opposition frontbench, was another high-profile supporter of the impeachment motion and wrote an opinion piece in "The Daily Telegraph" which accused Blair of "treating Parliament and the public with contempt". Historically, individuals who were impeached would be arrested and prosecuted by the Commons in a trial before the Lords in Westminster Hall; those who were later convicted were sentenced at the liberty of the Commons and had no right to receive the royal prerogative of mercy.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom began a three-day hearing to consider the appeals for both the London and Edinburgh cases on 17 September 2019; McCord, who did not appeal his ruling, was granted leave to make an oral intervention. On the first day of the hearing, which focused on the losers of each lower court case, the Advocate General for Scotland, Lord Keen, argued that the Government was entitled to prorogue Parliament for political purposes and the Court of Session ruled outside its jurisdiction. When asked by the court whether Johnson would prorogue Parliament for a second time, Keen did not answer. Lord Pannick , who responded on Miller's behalf, argued that there was "strong evidence" that the purpose of prorogation was to prevent MPs from "frustrating" the Government's Brexit plans, as opposed to a short prorogation for a Queen's Speech that the respondents "had no quarrel with". The second day focused on the victors in each lower court case; the Government, represented by James Eadie , argued that in the absence of legislation that regulated the power of prorogation, it was not appropriate for the judiciary to "design a set of rules" to judge prorogation by; O'Neill argued that although it would not be to appropriate to create such rules, it was nevertheless "the province of the courts" to decide whether prorogation was constitutional.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: The final day of the hearing saw interventions from other interested parties: former solicitor general Lord Garnier, who responded for former prime minister John Major, argued prorogation was "motivated by a desire to prevent Parliament interfering with the prime minister's policies during that period"; the Scottish Government, who were represented by its Lord Advocate, James Wolffe, argued prorogation had a "profoundly intrusive effect" on Parliament; McCord's advocate Ronan Lavery argued prorogation was designed to "run down the clock" to force a no-deal Brexit, which would in turn result in controls on the border with Ireland; and in a written submission, the shadow attorney general, Shami Chakrabarti, said that if the power to prorogue was unchecked, Parliament would be "deprived" of the ability to "perform its constitutional function". The hearing ended with the Government and the petitioners summing up their arguments: Keen re-iterated the argument that the courts were constitutionally "not properly equipped" to decide on matters of high policy; and Pannick requested the court make a declaration that prorogation was unlawful and for Parliament to be recalled as a result.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: On 24 September, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the prorogation was both justiciable and unlawful, and therefore null and of no effect. The court found that Johnson's advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament 'was outside the powers of the Prime Minister'. The court cited the Case of Proclamations (1611), in which the High Court of Justice asserted its power to test the existence of limits of prerogative powers, in answering the question of justiciability; in the case of prorogation, use of the Royal Prerogative must have respect for the conventions of parliamentary sovereignty and democratic accountability. The court ruled that any prorogation would be unlawful "if it has the effect of frustrating or preventing, without reasonable justification, the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions as a legislature"; if this is the case, there would be no need to rule on whether the motives of the executive were lawful.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: The court further ruled that the prorogation of Parliament did have the effect of frustrating Parliament's constitutional functions; the court found that the suspension of Parliament in the prelude to the "fundamental [constitutional] change" of Brexit had an "extreme" effect on the "fundamentals of democracy". The court also found that the Government had not provided a justification for the intended prorogation nor for its length or its effect on the requirement for parliamentary scrutiny of any withdrawal agreement under the terms of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. As a result, the Court quashed the relevant Order in Council, which meant the effect of the royal proclamation of prorogation had the legal effect of "a blank piece of paper" and reverted the 2017–19 Parliament into being in session.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: As with the Scottish ruling, several opposition parliamentarians returned to the chamber immediately after the ruling was issued; those MPs who had surrounded Bercow with makeshift signs during the prorogation ceremony took selfies with their signs edited to reflect the ruling. In a statement on College Green—near Parliament and the Supreme Court's seat in the Middlesex Guildhall—John Bercow announced he had recalled Parliament to sit on the following day from . Prime Minister's Questions was not scheduled for its regular Wednesday midday slot, but Bercow said he would allow urgent questions and applications for emergency debates to be heard.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: Bercow opened the first sitting of Parliament, on 25 September 2019, with a statement from the chair: he welcomed MPs back to work and informed the House that consequent to the Supreme Court ruling, the record of the prorogation ceremony would be expunged from the Journal of the House of Commons and corrected to reflect the House as adjourned instead, and that the Royal Assent that had been signified to the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act during the ceremony would need to be re-signified. The first item of debate was an urgent question by Cherry to the attorney general; she urged Cox to publish the legal advice he gave to Johnson on the subject of prorogation to avoid him being labelled as a scapegoat for the affair. Cox defended the advice he gave to Johnson as being "in good faith", and distanced himself from comments from Conservative MPs which attacked the independence of the judiciary: specifically, Rees-Mogg's description of the ruling as a "constitutional coup".


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: On the day of the ruling, Johnson was in New York City to give a speech before the United Nations General Assembly, tentatively scheduled for the morning on 25 September. Johnson said that the Government disagreed with the ruling, but would nevertheless abide by it and not seek to prevent Parliament from meeting on the following day. Johnson refused to rule out a second prorogation, and also ruled out his resignation. The Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Johnson's speech would be brought forward to the evening of the 24th to allow Johnson to fly back to Britain in time for the start of the following day's parliamentary sitting.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: After the ruling, Johnson was criticised by opposition leaders: Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour Party was in conference in Brighton at the time, brought forward his keynote speech in which he invited Johnson to "consider his position and become the shortest-serving prime minister there's ever been"; SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon demanded Johnson's resignation and urged Parliament to table a motion of no confidence if he did not resign; Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said that Johnson "wasn't fit to be prime minister"; and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage called prorogation "the worst political decision ever" and called on Johnson to fire his adviser Dominic Cummings for suggesting the plan.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: Johnson's first address to Parliament after returning from New York was on the evening of 25 September. In his address, after he stated his opinion that the Supreme Court was "wrong to pronounce on a political question at a time of great national controversy", he re-iterated his call for an early general election and offered time in the parliamentary agenda on 26 September for any party who wished to lay a motion of no confidence against him. When asked by MPs whether he would rule out a second prorogation, he refused, and when asked whether he would abide by the law which mandates him to request an extension to Article 50, he said he would not do so; he had earlier described the law as a "Surrender Bill" or commonly referred to in the media as the Benn Act.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: Johnson's speech and conduct was criticised by opposition MPs, who alleged his choice of words were fuelling threats of violence against politicians. Labour MP Paula Sherriff said parliamentarians were routinely receiving death threats using language such as "surrender" and "betrayal", and asked Johnson to moderate his language, especially in the context of the June 2016 murder of Jo Cox. Johnson prompted heckles of "shame" when he responded to Sherriff's comments that he "had never heard so much humbug in [his] life". Sherriff's request for moderated language was repeated by Cox's constituency successor Tracy Brabin; Johnson declined and elicited further anger when he told Brabin that the best way to "honour the memory" of Cox would be to "get Brexit done".


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: On 26 September, Bercow made another statement from the chair that he was considering an application by Kenneth Clarke and Harriet Harman—the longest serving male and female MPs respectively—for a Speaker's Conference to be held to discuss the lack of decorum in contemporary British political culture. Bercow also lambasted the tone of the previous night's debates as the worst he had seen in Parliament since his election as an MP in 1997. Several hours after asking an urgent question on political decorum, Labour MP Jess Phillips told LBC that a man had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence outside her Birmingham Yardley constituency office; Phillips alleged the man had been attempting to break into the office whilst accusing her of fascism. In an interview with the BBC, Johnson said he deplored any threats of violence, but defended his description of the Article 50 extension law as a "Surrender Bill" and declined requests to apologise.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: Later that day, a Government motion for the House of Commons to go into recess for the duration of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester was rejected 289–306; the defeat represented the seventh successive Government defeat in the House of Commons and continued Johnson's record of not winning a single division since taking office. As a result, the Government scheduled relatively uncontroversial matters for debate for the three days Parliament sat during the conference; this included the cross-party domestic violence bill, which was scheduled for the Wednesday 2 October session. The lack of a conference recess meant that Prime Minister's Questions clashed with the leader's keynote speech at the Conservative conference; Johnson delivered his conference keynote whilst Prime Minister's Questions was deputised by Dominic Raab who faced questions from then Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott making her the first black MP to stand at a dispatch box for PMQs.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: On 2 October, the Government announced fresh plans to prorogue Parliament for six days, from Tuesday 8 October to Monday 14 October. Proroguing on a Tuesday meant that Johnson would miss Prime Minister's Questions for the third successive Wednesday; at that point his only scheduled question time since becoming prime minister was on 4 September, although Johnson had faced over eight hours of questions in response to ad hoc ministerial statements. The second prorogation ceremony took place on the evening of 8 October, and was attended by 30 MPs who followed Black Rod Sarah Clarke from the Commons to the Lords. The ceremony passed without the protests that had marked the previous attempt at prorogation with opposition leaders in the House of Lords also participating in the proceedings, though Lord Judge was substituted for Lord Hope of Craighead having in the interim succeeded him as crossbench convenor.


title: 2019 British prorogation controversy

text: The manifesto published by the Conservative Party prior to the 2019 general election, held in December of that year, stated that a newly elected Conservative government would review the broader constitutional relationship between Parliament and the courts, as well as the function of the Royal Prerogative itself, the basis on which prorogation is made. In the election, they won an 80-seat majority and therefore formed the next government. The proposed Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill emphasised the non-justiciability of the revived prerogative powers, prevented courts from making certain rulings in relation to a Government's power to dissolve Parliament. It received royal assent over two years later, on 24 March 2022.


title: David Camm

text: David Ray Camm (born March 23, 1964) is a former trooper of the Indiana State Police (ISP) who spent 13 years in prison after twice being wrongfully convicted of the murders of his wife, Kimberly, and his two young children at their home in Georgetown, Indiana, on September 28, 2000. He was released from custody in 2013 after his third trial resulted in an acquittal. Charles Boney is currently serving time for the murders of Camm's wife and two children.


title: David Camm

text: Police were summoned to the Camm residence shortly after 9:30p.m. on September 28, 2000, to find Kim, Bradley, and Jill Camm shot to death in the garage of their home. Camm told police that he returned home from playing basketball at a nearby church and found his wife shot to death on the garage floor. He then saw his daughter, Jill, sitting upright in the backseat, still strapped in her seatbelt. Brad was draped over the driver's side of the backseat as though he had been trying to get away from the assailant. Since both Kim and Jill had been shot through the head, Camm stated that he thought his son, who had no head injuries, might still be alive, so he entered the passenger front of the Bronco, went through the two front bucket seats and grabbed his son, taking him out, putting him on the garage floor, and giving him CPR. In the process, Camm had placed his left knee in the middle of the back seat, causing Jill's head and body to slump forward and to the left, contacting Camm's T-shirt. Bradley Camm was found lying on the garage floor and a later autopsy found he had been shot through his torso, severing his spine.


title: David Camm

text: Unseen in the darkened garage and not collected by evidence technicians was a gray sweatshirt bearing the name of BACKBONE in the collar. An ISP lab analyst later found unidentified female DNA on the front of the shirt and a private lab, hired by Camm's defense attorney Mike McDaniel, found unidentified male DNA in the collar. The blood and DNA of Kim Camm had also been discovered on that same sweatshirt.


title: David Camm

text: Many false leads hampered the investigation of the murders. The theory of the crime at the time of the arrest was that Camm returned home from playing basketball, shot his family, and attempted a clean-up before abandoning this and calling the Sellersburg State Police post for help. Rob Stites, a crime scene photographer who was believed by the police to be a blood-spatter analyst, told police there was a clean-up at the crime scene and high-velocity impact spatter on the shirt Camm was wearing. Another piece of seemingly incriminating evidence was a phone bill indicating Camm had made a phone call from the residence at 7:19p.m. on the evening of the murder. He claimed to be playing basketball at the church from 7:00p.m. to approximately 9:30p.m. that evening. Camm also had a history of infidelity, which police believed was the motive for the murders.


title: David Camm

text: Before long, the erroneous nature of several pieces of evidence was revealed. While the infidelity accusations were credible, it was discovered that most of the rest of the evidence on the probable cause affidavit was either inaccurate or unreliable. Based on the autopsies and other evidence, the time of death was determined to be around 8:00p.m., far earlier than the original estimate of 9:30p.m. giving Camm an alibi. The phone call that seemed to prove Camm was lying about his alibi was disproven. The phone company discovered the inaccuracy stemmed from the confusion regarding Indiana's complicated time zones. The call was made an hour earlier, at 6:19p.m.


title: David Camm

text: The clean-up at the crime scene and the blood spatter on David's shirt were also questioned. It was discovered that there was not, in fact, a crime scene clean-up but the usual separation of blood when exposed to air for a while. Several other areas that Stites had claimed to be high-velocity impact spatter found at the crime scene were inaccurate interpretations, calling into question Stites' abilities.


title: David Camm

text: Investigators stated that they investigated the foreign DNA on the sweatshirt found at the crime scene. However, there were no matches when it was run through CODIS.


title: David Camm

text: The discovery that the time of the murder was over an hour earlier than previously thought meant that Camm now had an alibi. Eleven witnesses told police he was with them playing basketball from 7:00p.m. until after 9:00p.m. The police changed their theory of the crime from a murder following the basketball game to one in which he sneaked out of the basketball game, committed the murders, and then slipped back in without being noticed.


title: David Camm

text: The case went to trial in the spring of 2002, with the blood spatter as the main forensic evidence and the affairs listed as the motive. The prosecution argued that the bloodstains on Camm's shirt were the result of a high-velocity impact spatter, proving he was the shooter. Defense experts assert that the pattern was caused by transfer when his shirt had contact with Jill's hair as he was removing his son from the vehicle. Bart Epstein, a bloodstain analyst for the defense, stated that there's some overlap between the appearance of different types of stains of blood spatter, and analysts need to consider other aspects of the stain to determine the cause. In this case, the number of bloodstains is as relevant as their size and shape. "Gunshot will produce hundreds of stains coming back. I've never seen, I believe the other experts for both the prosecution and the defense have indicated that they've never seen just seven small or eight small stains from a gunshot. I've never seen that," said Epstein.


title: David Camm

text: During the trials, Epstein and another blood analyst demonstrated how the blood stains could have gotten on the shirt by running T-shirts over wigs containing blood. Similar patterns to the one on Camm's shirt were produced. Nevertheless, he was convicted.


title: David Camm

text: In August 2004, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned the conviction. The court cited the trial judge's decision to allow testimony from a dozen women who claimed they had affairs with Camm or had been propositioned by him, which unfairly biased the jury because the prosecutor didn't adequately connect those relationships with the murders. In November 2004, prosecutor Keith Henderson refiled charges against Camm.


title: David Camm

text: In early 2005, the defense asked that DNA from two unknown persons found on the sweatshirt at the crime scene be run through CODIS again. Defense lawyers claim the prosecution refused until they were finally compelled to by a court order. A match was found for the male DNA and it was discovered that that particular DNA sample was never run prior to the first trial despite assurances from the prosecutor that the sample had been analyzed and returned no matches.


title: David Camm

text: Charles Boney, a convicted felon from nearby New Albany was identified as the owner of the sweatshirt. He was out on parole at the time of the crime, having been convicted of committing a series of armed attacks on women, several of them involving the theft of shoes. The most recent attack was the armed robbery and attempted abduction of three women at gunpoint.


title: David Camm

text: In some cases, there was evidence of stalking; some of Boney's previous victims had reported receiving harassing phone calls for a couple of months prior to the attacks asking them what they were wearing and if they were wearing high-heeled shoes. He had previously admitted to police that he had a foot fetish, a detail he later discussed with numerous news outlets. This detail was suspicious to the defense: Kim Camm's shoes were removed and lined up neatly on top of the vehicle in the midst of a messy crime scene. Kim had a series of bruises and abrasions to the top of both of her feet. Boney was interviewed and took a polygraph, in which he was determined to be deceptive. He denied any involvement, claiming that he donated the sweatshirt to charity and was cleared as a suspect. Two weeks later, his palm print was discovered on Kim's vehicle and he was arrested.


title: David Camm

text: The other DNA sample was later identified as belonging to Mala Singh Mattingly, Boney's then-girlfriend.


title: David Camm

text: It was discovered after his arrest that Stan Faith, the prosecutor in Camm's first trial, was Boney's attorney. During questioning, Boney asked to be represented by Faith but was told it was a conflict of interest. Boney admits to having discussed the case with Faith prior to becoming a suspect in the case. When asked about the failure of his office to identify Boney, Faith denied any intentional wrongdoing stating: "I regret it. I deeply regret it, but the myth that's growing out of this is false."


title: David Camm

text: Boney gave a number of conflicting confessions before he finally settled on one in which he was lured to the Camm residence under the guise of selling a gun to David Camm. He admitted to placing the shoes on the vehicle, but claims he did it only coincidentally and not related to his foot fetish. Boney claims that on September 28 he arrived at 7:00p.m. to meet Camm at the Camm residence to sell him a weapon—a meeting they arranged through chance meetings and without the use of a telephone. He hands Camm the weapon wrapped in his gray sweatshirt that was later found at the crime scene. Within seconds, Kim arrives home in her Bronco, Camm follows the Bronco into the garage and Boney hears three shots fired. Boney alleges that Camm then attempted to shoot him and stated "you did this". He claims that the gun either jammed or ran out of bullets. With Camm holding a now non-functioning weapon, Boney ran after Camm, chasing him back into the garage. Camm entered the house while Boney tripped and fell over Kim's shoes, which were off of her feet and on the garage floor. Boney stated that he picked up the shoes and placed them atop the Bronco. He then leaned against the vehicle to look at Brad and Jill, who were inside the vehicle, deceased. He explains that this is why his hand print was found on the vehicle.


title: David Camm

text: After Mattingly's DNA was identified, she was interviewed regarding her knowledge of the crime. She told police that Boney returned home after midnight on the night of the murders. "He was breathing really hard -- excited somewhat," Mattingly said. She said that he showed her a gun, had a bloody scraped knee and was sweating profusely. The next morning, she says, Boney asked her and his mother to watch news coverage regarding the murders. She testified that she left the room to shower while he and his mother began arguing. Her blood was found mixed with Brad and Kim Camm's blood on the sweatshirt at the crime scene.


title: David Camm

text: Following Boney's arrest in 2005, Camm and Boney were charged as co-conspirators in the murder of Kim and her children. Boney was tried first, convicted, and sentenced to 225 years in prison.


title: David Camm

text: Camm's trial began on January 17, 2006. With the extramarital affairs now inadmissible, new Floyd County prosecutor, Keith Henderson (a Republican who had defeated Democrat Stan Faith in the latter's bid for re-election) argued that Camm had been molesting his daughter and killed his wife and children to cover up the crime. The evidence was a single blunt force trauma injury to Jill's genitals. A medical examiner who testified for the defense disagreed with the state's theory that it was the result of sexual abuse, arguing the child's hymen was intact and it was just one of many blunt force trauma injuries sustained by being struck during the fatal attack. The prosecution presented Boney's story that Camm was the shooter but Boney was there to sell Camm a gun. Camm was convicted a second time on March 3, 2006, and was sentenced to life without parole.


title: David Camm

text: Camm appealed the conviction, citing the prejudicial nature of the molestation allegations and the lack of evidence linking the injuries to him. The Indiana Supreme Court granted a second reversal, stating "Missing from this record is any competent evidence of the premise that the defendant molested the child."


title: David Camm

text: The motive alleged by the prosecution in the third trial was the life insurance policies purchased by Kim Camm.


title: David Camm

text: Boney testified against Camm for the first time, accusing him of luring him out to the home before shooting his own family and then turning the gun on him.


title: David Camm

text: The third trial saw the introduction of new DNA evidence that was not presented in the first two trials. Dr. Richard Eikelenboom testified that he found touch DNA consistent with Boney in several places on the clothing of both Kim and Jill Camm. Boney's DNA was found on Kim Camm's panties, on the arm of her shirt above an abrasion on her arm thought to be the result of the struggle with her killer, on Kim's broken off fingernail, and on the stomach of Jill Camm's shirt. These results seem to discredit Boney's assertion that he never touched the victims. Defense co-counsel Stacy Uliana argued that if Boney physically attacked the family, which the DNA seemed to suggest, it was unlikely that Camm was the shooter.


title: David Camm

text: With the touch DNA evidence placing Boney in a more active role in the crime, the prosecution introduced yet another theory of the crime near the end of the third trial when Judge Jonathan Dartt made a controversial ruling that the jury instructions could include an instruction allowing the jury to find Camm guilty if they believed he "aided and abetted" Boney during the murders. This instruction applied if the jury believed Camm had involvement in the murders, but was not the shooter. The defense strenuously objected to the inclusion of this instruction, citing not only the complete lack of evidence that Camm had ever even met Boney, but that the instruction violated the law against double jeopardy; Camm had been acquitted on conspiracy charges during the second trial.


title: David Camm

text: Louisville defense attorney Steve Romines criticized the move stating: "This aiding and abetting: they don't have any evidence to support it. It's really inconsistent with their proof."


title: David Camm

text: Camm's defense attorneys argued this new theory of the crime essentially threw out the blood spatter evidence—the only major piece of forensic evidence tying Camm to the crime. Following the verdict, Richard Kammen stated: "All of a sudden to say 'well if all our evidence is wrong, go ahead and convict him anyway' this jury was a smart jury, they clearly saw through that."


title: David Camm

text: On October 24, 2013, the jury found Camm not guilty of all charges. Camm's attorneys described it as "vindication". By then, NBC News reported that costs had reached an "estimated $4.5 million". Boney was later convicted of the murders and sentenced to 225 years imprisonment.


title: David Camm

text: The public reaction to the verdict has been mixed. Many Louisville and Southern Indiana residents who lived through the extensive media coverage were surprised by the not guilty verdict in the third trial. In reaction to the verdict, a local resident stated "A lot of people are — just like I am — completely shocked, and a lot of people think that he should not be out." Nationally, the Camm case has garnered a lot of attention from wrongful conviction advocacy groups who believe that the previous convictions were miscarriages of justice.


title: David Camm

text: Bill Lamb, President and General Manager of WDRB, the Fox affiliate in Louisville, Kentucky, issued a public apology to Camm stating: "Seven years ago, I did a Point of View criticizing David Camm's attorneys for seeking yet another appeal right after his second conviction for the murder of his family. I wondered when Indiana taxpayers would get to stop paying fortunes in trial expenses, and why any accused killer could possibly deserve so many 'do-overs'. Well, now we have the answer: When they're not guilty." After the third trial, a juror, in response to the question "Do you think that they intentionally wanted to convict an innocent man?" responded "I would hope not but…I sense that the State Police had a hard time admitting that they had made a mistake."


title: David Camm

text: The case has been covered widely in the media. In January 2014, "Dateline NBC" aired a two-hour special entitled "Mystery on Lockart Road" and the case has been covered three times on "48 Hours" on CBS. Two books have been written about the case: "One Deadly Night" was published in 2005, and "Searching For Justice" in 2013, as well as a chapter in Jane Velez-Mitchell's book "Secrets Can Be Murder: The Killer Next Door".


title: David Camm

text: The heavy reliance on blood spatter evidence in this case was widely criticized. In his review of the case, former federal prosecutor Kent Wicker said "Blood spatter evidence has come under a lot of criticism in the past few years. In 2009 The National Academy of Sciences issued a report criticizing the scientific foundation of that." The report released by The National Academy of Sciences calls for more standardization within a number of forensic fields including blood spatter analysis. The report highlights the tendency of blood spatter analysts to overstate the reliability of their methods in the court room.


title: David Camm

text: Dr. Robert Shaler, founding director of the Penn State Forensic Science Program, decried blood spatter analysis as unreliable in the Camm case. "The problem in this case is the number of stains are minimal," he said. "I think you're really on the edge of reliability." Dr. Shaler said blood stain pattern analysis as a science is "essentially guesswork". The problem with blood spatter analysis is that "you do not have the supporting underlying science" to back up your conclusions. All of the blood spatter analysts involved in the case from the start (aside from Stites) have been "experts" in the traditional sense. The problem is "We have two opinions in this case. That, in essence, is a 50 percent error rate."


title: David Camm

text: Evidence of misconduct regarding the blood spatter was uncovered when, in the third trial, Stites testified for the defense, admitting he had perjured himself in the first two trials. Stites' assertion that the spots on David Camm's shirt were high velocity impact spray (HVIS) was the cornerstone of the probable cause affidavit that led to Camm's arrest and his testimony at the first two trials helped the prosecution win Camm's convictions. He had previously testified that he was an expert blood spatter pattern analyst and a professor at Portland State University who was in the process of attaining a Ph.D. — credentials which were fabrications.


title: David Camm

text: He asserts that Floyd County prosecutor Stan Faith helped create those fraudulent credentials. During the third trial, he outlined how he was sent to the crime scene by Rod Englert to photograph and take notes. Despite his lack of formal training in the field or work experience as a crime scene analyst, his notes ended up being used in the probable cause affidavit, with him being listed as a "crime scene reconstructionist", a title that did not apply to him. The defense pointed out several aspects of Stites' notes that were later proven to be false including "HVIS" on the garage door, later proven to be a petroleum based-product and not blood. Stites' opinion that there was a clean-up at the crime scene involving bleach was also incorrect. The confusion came from the unfamiliar look of the blood after the serum had separated from the blood cells. Regarding his actions, he commented, "It was a dumb thing...In hindsight, I would have kept my mouth shut." Stites was not charged with perjury for his testimony in the previous two trials.


title: David Camm

text: A number of legal experts have criticized the way the case was handled. Thomas Schornhorst, a professor emeritus of the Indiana University's Mauer School of Law, said that cases had been overturned repeatedly because they have "pushed the envelope" with other evidence, fearing that they would not get a conviction on bloodstain evidence alone.


title: David Camm

text: Shawn Boyne, of Indiana University's Robert H. McKinney School of Law, highlighted the Camm trials as an example of the problems within the American justice system. Boyne stated that the judges in these trials allowed the prosecutors to present "specious claims of motive designed to paint the defendant with a broad stroke of guilt and moral condemnation and overcome a lack of physical evidence". Boyne stated "the state overreached and that overreaching did not serve the cause of justice".


title: David Camm

text: Louisville defense attorney Steve Romines criticized the prosecution's decision to change the theory of the crime numerous times instead of dropping the charges: "The problem is, in the first trial, David Camm's the shooter and acted alone. The second trial, David Camm's the shooter and Boney aided and abetted him. And now in this trial, Boney is the shooter and David Camm aided and abetted him. In three trials, with the same proof, they've had three different theories", adding "Proof doesn't change. If you have proof beyond a reasonable doubt, you argue the same thing throughout. You don't have to constantly shift your theory to fit your proof."


title: David Camm

text: Camm's defense team has long been critical of their inability to present evidence of Boney's involvement, particularly when the prosecution was allowed to speculate about Camm's motives. Despite Boney's history of stalking and armed violence against women, his past crimes were ruled inadmissible. Local criticism was expressed during the trial in Boonville, Indiana. National news reported that an act of vandalism was carried out by suspected local individuals. The vandals spray-painted "fry Camm make bacon" in the area outside of the Warrick County judicial center.


title: David Camm

text: By the third trial, the backbone of the defense's case was the evidence of police and prosecutorial misconduct in the case. The defense argued that the investigation was riddled by critical mistakes, both in the collection of evidence and in the investigation of Boney as a suspect. The sweatshirt found at the crime scene revealed Boney's DNA, his girlfriend's DNA, his prison nickname, and his Department of Corrections ID number. Kim Camm's shoes were also lined up on the top of the vehicle. Boney has a long history of fetish-driven assaults that included the theft of shoes. It is unclear how the investigative team missed these pieces of evidence during the initial investigation. The defense team was told that the evidence had been thoroughly investigated.


title: David Camm

text: The defense argued that the police should have also taken notice when Boney's story went through so many revisions. They noted that many details of his story were first suggested by police detectives in recorded interviews, notably the detail regarding the gun wrapped in the sweatshirt. Other details of his story were changed following discussions with detectives who pointed out the discrepancies. Defense witness Dr. Kim Rossmo, a criminal justice professor at Texas State University, testified that Boney was never investigated properly and that his claims were never independently verified. Instead of treating Boney like a suspect, "They treated him as an anomaly to their theory, that somehow had to be explained away", adding, "I think there were six different confessions from Mr. Boney. I don't think Boney ever told the truth about what happened... he's only telling the police enough to get around the last particular contradiction." He testified that the majority of the oversights during the investigation were caused by confirmation bias: a tendency to believe information that confirms your preconceived notions and place less weight on information that doesn't. Rossmo argued that the police were swayed by the early misleading evidence and came to the conclusion that Camm was guilty before any of the forensic evidence was examined. He believes this phenomenon caused the investigators to ignore the DNA on the sweatshirt and when Boney was finally identified, they downplayed the significance and attempted to make it fit within their established theory of the crime. Ultimately, the jurors in the third trial believed the defense's criticisms of the investigation: "They tried to make the evidence fit their theory of the case," a juror said in interview.


title: David Camm

text: Lead defense attorney Richard Kammen accused police of feeding Boney a false story designed to implicate Camm and coerce Boney into testify against Camm by playing on his fear of racial prejudice within the criminal justice system by telling him that a black man accused of killing a white family would get the death penalty if he didn't cooperate. During interrogations, he was reminded on several occasions of the likelihood of getting the death penalty on the basis of his race and that the best way to avoid the death penalty was to testify against Camm. The defense cited a suspicious series of undocumented and unrecorded phone calls—33 in all—between Boney and the Floyd County Prosecutor's office in the two-week span between his DNA being identified and his arrest.


title: David Camm

text: Another allegation that surfaced involved a distant relative of Boney named Myron Wilkerson (1959-2012). Wilkerson was a police officer but was not assigned to the case. He met with Boney privately at the station following his arrest. Two months later, it was learned that Wilkerson had removed Kim Camm's phone from the evidence room without signing it out and taken it to his residence. When the phone was located and returned to the police, it was found to have been wiped clean of fingerprints. Wilkerson was not charged with evidence tampering for his actions.


title: David Camm

text: In addition to testimony by Rob Stites alleging subornation of perjury, several other allegations of witness tampering surfaced during the case. Lynn Scamahorn, a DNA analyst from the Indiana State Police claimed that during the first trial, the prosecutor, Stan Faith, threatened her when she refused to perjure herself and testify that she had found Camm's DNA on Boney's sweatshirt. Fingerprint analyst John Singleton reported a similar encounter. He claims Faith wanted him to "shade the truth" while testifying regarding the then unidentified palm print on Kim Camm's Bronco that was later determined to belong to Boney.


title: David Camm

text: The defense also accused the state of witness tampering and presenting false and misleading testimony regarding the molestation allegations. During the first trial, the prosecution alleged that the injuries Jill sustained happened during the attack, as testified to by the state medical examiner. During the second trial, they altered their timeline to implicate Camm instead of Boney on the basis of testimony by a single witness who changed their theory at the last minute. "Dr. Spivack, before in her deposition, told us that the injuries occurred near the time of death due to the painful nature of them. Today, on the stand, she backtracked to fit the state's theory." said defense attorney Stacy Uliana. Following the verdict, the jurors explained that they made their decision largely on the molestation allegations, and specifically, on the testimony of Spivack, who testified that the child was molested several hours prior to her death instead of during the attack.


title: David Camm

text: DNA analyst Lynn Scamahorn claimed prosecutor Faith, also attempted to get her to commit perjury by testifying that lab results indicated the comforter from the master bedroom in the Camm household contained vaginal secretions or saliva from Jill to help bolster their claims that Jill had been molested; no such test exists.


title: David Camm

text: The fraudulent testimony of Stites and the attempted coercion of Scamahorn were featured in a forensic textbook called "Forensic Fraud: Evaluating Law Enforcement and Forensic Science Cultures in the Context of Examiner Misconduct".


title: David Camm

text: In December 2013, Camm gave his first local media interview following the verdict, and attempted to clear up the misconceptions regarding Boney's criminal history.


title: David Camm

text: Camm also announced that he had been hired as a case coordinator for Investigating Innocence, a national nonprofit that provides criminal-defense investigations for inmates. Camm reports that he has forged a friendship with the third-trial jurors. In early December 2013, he met with jurors from the third trial over dinner at a café in Lebanon, Indiana.


title: David Camm

text: Camm was reportedly facing a civil suit filed by his late wife's parents over the estimated $625,000 Camm is set to collect from life insurance and Kim Camm's 401K fund. Frank and Janice Renn steadfastly maintain their belief in Camm's guilt.


title: David Camm

text: In May 2014, Camm served notice of his intention to sue Floyd County and the State of Indiana for $30 million.


title: David Camm

text: Camm settled with Floyd County for $450,000. In January 2018, Camm's civil rights lawsuit against members of the Indiana State Police, prosecutors, and other officials, was dismissed by US District Court judge Tanya Walton Pratt. In explaining the ruling, the court explained it believed that there had been probable cause to charge Camm with murder and that due to Indiana's Tort Claims Act, some of the defendants were immune to liability.


title: David Camm

text: On September 10, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the District Court in part stating, "In sum, we reverse and remand for trial on Camm’s Fourth Amendment claim against Stites, Englert, Faith, and Clemons to the extent that the claim rests on the first probable-cause affidavit. Trial is also warranted on the "Brady" claim against the same four defendants for suppression of Stites’s lack of qualifications and against Faith and Clemons for suppression of the facts surrounding their handling of the DNA profile on Boney’s sweatshirt. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment." The reversal allowed Camm to sue for false arrest.


title: David Camm

text: In 2005, prosecution witness Rod Englert filed a lawsuit against several of the defense witnesses in the libel case. The lawsuit accused the defendants of saying Englert embellished his credentials, misrepresented his qualifications and experience, and provided false testimony in court. Englert had testified for the prosecution that Camm had high velocity blood spatter on the shirt he was wearing the night of the murders.


title: David Camm

text: The case was covered extensively by the media in the southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, area, and by national news programs including "Nancy Grace", "48 Hours", and "Dateline NBC". The case is noted for the extensive allegations of police and prosecutorial misconduct, including Brady violations, witness tampering, evidence tampering, perjury and an overall shoddy investigation and has been detailed in numerous forensic textbooks.


title: David Camm

text: In 2022, Camm's former defense investigator, Gary M. Dunn, a 27-year FBI agent, released his book, "Their Bloody Lies & Persecution of David Camm, Part I", which details how two sets of ISP investigators jumped to erroneous and then outright false conclusions, assisted by a faux blood stain "expert" and supposed crime scene re-constructionist, while being directed by a politicized county prosecutor, Stan Faith.


title: Rake Yohn

text: Edward Webb (born 1975), known by his stage name Rake Yohn (), is an American television personality and former member of the CKY crew. He was a regular in the "CKY" videos and MTV's reality comedy series "Viva La Bam" and also had occasional appearances in "Jackass".


title: Rake Yohn

text: Yohn was born in 1975 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to Australian parents. He attended Penn State University and works as a chemist specializing in synthetic materials. He is the older brother of Art Webb, an occasional CKY crew member. Yohn is known for his long hair, love for metal music, and strong dislike of mustard. His stage name was given to him by longtime friend Bam Margera.


title: Rake Yohn

text: Yohn's face is on the cover of "CKY2K" as well as the cover of the 1999 reissue of CKY's "Volume 2" album. The image was also used on a limited edition Tech Deck released exclusively for the game "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3". On the CKY DVD "", Yohn complained that "his face was on DVDs, shirts and Tech Decks, and he hasn't seen a dime for any of them."


title: Rake Yohn

text: In 2009, Yohn, his brother Art Webb, and Brandon DiCamillo provided voice-overs for the Xbox Live Arcade game "Trials HD".


title: Rake Yohn

text: In March 2009, Yohn married radio personality Melissa Carr and the couple has since welcomed two sons.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: Bossam: Steal the Fate () is a South Korean television series directed by Kwon Seok-jang and starring Jung Il-woo, Kwon Yu-ri, Shin Hyun-soo and Kim Tae-woo. Set in the Joseon Dynasty under Gwanghaegun, it depicts the change of fate of a bossam-man Ba-woo, when he mistakenly kidnaps the widowed daughter of the King. MBN's 10th anniversary special drama premiered on May 1, 2021, and aired on every Saturday and Sunday from 21:40 (KST) till July 4, 2021. It is available for streaming on Wavve streaming media.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: "Bossam: Steal the Fate" ended by recording an average viewership of 9.8% nationwide in its last episode, therefore becoming the highest-rated drama in the network's history, a record which was previously held by "Graceful Family".


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: Bossam was a custom in the Joseon period, in which a bachelor wrapped up a widow in a blanket at night and made her his wife.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: This custom changes the fate of Ba-woo (Jung Il-woo), when he mistakenly kidnaps Yi Su-kyeong (Kwon Yu-ri), the King's widowed daughter.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: On June 29, 2020 Jung Il-woo was confirmed to play lead role. On August 26, 2020 Kwon Yu-ri joined the cast as the female lead. On 11 November, Shin Hyun-soo's agency reported that he was considering a proposal to appear in the new historical drama. In March 2021, the lineup was confirmed.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: On November 23, 2020, it was reported that filming was stopped due to COVID-19 pandemic. An official from production of the drama quoted, "The filming was stopped due to the occurrence of a confirmed case. All the cast and staff are in self-quarantine."


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: MBN's first historical series, the 10th anniversary special drama premiered on MBN on May 1, 2021, and streamed simultaneously on Wavve.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: On its first episode, "Bossam Steal Fate" set a new viewership rating record for an MBN drama premiere.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: As per Nielsen Korea, the 11th episode aired on June 5, 2021, logged a national average viewership of 8% with 1.61 million viewers, thereby breaking its own highest ratings.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: According to Nielsen Korea, the 20th episode of "Bossam: Steal the Fate," aired on July 4, scored an average nationwide rating of 9.8% with a peak of 11.2%, and has set a new record for the highest viewership ever achieved by any drama in MBN's history.


title: Bossam: Steal the Fate

text: Recently, on the OTT platform Viki, which is being serviced in the Americas, the Middle East, Oceania and Asia, "Bossam: Steal the Fate" has risen to the Top 10 US Market Content ranking, as well as scored 9.4/10 in the service user evaluation. With the enthusiastic support of overseas fans, subtitles were created in 11 languages. In Taiwan, it's available for streaming on the popular platform from May 1, 2021. The viewers rating is 4.8 out of 5. It is scheduled to be broadcast on GTV, one of Taiwan's four major broadcasters and , a Japanese broadcaster specialising in Korean wave, and will be serviced in the second half of this year on terrestrial broadcasters in Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore.


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart, invented by Phillip H. Smith (1905–1987) and independently by Mizuhashi Tosaku, is a graphical calculator or nomogram designed for electrical and electronics engineers specializing in radio frequency (RF) engineering to assist in solving problems with transmission lines and matching circuits. The Smith chart can be used to simultaneously display multiple parameters including impedances, admittances, reflection coefficients, formula_1 scattering parameters, noise figure circles, constant gain contours and regions for unconditional stability, including mechanical vibrations analysis. The Smith chart is most frequently used at or within the unity radius region. However, the remainder is still mathematically relevant, being used, for example, in oscillator design and stability analysis.


title: Smith chart

text: While the use of paper Smith charts for solving the complex mathematics involved in matching problems has been largely replaced by software based methods, the Smith chart is still a very useful method of showing how RF parameters behave at one or more frequencies, an alternative to using tabular information.


title: Smith chart

text: Thus most RF circuit analysis software includes a Smith chart option for the display of results and all but the simplest impedance measuring instruments can plot measured results on a Smith chart display.


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart is a mathematical transformation of the two-dimensional Cartesian complex plane. Complex numbers with positive real parts map inside the circle. Those with negative real parts map outside the circle.


title: Smith chart

text: If we are dealing only with impedances with non-negative resistive components, our interest is focused on the area inside the circle.


title: Smith chart

text: where formula_3 i.e., the complex impedance, formula_4 normalized by the reference impedance, formula_5. The impedance Smith chart is then an Argand plot of impedances thus transformed. Impedances with non-negative resistive components will appear inside a circle with unit radius; the origin will correspond to the reference impedance, formula_5.


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart is plotted on the complex reflection coefficient plane in two dimensions and may be scaled in normalised impedance (the most common), normalised admittance or both, using different colours to distinguish between them. These are often known as the Z, Y and YZ Smith charts respectively. Normalised scaling allows the Smith chart to be used for problems involving any characteristic or system impedance which is represented by the center point of the chart. The most commonly used normalization impedance is 50 ohms. Once an answer is obtained through the graphical constructions described below, it is straightforward to convert between normalised impedance (or normalised admittance) and the corresponding unnormalized value by multiplying by the characteristic impedance (admittance). Reflection coefficients can be read directly from the chart as they are unitless parameters.


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart has a scale around its circumference or periphery which is graduated in wavelengths and degrees. The wavelengths scale is used in distributed component problems and represents the distance measured along the transmission line connected between the generator or source and the load to the point under consideration. The degrees scale represents the angle of the voltage reflection coefficient at that point. The Smith chart may also be used for lumped-element matching and analysis problems.


title: Smith chart

text: Use of the Smith chart and the interpretation of the results obtained using it requires a good understanding of AC circuit theory and transmission-line theory, both of which are prerequisites for RF engineers.


title: Smith chart

text: As impedances and admittances change with frequency, problems using the Smith chart can only be solved manually using one frequency at a time, the result being represented by a point. This is often adequate for narrow band applications (typically up to about 5% to 10% bandwidth) but for wider bandwidths it is usually necessary to apply Smith chart techniques at more than one frequency across the operating frequency band. Provided the frequencies are sufficiently close, the resulting Smith chart points may be joined by straight lines to create a locus.


title: Smith chart

text: A locus of points on a Smith chart covering a range of frequencies can be used to visually represent:


title: Smith chart

text: The accuracy of the Smith chart is reduced for problems involving a large locus of impedances or admittances, although the scaling can be magnified for individual areas to accommodate these.


title: Smith chart

text: A transmission line with a characteristic impedance of formula_7 may be universally considered to have a characteristic admittance of formula_8 where


title: Smith chart

text: Any impedance, formula_10 expressed in ohms, may be normalised by dividing it by the characteristic impedance, so the normalised impedance using the lower case "z" is given by


title: Smith chart

text: The SI unit of impedance is the ohm with the symbol of the upper case Greek letter omega (Ω) and the SI unit for admittance is the siemens with the symbol of an upper case letter S. Normalised impedance and normalised admittance are dimensionless. Actual impedances and admittances must be normalised before using them on a Smith chart. Once the result is obtained it may be de-normalised to obtain the actual result.


title: Smith chart

text: Using transmission-line theory, if a transmission line is terminated in an impedance (formula_10) which differs from its characteristic impedance (formula_7), a standing wave will be formed on the line comprising the resultant of both the incident or forward (formula_15) and the reflected or reversed (formula_16) waves. Using complex exponential notation:


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart is used with one frequency (formula_31) at a time, and only for one moment (formula_32) at a time, so the temporal part of the phase (formula_19) is fixed. All terms are actually multiplied by this to obtain the instantaneous phase, but it is conventional and understood to omit it. Therefore,


title: Smith chart

text: where formula_25 and formula_26 are respectively the forward and reverse voltage amplitudes at the load.


title: Smith chart

text: The complex voltage reflection coefficient formula_38 is defined as the ratio of the reflected wave to the incident (or forward) wave. Therefore,


title: Smith chart

text: For a uniform transmission line (in which formula_40 is constant), the complex reflection coefficient of a standing wave varies according to the position on the line. If the line is lossy (formula_29 is non-zero) this is represented on the Smith chart by a spiral path. In most Smith chart problems however, losses can be assumed negligible (formula_42) and the task of solving them is greatly simplified. For the loss free case therefore, the expression for complex reflection coefficient becomes


title: Smith chart

text: where formula_44 is the reflection coefficient at the load, and formula_27 is the line length from the load to the location where the reflection coefficient is measured. The phase constant formula_30 may also be written as


title: Smith chart

text: This equation shows that, for a standing wave, the complex reflection coefficient and impedance repeats every half wavelength along the transmission line. The complex reflection coefficient is generally simply referred to as reflection coefficient. The outer circumferential scale of the Smith chart represents the distance from the generator to the load scaled in wavelengths and is therefore scaled from zero to 0.50 .


title: Smith chart

text: If formula_50 and formula_51 are the voltage across and the current entering the termination at the end of the transmission line respectively, then


title: Smith chart

text: These are the equations which are used to construct the Smith chart. Mathematically speaking formula_58 and formula_59 are related via a Möbius transformation.


title: Smith chart

text: Both formula_58 and formula_59 are expressed in complex numbers without any units. They both change with frequency so for any particular measurement, the frequency at which it was performed must be stated together with the characteristic impedance.


title: Smith chart

text: formula_58 may be expressed in magnitude and angle on a polar diagram. Any actual reflection coefficient must have a magnitude of less than or equal to unity so, at the test frequency, this may be expressed by a point inside a circle of unity radius. The Smith chart is actually constructed on such a polar diagram. The Smith chart scaling is designed in such a way that reflection coefficient can be converted to normalised impedance or vice versa. Using the Smith chart, the normalised impedance may be obtained with appreciable accuracy by plotting the point representing the reflection coefficient "treating the Smith chart as a polar diagram" and then reading its value directly using the characteristic Smith chart scaling. This technique is a graphical alternative to substituting the values in the equations.


title: Smith chart

text: By substituting the expression for how reflection coefficient changes along an unmatched loss-free transmission line


title: Smith chart

text: for the loss free case, into the equation for normalised impedance in terms of reflection coefficient


title: Smith chart

text: formula_67 is the impedance 'seen' at the input of a loss free transmission line of length formula_68 terminated with an impedance formula_69


title: Smith chart

text: Versions of the transmission-line equation may be similarly derived for the admittance loss free case and for the impedance and admittance lossy cases.


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart graphical equivalent of using the transmission-line equation is to normalise formula_70 to plot the resulting point on a Smith chart and to draw a circle through that point centred at the Smith chart centre. The path along the arc of the circle represents how the impedance changes whilst moving along the transmission line. In this case the circumferential (wavelength) scaling must be used, remembering that this is the wavelength within the transmission line and may differ from the free space wavelength.


title: Smith chart

text: If a polar diagram is mapped on to a cartesian coordinate system it is conventional to measure angles relative to the positive -axis using a counterclockwise direction for positive angles. The magnitude of a complex number is the length of a straight line drawn from the origin to the point representing it. The Smith chart uses the same convention, noting that, in the normalised impedance plane, the positive -axis extends from the center of the Smith chart at formula_71 to the point formula_72 The region above the x-axis represents inductive impedances (positive imaginary parts) and the region below the -axis represents capacitive impedances (negative imaginary parts).


title: Smith chart

text: If the termination is perfectly matched, the reflection coefficient will be zero, represented effectively by a circle of zero radius or in fact a point at the centre of the Smith chart. If the termination was a perfect open circuit or short circuit the magnitude of the reflection coefficient would be unity, all power would be reflected and the point would lie at some point on the unity circumference circle.


title: Smith chart

text: The normalised impedance Smith chart is composed of two families of circles: circles of constant normalised resistance and circles of constant normalised reactance. In the complex reflection coefficient plane the Smith chart occupies a circle of unity radius centred at the origin. In cartesian coordinates therefore the circle would pass through the points (+1,0) and (−1,0) on the -axis and the points (0,+1) and (0,−1) on the -axis.


title: Smith chart

text: Substituting these into the equation relating normalised impedance and complex reflection coefficient:


title: Smith chart

text: This is the equation which describes how the complex reflection coefficient changes with the normalised impedance and may be used to construct both families of circles.


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart is constructed in a similar way to the Smith chart case but by expressing values of voltage reflection coefficient in terms of normalised admittance instead of normalised impedance. The normalised admittance is the reciprocal of the normalised impedance , so


title: Smith chart

text: The Smith chart appears like the normalised impedance, type but with the graphic nested circles rotated through 180°, but the numeric scale remaining in its same position (not rotated) as the chart.


title: Smith chart

text: for real formula_83 and formula_84 gives an analogous result, although with more and different minus signs:


title: Smith chart

text: The region above the -axis represents capacitive admittances and the region below the -axis represents inductive admittances. Capacitive admittances have positive imaginary parts and inductive admittances have negative imaginary parts.


title: Smith chart

text: Again, if the termination is perfectly matched the reflection coefficient will be zero, represented by a 'circle' of zero radius or in fact a point at the centre of the Smith chart. If the termination was a perfect open or short circuit the magnitude of the voltage reflection coefficient would be unity, all power would be reflected and the point would lie at some point on the unity circumference circle of the Smith chart.


title: Smith chart

text: A point with a reflection coefficient magnitude 0.63 and angle 60° represented in polar form as formula_86, is shown as point P on the Smith chart. To plot this, one may use the circumferential (reflection coefficient) angle scale to find the formula_87 graduation and a ruler to draw a line passing through this and the centre of the Smith chart. The length of the line would then be scaled to P assuming the Smith chart radius to be unity. For example, if the actual radius measured from the paper was 100 mm, the length OP would be 63 mm.


title: Smith chart

text: The following table gives some similar examples of points which are plotted on the "Z" Smith chart. For each, the reflection coefficient is given in polar form together with the corresponding normalised impedance in rectangular form. The conversion may be read directly from the Smith chart or by substitution into the equation.


title: Smith chart

text: In RF circuit and matching problems sometimes it is more convenient to work with admittances (representing conductances and susceptances) and sometimes it is more convenient to work with impedances (representing resistances and reactances). Solving a typical matching problem will often require several changes between both types of Smith chart, using normalised impedance for series elements and normalised admittances for parallel elements. For these a dual (normalised) impedance and admittance Smith chart may be used. Alternatively, one type may be used and the scaling converted to the other when required. In order to change from normalised impedance to normalised admittance or vice versa, the point representing the value of reflection coefficient under consideration is moved through exactly 180 degrees at the same radius. For example, the point P1 in the example representing a reflection coefficient of formula_86 has a normalised impedance of formula_89. To graphically change this to the equivalent normalised admittance point, say Q1, a line is drawn with a ruler from P1 through the Smith chart centre to Q1, an equal radius in the opposite direction. This is equivalent to moving the point through a circular path of exactly 180 degrees. Reading the value from the Smith chart for Q1, remembering that the scaling is now in normalised admittance, gives formula_90. Performing the calculation


title: Smith chart

text: Once a transformation from impedance to admittance has been performed, the scaling changes to normalised admittance until a later transformation back to normalised impedance is performed.


title: Smith chart

text: The table below shows examples of normalised impedances and their equivalent normalised admittances obtained by rotation of the point through 180°. Again, these may be obtained either by calculation or using a Smith chart as shown, converting between the normalised impedance and normalised admittances planes.


title: Smith chart

text: The choice of whether to use the "Z" Smith chart or the "Y" Smith chart for any particular calculation depends on which is more convenient. Impedances in series and admittances in parallel add while impedances in parallel and admittances in series are related by a reciprocal equation. If formula_92 is the equivalent impedance of series impedances and formula_93 is the equivalent impedance of parallel impedances, then


title: Smith chart

text: Dealing with the reciprocals, especially in complex numbers, is more time consuming and error-prone than using linear addition. In general therefore, most RF engineers work in the plane where the circuit topography supports linear addition. The following table gives the complex expressions for impedance (real and normalised) and admittance (real and normalised) for each of the three basic passive circuit elements: resistance, inductance and capacitance. Using just the characteristic impedance (or characteristic admittance) and test frequency an equivalent circuit can be found and vice versa.


title: Smith chart

text: Distributed matching becomes feasible and is sometimes required when the physical size of the matching components is more than about 5% of a wavelength at the operating frequency. Here the electrical behaviour of many lumped components becomes rather unpredictable. This occurs in microwave circuits and when high power requires large components in shortwave, FM and TV Broadcasting,


title: Smith chart

text: For distributed components the effects on reflection coefficient and impedance of moving along the transmission line must be allowed for using the outer circumferential scale of the Smith chart which is calibrated in wavelengths.


title: Smith chart

text: The following example shows how a transmission line, terminated with an arbitrary load, may be matched at one frequency either with a series or parallel reactive component in each case connected at precise positions.


title: Smith chart

text: Supposing a loss-free air-spaced transmission line of characteristic impedance formula_98, operating at a frequency of 800 MHz, is terminated with a circuit comprising a 17.5 formula_99 resistor in series with a 6.5 nanohenry (6.5 nH) inductor. How may the line be matched?


title: Smith chart

text: This is plotted on the Z Smith chart at point P. The line OP is extended through to the wavelength scale where it intersects at the point formula_105. As the transmission line is loss free, a circle centred at the centre of the Smith chart is drawn through the point P to represent the path of the constant magnitude reflection coefficient due to the termination. At point P the circle intersects with the unity circle of constant normalised resistance at


title: Smith chart

text: The extension of the line OP intersects the wavelength scale at formula_107, therefore the distance from the termination to this point on the line is given by


title: Smith chart

text: Since the transmission line is air-spaced, the wavelength at 800 MHz in the line is the same as that in free space and is given by


title: Smith chart

text: where formula_110 is the velocity of electromagnetic radiation in free space and formula_23 is the frequency in hertz. The result gives formula_112, making the position of the matching component 29.6 mm from the load.


title: Smith chart

text: As the Smith chart is still in the normalised impedance plane, from the table above a series capacitor formula_115 is required where


title: Smith chart

text: To match the termination at 800 MHz, a series capacitor of 2.6 pF must be placed in series with the transmission line at a distance of 29.6 mm from the termination.


title: Smith chart

text: An alternative shunt match could be calculated after performing a Smith chart transformation from normalised impedance to normalised admittance. Point Q is the equivalent of P but expressed as a normalised admittance. Reading from the Smith chart scaling, remembering that this is now a normalised admittance gives


title: Smith chart

text: (In fact this value is not actually used). However, the extension of the line OQ through to the wavelength scale gives formula_120. The earliest point at which a shunt conjugate match could be introduced, moving towards the generator, would be at Q, the same position as the previous P, but this time representing a normalised admittance given by


title: Smith chart

text: From the table it can be seen that a negative admittance would require an inductor, connected in parallel with the transmission line. If its value is formula_125, then


title: Smith chart

text: A suitable inductive shunt matching would therefore be a 6.5 nH inductor in parallel with the line positioned at 123 mm from the load.


title: Smith chart

text: A generalization of the Smith chart to a three dimensional sphere, based on the extended complex plane (Riemann sphere) and inversive geometry, was proposed by Muller, "et al" in 2011.


title: Smith chart

text: The chart unifies the passive and active circuit design on little and big circles on the surface of a unit sphere, using a stereographic conformal map of the reflection coefficient's generalized plane. Considering the point at infinity, the space of the new chart includes all possible loads: The north pole is the perfectly matched point, while the south pole is the completely mismatched point.


title: Smith chart

text: The 3D Smith chart has been further extended outside of the spherical surface, for plotting various scalar parameters, such as group delay, quality factors, or frequency orientation. The visual frequency orientation (clockwise vs. counter-clockwise) enables one to differentiate between a negative / capacitance and positive / inductive whose reflection coefficients are the same when plotted on a 2D Smith chart, but whose orientations diverge as frequency increases.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Ford Laser is a compact car, originally a subcompact car in the first three generations, which was sold by Ford in Asia, Oceania, and parts of South America and Africa. It has generally been available as a sedan or hatchback, although convertible, wagon and pick-up versions have also been available in different markets. The sedan, and briefly station wagon, versions were badged Ford Meteor in Australia between 1981 and 1987. The Ford Meteor name was also used in South Africa.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Ford Laser was a restyled version of the Familia/323 models produced by Mazda in Japan from 1980 onwards. Ford had acquired a 25% stake in Mazda in 1979.


title: Ford Laser

text: Platform and assembly-line sharing with the locally produced Mazda Familia in Japan allowed the Laser in that market to be offered with a plethora of engine, paint and trim configurations not available anywhere else in the world. This was most notably evident during the 1980s with multiple turbocharged variants, unique bodyshells such as the cabriolet, and full-time 4WD models all available years before their debuts in other markets (and in some cases, never making it offshore at all). Along with the Japanese produced Ford Telstar and Ford Festiva, the Laser was sold at special "Autorama" dealerships.


title: Ford Laser

text: In Australia and New Zealand, where Ford was seen as a local brand, the locally assembled Laser outsold its Mazda twin, the 323, especially in Australia, where the 323 was imported. According to research carried out by Ford Australia in 1984, a third of Laser buyers were unaware that the Ford model was based on the Mazda 323.


title: Ford Laser

text: However, in neighbouring Asian markets, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, as well as Japan itself, the reverse was the case, although pooling resources with Mazda allowed Ford to maintain a foothold in the region. This was also the case in South America, South Africa, and the Caribbean, where the Laser was also sold, in many cases being locally assembled.


title: Ford Laser

text: The KA Laser (Australian model code), built under license from Mazda, was introduced in March 1981, replacing the rear-wheel-drive Escort in Australia. The range was available as a hatchback, in both three- and five-door varieties, as well as a four-door sedan badged Ford Meteor. Originally sold only with the 1.3-litre engine, the smaller 1.1-litre engine was never available in Australia. Later, 1.5-litre versions were added, eventually even a turbocharged version. In January 1983, the Laser underwent a facelift to become the KB. Light changes were made to the rear, while the front was redesigned in a more modern style, aligning it with Ford's corporate look of the era.


title: Ford Laser

text: In Japan this is referred to as the "BE" Laser, which was identical to the Australian KB series. The BE model code relates to the BD model code used for the corresponding Familia/323. The first Lasers went on sale in Japan in late 1982. Fuel-injection and a 115 PS turbocharged model were added in July 1983; these variants were never offered for sale outside Japan.


title: Ford Laser

text: Aside from being built in Australia and Japan, Lasers were also assembled in New Zealand at Ford's Wiri plant in Auckland, replacing the Mk2 Escort. In New Zealand, the Laser was sold as both a hatchback and sedan, the Meteor name not being used in that market, and was later joined by the Mazda 323 at the renamed Vehicle Assemblers of New Zealand (VANZ) plant in Wiri, Auckland in a joint venture between Ford New Zealand and Mazda. 323s initially had been assembled at the Motor Industries International plant in Otahuhu, subsequently taken over by Mazda New Zealand. New Zealand-built Ford Laser hatchbacks were available with the 1.1-litre (base and Ritz), 1.3-litre (GL), and 1.5-litre (Sport) engines, while the Laser sedan (base, L, Ghia) was available with the 1.1-, 1.3 and 1.5-litre engines respectively, with the Ghia having an automatic transmission option.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Laser was also sold in some countries in Latin America, including Argentina. This was identical to the KA version sold in Australia. In Mexico, however, the first-generation Laser had a front end similar to the North American Mazda GLC. In addition, it was sold in right hand drive markets in the Caribbean such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, where it was locally assembled.


title: Ford Laser

text: Assembly of the Laser also occurred in Malaysia and Indonesia (in right hand drive) and in left hand drive for markets like Taiwan and the Philippines. In Taiwan, it was assembled using complete knock-down kits from 1981 via the local joint venture Ford Lio Ho.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Laser was also introduced in Zimbabwe in 1981, the first Ford model to be sold in the country for fourteen years, after the imposition of sanctions on the then Rhodesia after its Unilateral Declaration of Independence. It was assembled at the state-owned Willowvale Motor Industries plant, in Harare, alongside the Mazda 323.


title: Ford Laser

text: Introduced in April 1982, Ford Meteor was the name given to the sedan version of the Laser. Designated as the GA series, the Meteor featured conventional three-box styling with a 60/40 folding rear seat to increase luggage capacity that was already considered "very large for the class". Compared to the Laser, the front seats could be moved back a little further at the expense of rear seat passengers. To further improve practicality, the Meteor's spare wheel could be relocated from the floor to an upright position to increase boot depth from . The additional length of over the Laser hatchback was used by Ford Australia to justify the Meteor as replacement to the TF Cortina. In Australia, the Meteor was only available with the 1.5-litre engine and five-speed manual transmission or optional three-speed automatic. Consequently, the Meteor had a difficult undertaking replacing the Cortina, which offered engine displacements from 2.0 litres for the inline-four, up to a 4.1-litre inline-six, plus a station wagon option.<ref name="1981–85 Ford KA/KB Laser – A Beam of Light"></ref> However, the Meteor's pitch as the Cortina replacement was merely a temporary measure prior to the introduction of the Telstar mid-sized sedan and hatchback in May 1983. In Australia, the Meteor directly competed against the Holden Camira.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Meteor's front styling and grille differed from the corresponding Laser. The Meteor styling was based on the Japanese market Mazda Familia (BD) sedan. Lighting changes included the replacement of the Laser's amber front turn signals with clear lenses, plus the fitment of larger, flush headlamps over the Laser's smaller lights that were "sunken" into an enclosure. The Meteor grille had more of an "eggcrate" pattern than the plain black slats of the Laser. Suspension was fully independent with coil springs.


title: Ford Laser

text: Trim levels in Australia comprised the entry-level GL and upmarket Ghia, both available with an optional "S" pack that added full instrumentation and upgraded tyres. Steel wheels with bright metal trim rings differentiated the GL from the Ghia with its alloy wheels and deep side protection mouldings.


title: Ford Laser

text: The mid-term facelifted model of May 1983, coded GB, brought the range closer together, though Meteors continued as a separate and slightly more premium line.


title: Ford Laser

text: January 1985 saw the advent of the BF series Laser in Japan. This was the Laser's first major redesign. For the first time a diesel version was offered in Japan, as well as a factory two-door cabriolet with 1.5-litre turbo engine, a 1.6-litre DOHC 16-valve Sport version, and a potent 140 PS DOHC turbo model with full-time 4WD drivetrain (identical to the contemporary Mazda Familia BFMR). AWD models for sedan and wagon/van were also available for sale. This added up to an extremely convoluted Japanese product line, which was later streamlined in 1987 with a mid-life model refresh (KE series in other markets). This refresh dropped E-series engines in favour of all-new B-series equivalents, poorer-selling variants were discontinued, and minor changes were made to exterior styling and interior trim. The commercial van model was available until 1994, sold together with next generation Laser.


title: Ford Laser

text: For Australia, the range was known as the KC Laser and GC Meteor, launched in October 1985. All body styles were carried over, with the addition of a station wagon (badged as "Meteor", like the sedan) from 1986. A new "TX3" variant, which was at the top of the "Laser" models in specification level and designated "KC2", replaced the "Sport" variant from the KB series. Unlike the Sport, the TX3 was only available as a three-door (the Taiwanese TX3 was available in a five-door version only). The "L" and "GL" models were no longer available as a three-door. A notable change was the introduction of engines capable of running on 91 RON unleaded petrol (this became mandatory in Australia from 1986).


title: Ford Laser

text: The "E5" 1.5-litre SOHC carburettored engine that was optional on GL, and standard on Ghia in the KB series was replaced with the new "B6" 1.6-litre I4 SOHC. For the first time, electronic fuel injection was available as an option on Ghia models, and was standard on TX3 models. Buyers who ordered automatic transmission with this engine received an electronically controlled four-speed unit, which was quite advanced for a small car in 1985. The "B3" I4 SOHC 1.3-litre engine was standard on the "L" (hatchback only, the wagon had a 1.6-litre engine). The 1.6-litre engine was standard on GL, Ghia and TX3, though some early GL models were equipped with a 1.5-litre SOHC carburettored.


title: Ford Laser

text: The KC/KE Laser wagon was also assembled in New Zealand, alongside its Mazda 323 equivalent, until Ford closed their VANZ assembly plant at Wiri, Auckland in 1996.


title: Ford Laser

text: In October 1987, Ford introduced a facelift of the KC series, the KE. There were a number of notable changes with the introduction of the KE. The "Meteor" name was dropped from the sedan and wagon body styles, meaning they were now badged as "Laser", like the hatchback variants. The TX3 was also now available with a turbocharged engine and all-wheel-drive (AWD) as options. The TX3 Turbo with AWD is now very rare and highly sought after. The AWD was fully imported from Japan, while all other models in the Laser range were manufactured locally in the Sydney suburb of Homebush West.


title: Ford Laser

text: The KE is easy to distinguish from the earlier KC, by different grilles, headlights, tail lights, body-side mouldings, bonnet, front guards, and on some models, wheels. The dashboard and instrument cluster received new graphics, and the interior was available in slightly different colour shades to the KC. In mid-1989, in preparation for a new Australian Design Rules (ADRs) to come into effect in 1990, all models were fitted with a high-mount rear stop lamp as standard. When the redesigned KF Laser was introduced in March 1990, the wagon continued in a sole GL specification, with minor upgrades until September 1994, when Australian production of the Laser ceased.


title: Ford Laser

text: The "L" is quite rare, as it was primarily aimed at the budget or fleet buyer and available as a five-door hatchback and station wagon. It had silver-painted 13-inch steel wheels, with no centre caps, a large analogue clock in the instrument cluster, no passenger-side rear-view mirror, vinyl interior trim, no body side mouldings, no rear windscreen wiper, and the folding rear seat was only one-piece. The stereo was also AM-only and had no cassette player. Air conditioning was not available. The only engine on offer was the 1.3-litre engine, with four-speed manual transmission (no automatic was available). The "L" wagon had the same level of trim, except the 1.3-litre engine was replaced with the 1.6-litre unit, but still with four-speed transmission (automatic was not available on either the hatchback or wagon).


title: Ford Laser

text: The "GL" was the most popular model. It featured the same silver-painted 13" steel wheels as the "L" but with satin chrome half-width centre caps (only covering the centre of the wheel), a digital clock on the top of the dashboard, cloth interior trim, grey body side mouldings, a rear windscreen wiper, grey tailgate and beaver panel garnishes and 50/50 split-fold rear seat. The stereo was an analogue-tuned AM/FM unit with a basic cassette player. Air conditioning was optional as a dealer-fit accessory. Power was provided by a 1.6-litre engine, with 4-speed manual transmission (5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic was optional). Sedan and wagon came standard with five-speed transmission.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Ghia was the luxury model. It had black 14-inch steel wheels with full-size plastic wheel covers, power steering, body-coloured rear-view mirrors and bumpers, velour interior trim, tachometer, centre console with Ghia emblem, lockable glovebox, driver's seat with lumbar support and height adjust, storage drawer underneath the front passenger seat, full-size interior door trims, vanity mirror in passenger sun visor, ticket holder in driver's sun visor, felt interior headlining and sunvisors, rear headrests, additional warning lights in the instrument cluster, central locking with illuminated driver's door lock barrel, remote exterior mirrors, front door map pockets, front seatback pockets, additional reading lamps, chrome insert strips in the body side mouldings and bumpers, red tailgate garnish and orange beaver panel garnish. Air conditioning and power windows were optional. The stereo was a digitally tuned AM/FM unit, which featured a cassette player with Dolby enhanced sound. The 1.6-litre engine was fitted as standard, with EFI optional (standard on wagon), with either 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission (EFI automatic was 4-speed).


title: Ford Laser

text: The TX3 was the Laser flagship. It came standard with 14-inch satin-chrome alloy wheels, sports cloth interior trim, red insert strips in the body side mouldings and bumpers, black tailgate and beaver panel garnishes, semi-bucket seats with adjustable seat height, back and lumbar support, auto fade interior lamps, and all other Ghia appointings. EFI and A/C was standard, and automatic transmission was not available. The TX3 also had a unique front fascia with quad headlights and the parker lamps incorporated into the indicator lenses (L/GL/Ghia had the parkers inside the main headlight unit) and two-tone paint.


title: Ford Laser

text: Halfway through KE production, Ford introduced two limited edition versions, called "Redline", and "Livewire". The Redline was based on the GL hatch, while the Livewire was based on the GL sedan and hatch. The Redline featured the TX3's alloy wheels, two-tone paint and red inserts in the body-side mouldings and bumpers, air conditioning, and a tachometer. The Livewire featured yellow inserts in the body side mouldings and bumpers, a body coloured grille, air conditioning, and a tachometer. Both models had 5-speed manual transmission (as opposed to the standard 4-speed) as standard, with 3-speed automatic transmission as an option.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Laser was also sold in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and other markets. Trim and specifications vary somewhat between the countries. In Indonesia, this Laser was assembled at Mazda's plant in Bekasi together with its Mazda 323 twin. It was available in GL and Ghia trims from late 1985 with the 1.3-litre E3 engine () or 1.5-litre E5 engine (), a five-speed manual transmission, and five-door hatchback or four-door saloon bodywork. Later, a non-emissions scrubbed Laser TX-3 three-door hatchback with the fuel injected B6 1.6-litre engine became available. This produced a claimed at 6000 rpm. The production for general buyers was stopped in 1989, but the GL sedan with 1.3-litre E3 engine was continued to available for taxi fleet until 1997.


title: Ford Laser

text: In Taiwan, the second generation Laser was assembled by Ford Lio Ho Motor. Unique for this market, it was offered with slightly different exterior styling. The pre-facelift hatchback (only available as five-door) was offered with different headlights (similar styling to KA Laser) and the facelift model received KE TX3 headlights. Second facelift occurred for sedan and wagon, with massive makeover borrowed from the Mazda 323 (BF) facelift styling. A performance five-door hatchback TX3 Turbo was also available in Taiwan with 1.6-liter DOHC turbo engine.


title: Ford Laser

text: A version of the KC Laser, the Mercury Tracer, was marketed in the US and Canada, available as a hatchback and wagon only. The Tracer hatchback shared its bodyshell with its Laser counterpart, but the wagon was a distinct design based on the Laser hatchback, rather than the sedan, as was the case with the Meteor wagon. US versions of the Tracer were built in Mexico at Ford's Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant, whereas for the Canadian market, Ford opted to import the Mercury Tracer from Taiwan's Ford Lio Ho Motor instead. In Bermuda, however, the KE Laser was sold locally in right hand drive badged as a Ford.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Laser was introduced in South Africa in 1986, as a hatchback, with the sedan version being sold as the Meteor. Replacing the Ford Escort, it was produced alongside the Mazda 323 by Samcor. Originally the Laser and Meteor were available with Mazda E-series 1.3-litre carb and 1.5-litre carb engines and also a high compression 1.6-litre B6 EFi engine for the 1600i Sport model. From 1989, Ford's CVH engines (1.4 and 1.6) were used, replacing the earlier E engines. These were later in turn replaced by Mazda's B3 1.3-litre and F6 1.6-litre engines. South African models of the Laser and Meteor also gained the 2.0-litre FE SOHC 8-valve and "FE-DOHC" EFi 16-valve engine from 1991 to 1993, the later was available for the flagship 20i RS. The KC/KE Laser and Meteor remained in production in South Africa until 1995, when the Escort was reintroduced.


title: Ford Laser

text: However, Ford introduced an entry-level model called the Tonic and Tracer, a rebadged version of the locally manufactured BF series Mazda 323 hatchback, which was sold until 2003. There was also a coupe utility version with facelifted Mazda 323 BF styling, sold as Ford Bantam and Mazda Rustler.


title: Ford Laser

text: The third generation BG series of 1989 to 1994 went on to be the most popular Laser sold in Japan, with the new "coupé" (liftback) version an instant success. Again, a DOHC turbo model with full-time 4WD was offered as a companion car to the Mazda Familia GT-X, now producing from an increased displacement of 1.8 litres.


title: Ford Laser

text: In Australia, this model was released in March 1990 as the KF series and updated in October 1991 with the KH facelift. Local production of the Laser in Australia ceased on 4 September 1994 when Ford closed its plant at Homebush West, and imported the new KJ model from Japan;


title: Ford Laser

text: In New Zealand, the KH Laser continued in production at Ford's assembly plant in Wiri, Auckland, until the end of 1996 when the factory closed. The extended production model in New Zealand was sold only in five-door hatchback form as either the Laser Encore or Laser Esprit, as a cheaper alternative to the newer KJ Laser imported from Japan. The Encore was the cheaper of the two, available only with a five-speed manual transmission, while the Esprit was slightly higher specification and was available with both the five-speed and also a four-speed automatic. Both featured red pinstriping around the body and many received dealer-fit accessories such as alloy wheels to boost appeal.


title: Ford Laser

text: This generation of Laser was also sold in Cyprus and Malta. This generation was the basis of later Escort models sold in North America from 1990 for the 1991 model year, which is not to be confused with the model of the same name sold in Europe. The Escort name was retained for the new model due to both strong brand equity on the Escort name as well as Chrysler already using the Laser name for the Plymouth Laser. The Escort wagon seen in North America during this generation was unique to that continent and was not part of the Laser ranges elsewhere. In Indonesia, this generation was assembled locally (CKD) and sold from 1990 to 1996. Available in two body styles and four trim levels, 1.3 L sedan "Ghia" and "Sonic", 1.6 L sedan "Gala" and 5-door liftback "Champ" with 1.8 L DOHC BP engine. The older 1.3 L sedan "GL" from previous generation was also sold for taxi fleet use until 1997.


title: Ford Laser

text: The fourth generation model was known as the BHA series in Japan. All sporting models were discontinued with the release of this model in the wake of poor sales and financial returns as Mazda scaled back operations and sought to rearrange market focus. Only the sedan and three-door hatchback were sold in Japan, the hatch being based on the Mazda Familia Neo.


title: Ford Laser

text: The Japanese built KJ Laser in Australia released in October 1994 represented a major change in design; looking very different from the previous KH model. The three-door hatchback was known as the Laser Lynx and the five-door as the Laser Liata. The new KJ Laser was introduced in 1994 with variants, facelifts (KL of December 1996 and KM of December 1997) and engine driveline improvements continuing up until the last of the KM series were released in 1998. The KJ Laser was the first Laser manufactured wholly in Japan, following Ford Australia's decision to close their Homebush West plant. However, the KJ was disappointing in sales numbers mainly because of the smaller Festiva and other cheaper South Korean models from Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo to which many conservative buyers flocked.


title: Ford Laser

text: With the introduction of the KJ Laser in 1994, Ford New Zealand found itself in a unique position, offering three different generations of the Laser as new vehicles at once at its dealerships—the new KJ Laser, the previous-generation KH Laser as a five-door hatchback, and the older-shape KE Laser station wagon. These were assembled at the VANZ factory in Wiri, Auckland until 1997 when Ford NZ discontinued local assembly.


title: Ford Laser

text: The second update KM Laser was not sold in New Zealand. The KL Laser, now replaced in Australia, continued to be sold alongside the European Ford Escort in New Zealand during 1997 but was discontinued locally at the end of the year, the Escort hatchback and sedan replacing it for just 16 months between January 1998 and May 1999 when the new KN Laser was introduced.


title: Ford Laser

text: In Taiwan, Ford Lio Ho Motor assembled the Laser sedan branded as the Ford Liata; the Lynx three-door version was rebranded as the Ford Aztec. However, the Liata five-door version was not available in Taiwan, although the Mazda 323 was sold as a rebadged version of the Laser sedan only.


title: Ford Laser

text: In Latin America, this generation of Laser was assembled in Colombia and Venezuela, alongside its Mazda 323 counterpart, known as the Mazda Allegro.


title: Ford Laser

text: Fifth generation "BJ" series models were renamed "Laser Lidea" in Japan in December 1998, with popularity falling even further than the previous model. Japanese production ceased at the end of 2002, to be replaced by the imported Ford Focus, which was already sold there since 2000.


title: Ford Laser

text: Released in Australia in May 1999, the KN Laser was the last generation of the Laser to be introduced. The model range was almost identical to the Mazda 323 on which it was based, which was the first time since the KE Laser. In February 2001, the KN received a minor facelift and became the KQ Laser. The big news with the KQ Laser was the addition of a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine for the new top-spec "SR2", which was also the first sports-oriented Laser variant in almost five years, since the unpopular Laser Lynx was discontinued in 1996. A new "SR" level of trim, which sat below SR2 was also introduced at this time. The KQ can be distinguished from the earlier KN, with a new grille with chrome moulding, new headlights, revised tail lights, different exterior colours, and slightly revised interiors.


title: Ford Laser

text: In March 2002, due to falling sales, Ford made one last attempt to restore the Laser's popularity to its former glory, by announcing minor upgrades to the SR2, and added three new exterior colours to the range, being "Goldrush", "Red Revenge", and "Electric Blue". Three engines were available, a 1.6-litre that was fitted to the LXi, a 1.8-litre that was fitted to the GLXi & SR, and a 2.0-litre that was exclusive to the SR2.


title: Ford Laser

text: Despite the Laser having a good reputation with buyers in the marketplace, and many attempts from Ford to reignite interest in the model, it was unable to sell in reasonable numbers. In September 2002, Ford decided to discontinue the Laser in Australia, replacing it with the European-sourced Focus. However, the Laser continued in New Zealand until mid-2003, when it was also replaced by the facelifted Focus.