Forensic News: December 2009
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Massachusetts: Drug Trafficking Case Thrown Out Due to Inability of Defendant to Confront Forensic Analyst (12/30/2010)
A state appeals court threw out the conviction of a Revere man for drug trafficking. According to the recent Melendez-Diaz decision by the Supreme Court, his conviction was unconstitutional because drug analysis was introduced by report in his case and the defense did not have the opportunity to cross-examine the analyst. Read more.Pennsylvania: Use of Discredited Polygraph Analysis on the Rise (12/29/2009)
Despite the 2003 National Research Council report finding that the polygraph device is insufficiently reliable, the Bethlehem Police Department continues to apply this device. One investigator estimated that one-third of cases during his 14-year career with the department have involved polygraphs. Read more.New York: Another Forensic Analyst Found to Manipulate Evidence (12/28/2009)
According to an investigation by the New York State Inspector General, a technician from the Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory skipped a step in the drug analysis procedure and doctored computer data to indicate the test had been performed. In a reanalysis of this technician's cases, it was discovered that the weight of the illegal substances were lower than reported. As a result, prosecutors altered charges in three cases. Read more.Washington D.C.: A Struggle for Independence in D.C.'s Crime Laboratory (12/27/2009)
The development of the District of Columbia's first crime lab was stalled when a head forensic scientist was transferred off the project amid a struggle for control of the crime lab. Read more.Washington D.C.: Termination of Investigation Delayed Justice for Wrongfully Convicted Man and Potentially More Innocents In Prison (12/27/2009)
Donald Gates spent 28 years in federal prisons for a crime he didn't commit before he was exonerated through DNA testing this month. His convicted was cause in part byimproper hair analysis. Michael Malone, the FBI analyst who was discredited by the Inspector General in a 1997 report, was responsible for that analysis. As a result of the 1997 report, the Brady Task Force was convened to investigate all cases in which Malone and 13 other analysts contributed testimony. The Brady Task Force was terminated in 2002 without issuing a report or informing Congress of its findings. Had the Brady Task Force completed its findings, Gates may have been exonerated and released earlier and the courts would have a better understanding of the effects of improper forensic testimony on past convictions. Read more.National: Bias and Fingerprint Examinations (12/22/2009)
Bias can interfere with fingerprint analyses in two ways. First, there are cases where police investigators may apply pressure directly on examiners before the analysis to secure a conviction. Second, there may be information introduced during the actual examination process that can unconsciously direct an examiner's analysis. Read more.National: NIJ Survey of Crime Labs Reveals Unprocessed Evidence (12/22/2009)
A National Institute of Justice survey of 2,000 state and local crime labs regarding law enforcement forensic evidence processing found that in 14% of open, unsolved homicides, 18% of open, unsolved rapes, and 23% of open, unsolved property crimes, evidence had been collected, but not submitted to crime labs for processing. Read more.Canada: Goudge Commission Recommending Strict Rules for Admissibility of Medical Experts (12/21/2009)
The Goudge Inquiry, an investigation lead by Justice Stephen Goudge into the improper testimony of forensic pathologist Charles Smith, concluded, in a Canadian Medical Association Journal article, that the wrongful convictions resulting from Smith's work shows the system is not working properly. The commission recommends that the role of a medical expert witness needs to be strictly defined and carefully controlled during legal proceedings and physicians need to be aware of their role and proposes a 4-part test for determining legal admissibility. Read more.National: Justices Revisit Rule Requiring Lab Testimony (12/19/2009)
On January 11th, the United State Supreme Court will hear Briscoe v. Virginia, which may affect the nine month-old Melendez-Diaz decision. In both cases, the defendant was denied the right to live testimony by the lab analyst who processed the evidence in the case. Melendez-Diaz made the right to live testimony over the submission of a lab report a constitutional right. At question in Briscoe, is whether prosecutors can submit lab reports instead of live testimony unless the defense requests otherwise. Read more.Oregon: Man Wrongfully Convicted on Discredited Bullet Lead Analysis is Set Free (12/18/2009)
Phillip Scott Cannon has been imprisoned since 2000 for a triple murder he says he did not commit. The only physical evidence tying Cannon to the fatal shootings of three people was a comparative bullet lead analysis (CBLA) that deduced bullets from the crime scene to have come from a box of bullets found at Cannon's home. CBLA has been discredited by the National Academy of Sciences in 2005 as a valid forensic technique and is no longer employed by the FBI. In August 2009, the state agreed to give Cannon a new trial, but the prosecution dropped its case once it was discovered that all the evidence in the case had been lost or destroyed. Read more.New York: Years of Misconduct Found at New York State Police Crime Lab (12/17/2009)
An investigation by the New York State Inspector General revealed misconduct by two forensic analysts. One analyst "dry-labbed" tests undetected for 15 years because he was not required by his supervisor to perform the test required for the analysis. Another analyst violated State Police ethics by attempting to influence a scientist's analysis in a case his brother was investigating. Read more and download the full report.Florida: Study Aims to Identify Signs of Arson (12/17/2009)
A study of to identify evidence of arson fires is being conducted by UCF and Florida State Fire Marshalls. The investigating team, which includes chemistry students, forensic scientists, and fire marshalls, will set fire to four apartments in order to detect arson started by low levels of ignitable fluids. Read more.District of Columbia: DNA Clears Man Imprisoned for 28 Years in Part by Faulty Hair Evidence (12/16/2009)
Donald Eugene Gates spent 28 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. His conviction was based in part on the testimony of a discredited FBI forensic analyst using an unvalidated hair analysis technique. The judge in the case has ordered a review of all cases in which the FBI analyst testified on hair comparison. Read more.Texas: Houston City Council Approves Funding to Reform HPD Fingerprint Unit (12/16/2009)
After an audit of the Houston Police Department fingerprint unit revealed errors in half of the 538 cases reviewed, the City Council authorized $3M toward fixing a broken department. The money will fund a group of consultants that will re-examine approximately 5,000 previously analyzed prints from violent criminal cases as well as violent and property crime case backlogs. Read more.International: Hackers Infiltrate Forensic Software (12/14/2009)
Hackers have compromised COFEE, a Microsoft software package distributed for free to law enforcement agencies,which use it to collect digital evidence. Hackers have developed an application called Decaf that detects COFEE and deploys countermeasures. Read more.Colorado: Metro Crime Lab Finds Errors in Blood Alcohol Tests (12/11/2009)
Colorado Springs Police Department revealed that approximately 82 blood alcohol tests of the 1,000 that have been done since January 2009 registered exaggerated blood alcohol levels. The errors were discovered during an internal quality assurance review. Read more.California: State Supreme Court to hear forensic appeal (12/10/2009)
The California Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by a woman who claimed her constitutional right to confront the forensic analyst in her criminal trial was violated. A Supreme Court decision earlier this year found that criminal defendants have the right to confront the forensic analyst who conducted the test in his/her case in court. In this case, the technicians who conducted toxicology tests did not testify the prosecution brought in their supervisor to testify instead. If the appeal is successful, the defendant would be entitled to a new trial. Read more.