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In the News
California
DA's control of crime lab raises questions
Gagliardini and Revelo have been asserting for weeks — inside
and outside the courtroom — that the crime lab, which is
operated by the Kern County DA’s office, threatens its own
credibility by not erecting a “firewall” between the prosecution
side of the office and the science side.
Great Britain
Millions of DNA profiles passed to private firms
Papers obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that
on five occasions since 2004 private firms with police contracts
have successfully applied to use the database to help them
develop computer programs.
Arizona
State cuts force police to pay for crime lab use
The budget that Gov. Janet Napolitano helped craft cuts the
state allocation for the Department of Public Safety crime lab
by more than half. It also directs the agency to make up that
difference by billing police, fire and sheriff's departments,
and medical examiner's offices a total of $7.8 million for lab
work that, until now, has been done free of charge.
Connecticut
$7.4 million announced for State Police Forensic Lab
Governor
M. Jodi Rell today announced nearly $7.4 million for
construction of the third phase of the State of Connecticut
Police Forensic Science Laboratory in Meriden is expected to
gain approval when the state Bond Commission meets August 4th.
North Carolina
Crumley wants crime lab backlog fixed
It's taking the North Carolina state crime lab between 15 and 18
months to get drug evidence processed. Bob Crumley, Republican
candidate for North Carolina Attorney General, wants to do
something about that.
National
Sweeping Database Searches Call “Infallible” DNA Evidence Into
Question
Critics point to the findings of little-known Arizona state
crime lab analyst Kathryn Troyer, after tests she ran found a
pair of genetic profiles that matched, according to state
standards. The convicts that her system matched were very much
unrelated; however, one felon was white, and the other was
black.
National
Backlog of DNA samples may hamper JonBenet case
Investigators in the JonBenet case said that tests on a few
invisible skin cells have convinced them they have the DNA
profile of the man who killed the 6-year-old beauty queen in her
Boulder home in 1996. But so far they haven't found a match.
Virginia
Virginia reaches gun database milestone
The Department of Forensic Science
says it recently achieved its 1,000th hit using the National
Integrated Ballistic Information Network. The system went into
full use in the Virginia state crime labs in 2002.
National
Demand for forensic workers on the rise, US bureau reports
An increasing need for forensic scientists, who examine, solve
and prevent crimes, has led to a 21-percent rise of jobs in the
profession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
National
Using DNA evidence in small crimes could clog system
New research shows that using DNA to solve property crimes like
burglaries -- and not just violent crimes like homicides and
sexual assaults -- is particularly effective.
Australia
Clearer Fingerprints Even on Wet Surfaces Possible With Nano-Zinc
Detectives may be able to obtain a clear set of fingerprints
even on wet surfaces by using a powder made up of zinc oxide
nanoparticles, Australian researchers are suggesting.
Upcoming Meetings and
Conferences
Please send us an
email if you'd like us to announce an upcoming
event. We will post meeting announcements for major events
only.
(IAFS)
International Association of Forensic Sciences
July 21-26, 2008 New Orleans,
Louisiana
(IAI)
International Association for Identification
August 17-23, 2008
Louisville, Kentucky
(NAME)
National Association of Medial Examiners
September 5-10, 2008 Louisville, KY
(ASCLD) American Society
of Crime Laboratory Directors
September 14-18, 2008 Salt
Lake City, Utah
(SAFS)
Southern Association of Forensic Scientists
September 21-26, 2008
Shreveport, Louisiana
(SWAFS) Southwestern
Association of Forensic Scientists
September 22-26, 2008 Little
Rock, Arkansas
(MAFS)
Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists
September 28 - October 3, 2008
Des Moines, Iowa
(NAFS)
Northwest Association of Forensic Scientists
November 3-7, 2008 Boise,
Idaho
(AAFS)
American Academy of Forensic Sciences
February 16-21, 2009
Denver, CO
(MAAFS) Mid Atlantic
Association of Forensic Scientists
May 4-8, 2009
Hunt Valley, MD
(AFTE)
Association of Firearm & Toolmark Examiners
May 31 - June 5, 2009
Miami Beach, FL
(Special Joint Meeting)
MAAFS, MAFS, SAFS, SWAFS
October 18-23, 2009 Orlando, FL
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Special Announcement
The 2005 Census on Publicly Funded Crime Labs has
been posted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Please
click the link below to view this important document.
2005 Census of Publicly Funded Crime Labs
Letters to the Editors
Crime Lab
Report's editorial announcing the publication of "The Wrongful Conviction of Forensic
Science" drew some thought-provoking
comments from our subscribers. These opinions are
personal observations and may not represent those of
Crime Lab Report nor the organizations with whom these
authors may be affiliated or employed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Elaine M. Pagliaro, JD, MS, Asst. Director
Connecticut
Forensic Science Laboratory
Date: July 28, 2008
Dear Editors:
I want to thank the authors Collins & Jarvis for a well
constructed article concerning the apparent
misrepresentation of the role of forensic science in
wrongful convictions.
When
the Innocence Project started to group "limited" science
with forensic malpractice, it added to the misconceptions of
the public. In our own state, a man was convicted of sexual
assault and spent many years incarcerated for a crime he did
not commit. At the time of trial, blood typing included him
among the percentage of persons in the state who could have
contributed the semen. At no time did anyone imply this test
was more individualizing than it actually was.
When DNA
excluded him, the lab was happy that it could bring justice
by applying new technology. But few pointed out that the
State Crime Lab did the DNA work that freed him.
It is unfair of the Innocence Project to call this testing
"limited science!" It was not limited at the time -- it was
the best we could do. When we started doing DNA testing and
were still doing ABO typing, between 20 - 30% of suspects
included by ABO were excluded by DNA. This is information
that has been known by the scientific and legal
communities for a long time.
We certainly should be (and are in CT) willing to conduct
DNA testing on behalf of someone who claims to be falsely
convicted. But we should not be vilified because of the
inability of past scientists to achieve the kind of
individualization we know today.
As a forensic scientist and an attorney I am constantly
trying to bring an understanding of science, including its
limitations, to members of the bar. We should make a
concerted effort to increase educational opportunities for
law students and practicing attorneys to understand some
basic scientific concepts, including the development of
scientific knowledge and the fact that not all science is
quantitative!
Once again, thank you to Collins & Jarvis. And thank you for
the opportunity to get on my soapbox about an issue that has
concerned me for some time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sheila Martin Berry
Truth in Justice,
Board of Directors
Date: July 27, 2008
Dear Editors:
I have yet a different
take on the ridiculously low number of wrongful
convictions attributed to bad lawyering.
I am sure that almost
all, if not all, of the cases in which defendants were
eventually exonerated by DNA, were first reviewed by
appellate courts at every level available to the
defendant. I am equally confident that at least half,
if not more, raised ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC)
as an issue on appeal.
But appellate decisions
finding ineffective assistance that compromises a
defendant's right to a fair trial and/or leads to an
unjust outcome are as rare as hen's teeth. I don't know
this, but I suspect Professor Garrett and the Innocence
Project only counted bad lawyering that was recognized
by appellate courts -- 3 out of 200 would be about right
-- rare as hen's teeth. Counting all the instances where
the lawyers did little more than breathe during trial
but were found by appellate courts to have done a fine
job just invites circular arguments that produce nothing
useful.
Please see my
article on bad lawyering.
It was published in the Northern Kentucky Law Review in
2003.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
Dr. Lowell J. Levin, Diplomat
American
Board of Forensic Odontology
Date: July 27, 2008
Dear Editors:
A note on the Ray Krone
Case......Mr. Krone was granted a second trial. His
defense attorney was Christopher Plourd, a member of the
Jurisprudence Section of the American Academy of
Forensic Sciences, and quite experienced in forensic
evidence. He presented three forensic odontologists,
considered leaders in the field of bite mark evidence,
who rendered testimony excluding Krone. Mr. Krone was
convicted in spite of the testimony of all three. How
can this second conviction be categorized as a cause of
the conviction without extensively interviewing the
jurors to determine what they based their verdict upon?
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Notice of
Correction
In an editorial published on
February 7, 2008, Crime Lab Report inadvertently implied
that the Innocence Project (IP) was directly furnished with a
series of questions to which they did not respond. In fact, the
questions posed in the September 27, 2007 editorial were
directed to journalists and elected officials as a recommended
line of questioning when evaluating the IP's public policy
agenda. The IP's decision to not respond to this editorial
should not be construed as an avoidance of the questions.
A correction has been posted at the Crime Lab Report
website.
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