This adorable little wiry girl is “Sky” – or to be more accurate “GCh AfterAll Painting The Sky.” Americas most prestigious canine club named her the top dog at the 2014 Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Want to know more about Sky’s family tree? Thats easy. We can just hop on the internet and trace her […]
TSA Agents Amanda Zug, Shawn Knaub and Kendall Bradley provide a teachable moment in cross-contamination and the need to adhere to contamination protocol
TSA Agents Amanda Zug, Supervisor Shawn Knaub and Manager Kendall Bradley provide a teachable moment in cross-contamination and the need to adhere to contamination protocol I begin this post with a declaration and acknowledgment upfront. I am a Trusted Traveler. I went through the application, background check, and less to obtain my Global Entry ID. […]
The scientific and legal truth behind Stand-off detection of alcohol in car cabins
The scientific and legal truth behind Stand-off detection of alcohol in car cabins A Huffington Post Article recently caught our eyes: New Laser Device May Be A Drunk Driver’s Worst Nightmare By Jacqueline Howard Posted: 06/08/2014 7:28 am EDT Updated: 06/08/2014 7:59 am EDT. Just the title alone captured our imagination. So we looked into […]
“But It’s NIST traceable” and I’ve Got A Bridge to Sell You in Brooklyn
I am sure that a lot of goofy things can and will be done by folks to call some instrument “calibrated.” Some places simply do a calibration check at one point and presume linearity across a range. Lunacy. What forensic science should have in its analytical instruments is “true scientific instrument calibration” which is part […]
A Forensic Measurement Device is Not an X Box
In forensic science there are many analytical instruments that are used to identify and quantify. For example, there is Gas Chromatography and Breath Testuing Devices (infrared spectroscopy or electrochemical) in DUI. When these devices are deployed in the field or in the laboratory, they are not properly deployed. What we have in forensic science is […]
How does a GC-MS machine know that there’s a drug in the blood or urine?
How does a GC-MS machine know that there’s a drug in the blood? The analyst has to teach it. Just like you teach a kid his or her colors, you have to teach this machine what are the drugs it should be looking for. How were you taught what color is what? You probably don’t […]
How impossible courtroom testimony comes to be: the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Laboratory case study
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Laboratory crisis that concerns blood ethanol content by HS-GC-FID teaches us yet again the critical role that education plays in the training of analysts. People in the laboratory are just taught to press buttons and preform tasks. They are not experts. Anyone who has been in a courtroom […]
Improper calibration in true scientific endeavors versus forensic science in the courtroom
In the broader world of science, it is well recognized that parts of the measurement system need to be demonstrated to be in control and properly calibrated as well as properly used by a trained and knowledgable operator. It is through these basic fundamentals that we can infer with sufficient confidence that our testing is […]
How to properly calibrate a machine
In our last post we examined “The importance of calibration in forensic science.” Now I want to drive down deeper into this issue. The calibration of a machine represents the very best results that that machine can ever preform. Over time, through use or non-use, a given machine will not gain tighter precision; it will […]
The importance of calibration in forensic science
The act of calibration is the imperfect scientific action that underlies the validity of the subsequent testing of unknowns. A scientific and properly conducted valid calibration action can possibly yield a valid result. A poor and improperly conducted calibration action will always result in non-validated results and maybe even invalid results. Even within batch calibration […]
Heaven forbid, the State Crime Lab has to actually prove it!
What a bizzaro world we live in! Heaven forbid, the State Crime Lab actually has to prove that the green leafy substance is in fact the illegal substance. Wow! What a novel concept. This is what was actually said OUTLOUD by the head of their crime lab: “We have to not just validate instruments, but […]
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