I read a very interesting article on bias. As we have discussed before bias permeates all forms of science and in particular forensic science. It provoked some thoughts. I wanted to pass it along in homes it might The Trouble With “Limitations” In Science By Neuroskeptic | May 16, 2013 4:09 pm Is it always good […]
The Forensic Lab Worker Retirement Plan Again: Screw up Tests, Skip Steps…. Retirement Life
Ahh yes. It’s time for our latest edition of “Lifestyles of the Newly Retired.” Here is another example of the greatest retirement plan in all of government. If you do bad science, with potential false convictions or undue exonerations, you are tampering with evidence. In all 50 states and in the federal system, tampering with […]
Retention of Biological Samples: In a DUI case, how long is long enough?
Suppose the following: You are driving home. You get stopped by the police. You are arrested for DUI. You are requested and give a sample of your blood. The blood goes to a laboratory and is analyzed. The results get transmitted to the police a few days later. The police type it up a few […]
Dry-lab get a promotion, become the chief, get discovered, and retire
Life is good for crime laboratory analysts. In the normal course of forensic science events. If you dry-lab, meaning you report out results when in fact you did not perform an analysis, you are efficient in the laboratory. You are someone who gets rewarded typically with a promotion. Heck, they even may make you chief […]
Guest Blog by Prof. David A. Harris: Forensic Labs Should Be Separate from Law Enforcement
When the National Academy of Sciences published its landmark report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward in February of 2009, most observers quickly saw that it had the potential to shake the forensic science establishment to its core if its recommendations were followed. Four years on, not enough change has occurred. […]
“Failed Evidence” – A must read for all interested in making our justice system better
One of the recurring themes of this blog is the consistent call for meaningful changes in the criminal justice system. TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com bloggers Justin McShane and Josh Lee having been highlighting areas of the criminal justice system that desperately need change for several years now. We are not the only ones. In the book “Failed Evidence: […]
Ethical and non-ethical challenges to expert witnesses
[Editor’s note: One of the non-substantive attacks that certain prosecutor’s use is to try to paint the expert called by the defense as a “hired gun” or a “whore” who will say anything for money. This is a regrettable tactic that has no substantive merit to the case itself and does little to promote the […]
There are no shortcuts to justice: Justice and Forensics are not a throughput exercise
In science, we can have fast, or good, or cheap. We cannot have all three. When it comes to criminal justice, we as a society need to continue to require that only quality forensic science enter a courtroom. Fast is lazy. Fast is risky. Fast is not good. Fast is not justice. The latest example […]
An Interview between Mike Nichols (MI) and Justin McShane on Evidentiary Breath Testing
The following is an interview that attorney and author Mike Nichols of Michigan had with Justin J. McShane. In this interview they discuss Evidentiary Breath Testing and the recent Pennsylvania litigation concerning the validity of these BrAC measurements. Justin Mcshane Interview from The McShane Firm on Vimeo.
Actual Innocence Knows No Time Bar: Texas and Senator John Whitmire and State Rep. Sylvester Turner Lead the Way
I defy anyone to logically put forth an argument that it is ever “ok” in our modern world to allow someone who is objectively innocent spend one minute in jail. If you exist, then we would really like to hear from you. Incredibly, all across the United States and even in our federal court system, […]
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 […]
The McShane Firm | DUI Lawyers
Pennsylvania DUI Blog