Chemical Measurement Process and The Calibration Function: How to best calibrate an instrument used in forensic science

Chemical Measurement Process and The Calibration Function: How to best calibrate an instrument used in forensic science

The technical goal of any calibration related effort is t0 achieve a meaningful and valid CMP. According to The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC): Chemical Measurement Process (CMP): An analytical method of defined structure that has been brought into a state of statistical control, such that its imprecision and bias are fixed, […]

Marijuana Field Test False Positive Leads to SWAT-style Raid of Innocent Home Owner’s Basement Lawful Tomato Growing

Marijuana Field Test False Positive Leads to SWAT-style Raid of Innocent Home Owner’s Basement Lawful Tomato Growing

I’ll just let this one speak for itself…. Marijuana Field Test False Positive Leads to SWAT-style Raid of Innocent Home Owner’s Basement Lawful Tomato Growing Leawood family gets some answers about marijuana raid Bob Harte says police saw them buying hydroponic system for indoor garden LEAWOOD, Kan. —A Leawood family tried for more than a […]

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: Ohio v. Silmi et al.

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: Ohio v. Silmi et al.

This is a multipart series that will examine the prosecution of controlled substance “analogs” by both the state and federal governments. Part one: The controlling law Part two: What is an analog? The scientific problem Part three: Efforts to define analog Part four: Ohio v. Silmi et al. Judge John J. Russo of the Cuyahoga County Common […]

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: Efforts to define analog

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: Efforts to define analog

This is a multipart series that will examine the prosecution of controlled substance “analogs” by both the state and federal governments. Part one: The controlling law Part two: What is an analog? The scientific problem Part three: Efforts to define analog Part four: Ohio v. Silmi et al. There are two main efforts that are currently ongoing. […]

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: What is an analog? The scientific problem

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: What is an analog? The scientific problem

This is a multipart series that will examine the prosecution of controlled substance “analogs” by both the state and federal governments. Part one: The controlling law Part two: What is an analog? The scientific problem Part three: Efforts to define analog Part four: Ohio v. Silmi et al. I suppose we could start with the concept that […]

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: The controlling law

Federal Analog Prosecution and State Analog Prosecution and Defense: The controlling law

This is a multipart series that will examine the prosecution of controlled substance “analogs” by both the state and federal governments. Part one: The controlling law Part two: What is an analog? The scientific problem Part three: Efforts to define analog Part four: Ohio v. Silmi et al. With the advent into the marketplace the […]

There are no shortcuts to justice: Justice and Forensics are not a throughput exercise

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 […]

A “drug detection dog” is certainly not specific

A “drug detection dog” is certainly not specific

Who doesn’t love dogs? They are man’s best friend after all. But can we really trust “drug detection” dogs and their handlers? We have blogged about these dogs here before: What can David Letterman’s Stupid Animal Tricks Teach us About Forensic Science? Doggie sniffs are a poor substitute for meaningful analytical chemistry Here is a […]

More on Annie Dookhan: Three cheers to the Boston Globe

More on Annie Dookhan: Three cheers to the Boston Globe

At this blog we have been following the great reporting of The Boston Globe over the Annie Dookhan matter. This is a very important case study of what can go wrong and what does go wrong in forensic science. I have called it before the Fukushima of Forensics. This is not hyperbole. As you read more […]

What to do with 60,000 cases involving Annie Dookhan?

What to do with 60,000 cases involving Annie Dookhan?

According to The Boston Globe, Scott Burns, the executive director of the National District Attorneys Association, said Dookhan’s alleged actions are not without precedent but far from typical. I agree with him. The scope of this disaster is what makes it so remarkable. However, there is a long, long list of similar shame: Fred Zain, Joyce […]