It seems that every week there is more news coming out of a forensic laboratory of major laboratory failures. This time it is from the state of Massachusetts where a state crime lab has been shut down and 50,000 samples from at least 34,000 different accused citizens are now all in question. Mass. Crime Lab […]
Another week another forensic laboratory scandal. It’s the Wild Wild West
With no standardization of methods, a whole scale lack of basic validity, and a lack of meaningful oversight, today’s forensic laboratory system is beyond “badly fragmented.” It is utterly lawless. It is like the Wild Wild West. Like I have written before (Why Don’t we Six Sigma Forensic Science? It’s all about method validation, traceability, […]
“I don’t know” is a perfectly acceptable answer
I was reading an article. It got me to thinking about testifying expert witnesses. Basically, the premise of the article is that “I don’t know” is a perfectly acceptable answer. It is. It is a beautiful answer. It should be our default position in forensic science. We should start out with no presumptions or assumptions. […]
Some random thoughts on forensic science
While at the ACS press conference last week, I was asked by an international reporter my thoughts on the current state of affairs in Forensic Science by a Brazilian science reporter. I wanted to share my answers with you all and see if there are different points of view that may be out there. So […]
The ACS and The Innocence Project unite
On this past Monday (8/20/2012), The Innocence Project: When Justice fails, Science Prevails. In Monday’s 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), forensic scientists, attorneys and others who used science to right wrongs, free innocent people and save the lives of prisoners on death row will promote the idea of a […]
C&EN features Innocence! a presentation of the Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law division of the ACS at the National meeting (8/20/2012)
C&EN features Innocence! a presentation of the Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law division of the ACS at the National meeting (8/20/2012) C&EN Picks – Philadelphia National Meeting: Monday, August 20th from ACS Pressroom on Vimeo. Read more about the programming here: Innocence! Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law features the Innocence Project and Wrongful […]
Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law Presents: Innocence! at the ACS National Meeting
I am both happy and pleased to inform you all that Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law Presents: Innocence! at the ACS National Meeting has been designated a “Presidential Program” at the ACS National Meeting. The symposium is this coming Monday, August 20, 2012 at the Philadelphia Convention Center (Terrace Ballroom IV the 400 level). […]
The Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Presents “Understanding and Litigating of Gas Chromatography Cases”
My good friend Josh D. Lee of Vinita, OK and I make for what amounts to a traveling show trying to spread the good word of science education to lawyers. We have literally lectured to hundreds of judges, and thousands of lawyers all across the United States. We are about to do the same again […]
The testing of unknowns-what is confirmatory testing?
When testing unknowns, we are doing precisely that. We will never know the true CONTENTS (in terms if a qualitative measure) of the sample, let alone the true value of the contents (in terms of the quantitative measure). By definition, all testing is about the tester’s willingness to accept the risk of being wrong most […]
Where is the commutability?
Commutability is the hallmark of all measurement science and is particularly important in analytical chemistry at large. Commutability is the feature of being comparable across borders and universal over all time. Using appropriate and traceable standards/reference materials during calibration combined with using validated and standardized methods provides for commutability. Since the mid 1980s, the Environmental […]
Christine Funk charges away questioning the underlying validity of the crime laboratory
Christine Funk is one of my role models. She helped me come up with the idea of the Forensic Science Geek of the Week. She is one of the folks who has taken me under her wing especially in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. For a long time, she has been charging away and […]
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