One of the most frequent questions that I get from other lawyers is something like this: Can synthetic marijuana be tested for by GC-FID or GC-MS? Can marijuana be tested for by GC-FID or GC-MS? Can methamphetamine be tested for by GC-FID or GC-MS? The truthful answer is, it depends. Let’s take for example the […]
What can David Letterman’s Stupid Animal Tricks Teach us About Forensic Science?
What can David Letterman’s Stupid Animal Tricks Teach us About Forensic Science? One of the “types” of forensic science that is used in modern policing today is the use of specially trained canines. Canines, proponents say, can be trained for various targeted goals including cadaver search, explosive detection, drug interdiction, accelerant detection and general protection/patrol […]
What Fletch can teach us about method validation
Ok. Anyone who knows me, has read this blog for a while or has seen me speak knows I love to use movies as transferable concepts to try to explain supposedly complicated scientific concepts. What can the 1985 classic movie “Fletch” teach us about method validation? Just like when “Gordo” said in the above […]
Unused technology: Fingerprints off Brass Shell Casings due to corrosion
An interesting application of fingerprinting to brass shell casings has developed in the last decade whereby a person’s latent fingerprints may be developed even after discharge or even after being whipped down. This is due to the acid in our sweat secretions and the corrosion of the metal. The technology and the method exists, but […]
Have you been drinking? Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) thinks it can answer that question, but can it?
EtG, LMNOP, QRSTUV-What can EtG possibly tell us about whether or not someone was drinking…. Ethylglucuronide (EtG) testing across the United States is widely used by probation and parole offices to accuse a probationer/parolee of drinking. It can be a crippling accusation because oftentimes, the EtG tests are preformed far from clinical conditions and by […]
Are fingerprints worthwhile?
Well, I suppose we should talk fingerprints, right? FRICTION RIDGES Ridges are the raised layers of skin which contain openings for sweat glands and impart characteristics to a fingerprint of an individual. One of the ways to identify a fingerprint is by using the Galton points system which includes the minutiae characteristics of the […]
Excercise of Discretion: Sampling versus Sample Selection
One of the most shocking aspects of forensic science to me as I am not a scientist is the amount of discretion and choice that is exercised by the forensic analyst. One of these areas is the difference between sampling and sample selection. A good analogy to use is to suppose that you are tasked […]
Metrology in Quantitative Measure: Is it Specific or Selective or Neither…
As I have blogged before every assay has its limitations. There is no such thing as a perfect test. I have blogged before on metrology and Uncertainty Measurement (UM). Even the mighty International Standard, ISO 17025, in Section 5.4.6 only applies the concept of UM to the quantitative measure and to the quantitative measure alone. […]
Lecture on Analytical Chemistry in BAC testing Part 10
The above is Part Ten from a lecture given by Attorney Justin J. McShane before the North Carolina Advocates for Justice “Advanced DWI Seminar”. This seminar happened on February 26, 2010. It was organized and hosted by John K. Fanney, Esquire of Fanney & Jackson, P.C. The following is a transcript of this video: I […]
Lecture on Analytical Chemistry in BAC testing Part 9
The above is Part Nine from a lecture given by Attorney Justin J. McShane before the North Carolina Advocates for Justice “Advanced DWI Seminar”. This seminar happened on February 26, 2010. It was organized and hosted by John K. Fanney, Esquire of Fanney & Jackson, P.C. The following is a transcript of this video: Let’s […]
DNA Contamination that is amazing!
This is the Phantom of Heilbronn. The Phantom of Heilbronn was thought of as the most prolific murderer who was allegedly responsible for a whole rash of crimes from murder to burglary. Quite a busy person. So, busy that the Phantom was all across Europe doing what the Phantom does, I suppose, which is getting […]
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