The modern day prosecution for the unlawful possession of marijuana is based upon a three test regime involving microscopic morphological examination, modified Duquenois-Levine colorimetric testing, and Thin Layer Chromatography. Each of these three tests are non-specific for THC which is the pharmacodynamically active ingredient which makes marijuana illegal. The question becomes is this three test […]
The myth of specific identification of Marijuana in criminal court Part 3: What is microscopic morphological examination? Is it a “good” test?
In this series of posts we are going to examine these seemly simple questions: What is the goal and the purpose of testing of unknowns generally? How do we best design a test for marijuana? How is most marijuana testing conducted in the United States? What is microscopic morphological examination? Is it a “good” test? […]
The myth of specific identification of Marijuana in criminal court Part 2: How is most marijuana testing conducted in the United States?
In 2006, more than 829,000 people were arrested in this country for marijuana-related offenses alone. Since 1937 with the passage and adoption of the Marihuana Tax Act, marijuana has been effectively prohibited in the United States. Literally millions upon millions of people have been accused of possessing marijuana. The question becomes are these convictions scientifically […]
Williams v. Illinois: The Confrontation Clause Rights in light of modern forensic science
On December 6, 2011, the Unites States Supreme Court heard argument in the case of Williams v. Illinois. The transcripts of the oral argument can is available on the Supreme Court of the United States website. Some information so you can understand the facts and the subsequent analysis that I offer: Summary of the Facts: […]
How the GC-FID arrives at a quantitative result: Auto-integration versus Manual Integration
A frequently asked question on the listservs that I belong to basically asks the following question: In GC-FID use to quantify Blood Alcohol Content where EtOH is the target analyte, how does the machine arrive at the reported number? The machine is called a Gas Chromatograph with a Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). Typically the sample […]
We are the problem-Criminal Defense Attorneys
Has the criminal defense community been like Bill Buckner and letting the easy grounders gently roll past us? I think so. Perhaps too frequently in this blog, we highlight what is wrong with forensic science. What is one of the biggest problems (and may even be the biggest problem) is the incredible lack of interest […]
Why scientists are ripping us off….
Consider this funny clip from the Daily Show about science. Is it really that far off the mark with the way most Americans think? The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
Why don’t jurors follow science?
Why don’t jurors follow empirical thought and science to the logical result? The denial of science is nothing new. It has been around for as long as science has. In fact, as a species, we have only expressed scientific thought for a very small part of our existence. From The Evolution Deniers, we get examples […]
The Learned Treatise: An Appeal to Authority… is that misleading?
Scientists and lawyers don’t see eye-to-eye. That is not much of a surprise. On the one hand, science should be about appeal to data. On the other hand, law is about an appeal to authority (stare decisis). But what is surprising is the legal framework that addresses the scientific world does not embrace the scientific […]
Ben Goldacre helps us to evaluate science and shows publication bias
Often on this blog we have exposed that which has been deemed “scientific” and revealed it to better categorized as science fiction. So, the question becomes how do we distinguish between true science based upon sound research and transparent from pseudo-science or science fiction that has somehow entered into the courtroom as both are termed […]
Help wanted: External Quality Assurance Officer for Forensic Laboratories
On occasion I attend various scientific short courses such as the ones put on by the American Chemical Society, the National Fire Protection Association, The Chromatography Forum of Delaware Valley or various manufacturers such as Restek, Agilent and the like. I highly commend any lawyer to go to these conferences and seminars. In my opinion it […]
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