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?
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 […]
The Fukushima of Forensics: Annie Dookhan
We have blogged before on the Annie Dookhan scandal: The poster child for everything that is wrong in forensic science: Annie Dookhan It is amazing the state of forensic science in the courtroom. Judges still routinely deny discovery motions for scientific data, validation studies and even basic scientific data. They justify this stating that a […]
Steven Barnes talks about the nightmare of innocence at the 2012 ACS Fall meeting (Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law)
Here is the full video of the Steven Barnes account of actual innocence. On August 20, 2012, the American Chemical Society at its biannual meeting held a special Presidential Seminar called “Innocence! The Work of the Innocence Project.” It was funded by The McShane Firm, LLC and presented through the Chemistry and the Law Division and the Forensic […]
The poster child for everything that is wrong in forensic science: Annie Dookhan
I have been monitoring the work of The Boston Globe and others about this. It is simply so very shocking. It is beyond alarming. It is, simply put, the single worst forensic science laboratory scandal in recorded history. I give you Annie Dookhan. I predict that this scandal is only going to get worse. Much, […]
This only makes sense in the bizzarro world of Texas DPS: No proof, but we prosecute!
One of the tenants of the criminal justice system is that everyone accused is presumed innocent. That means that everyone starts out in the courtroom with a not guilty. It remains a not guilty throughout the trial no matter how many witnesses come forward or what they say. It remains so even in the jury […]
Steven Barnes talks about the nightmare of innocence at the 2012 ACS Fall meeting (Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law)
On August 20, 2012, the American Chemical Society at its biannual meeting held a special Presidential Seminar called “Innocence! The Work of the Innocence Project.” It was funded by The McShane Firm, LLC and presented through the Chemistry and the Law Division and the Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law subdivision. At the presentation, were three exonerees. […]
When it rains, it pours: St Paul crime laboratory
In an article published today by the Minnesota Public Radio, we hear an unusual story about the St. Paul crime laboratory. It’s not unusual in that there is a crime laboratory failure, unfortunately and sadly that is at least a once a week occurrence. But what makes the report unusual is that the report speaks of […]
Raymond Santana talks about the nightmare of innocence at the 2012 ACS Fall meeting (Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law)
On August 20, 2012, the American Chemical Society at its biannual meeting held a special Presidential Seminar called “Innocence! The Work of the Innocence Project.” It was funded by The McShane Firm, LLC and presented through the Chemistry and the Law Division and the Forensic Science, Chemistry and the Law subdivision. At the presentation, were three exonerees. […]
Yet another crime lab scandal – the real question is how many failures until they get caught and when is enough enough?
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 […]
More junk science debunked: Probation urinalysis testing and analysis by undertrained probation officers halted
As I have written many times, science should be reserved to true, credentialed scientists. The worst thing in the world is the veneer of science whereby some technique earns admissibility and presumed validity simply because it has been in the Courtroom repeatedly. We need to start challenging more of these sacred cows in the courtroom. […]
The McShane Firm | DUI Lawyers
Pennsylvania DUI Blog