The Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), and his staff announced the release of his proposed bill the “Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Reform Act (CJFSRA).” You can read his press release here about the Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Reform Act (CJFSRA). [The following is a […]
A Call to Banish Non-validated Science in the Courtroom: A plea for scientific truth
It is an exciting time that we all in live. I am confident that when historians of the law look back at this time, they will point to this era as a corrective time where the exaggerations of some of the disciplines in forensic science. We are shifting from the “wild wild west” mentality of […]
What is a Gas Chromatography column and why should I care?
Simply put, the column is where the chromatographic magic occurs. It is how the complex mixture of the jumbled mess of “stuff” (for example, blood) is uniquely separated into its unique parts (hopefully if everything is done correctly). The variables of the column in conjunction with the conditions of the method are that which causes […]
The Innocence Project weighs in on forensic science mishaps and fraudulent science
As of December 14, 2010, there have been 261 exonerees according to The Innocence Project. 74 of the 261 cases are connected to defective or fraudulent forensic science. That is over 28%. A new movie starring Hillary Swank in part exposes this phenomenon in Conviction. It chronicles the false conviction of Kenny Waters. From wikipedia: […]
Can (insert analyte) be tested for by GC-FID or GC-MS?
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 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 […]
Update on earlier post: Today’s accepted science is subject to review and is evolutionary
Earlier this week, I posted “Today’s accepted science is subject to review and is evolutionary“. In that post I posited: Science is a wonderful thing. It is perhaps the greatest organized device known for discovering the truth. However, it is not infallible. Today’s scientific axiom is tomorrow’s discredited idea. That is why I suggest that […]
Passive marijuana smoke leads to positive test that is misinterpreted as a probation/parole violation or being DUID
It is one thing to have a result. It is a whole other thing to know what to do with it. This blog post will consider the case of positive test results and the limits of interpreting the significance of those results in various contexts. It is estimated that as of 2009, one out of […]
The case for raw data: “Integration” in Gas Chromatography: How to make an innocent person guilty in a DUI case by manipulating the software
The case for raw data: “Integration” in Gas Chromatography: How to make an innocent person guilty in a DUI case by manipulating the software. The video below is part of the lecture that I gave at the hands-on laboratory training course held by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and Axion Analytical Labs in Chicago, IL […]
A screening test for possible drug presence is not a confirmation test
Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) or Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) (ELIA) is often a colormetric test whereby an enzyme is added to the prepared unknown and the reaction that occurs is either positive or negative. Assay Principle: ELISA assays operate on the basis of competition between the drug or its metabolite in the sample and the drug-enzyme […]
What’s Salt Got to Do With It? Salting Out Effect
If Tina Turner was an inexperienced chromatographer, perhaps she would sing “What’s salt got to do with it?” One of the important aspects of forensic testing is the validity of the result. The validity of the result is comprised of assuring that a test result is: Precise-a measure of how closely the results can be […]
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