FSN: Forensic Science News » News Stories

San Francisco’s $140k Waste

Forensics Guy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:00:29 +0000

FGI-FSN —

There is routinely resource shortages in police departments, civilian sections are routinely “put on the backburner” until things reach a crisis level and bad press requires things to get taken care of.

The resource shortage can sometimes cause different civilian bureaus to not “play well together”. Much like children who are jealous of

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Turn Off That Radio or Risk a DWI

Forensics Guy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:00:12 +0000

FGI-FSN —

DUI defense attorneys everywhere are going to need to start diversifying. Not only do they need to understand the effects of alcohol, and other drugs of interest, cell phones, but perhaps even radio programming.

Studies have shown that talking on a cell phone (hands-free or not) can be the same as driving at

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San Francisco Backs Off on Moving Crime Lab out of the PD

Forensics Guy — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:00:31 +0000

FGI-FSN —

San Francisco is shelving the idea of moving the crime lab out of the police department. The reason stated is not only do they plan on moving the lab out of the police department figuratively, they also want to move it out literally — as in build a new crime lab.

San Francisco

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What Police Learned from Rodney King

Forensics Guy — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:00:07 +0000

FGI-FSN —

They learned to have their friends at the prosecutor’s office prosecute people who video them behaving badly. This was after dashboard cams were removed for budgetary reasons…

[Note, in this case the police officer seems to have acted appropriately.]

That Anthony Graber broke the law in early March is indisputable. He raced his Honda

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Just How Accurate are Blood Alcohol Test Results?

Forensics Guy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:00:19 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Just how accurate are blood alcohol results? This is the subject of much discussion in the realm of DUI cases. There are numerous ways to approach an error rate (or uncertainty rate), but it certainly needs to be approached.

When forensic scientists testify that the defendants blood alcohol concentration is X, intellectually

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Joint City-County Emergency DNA Lab for Houston PD?

Forensics Guy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:00:22 +0000

FGI-FSN —

It appears Houston PD is having a hard time catching up with their DNA backlog. The plans for a regional crime lab will likely meet the needs of the community, but that’s still a ways off. A possible solution is a temporary joint city-county crime lab, so handle the growing backlog

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Texas Rangers Investigating Austin Crime Lab

Forensics Guy — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:10:54 +0000

FGI-FSN —

The lab says it’s just procedure and has nothing to do with the allegations filed by DNA Scientist Cecily Hamilton.

The Texas Rangers are now looking into any problems that could exist at the East Austin crime lab. Friday, Chief Acevedo said the elite DPS unit will help clear the air.

Texas Ranger Captain Freeman

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Grim Sleeper Serial Killer Caught by Controversial DNA Search Program

Forensics Guy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:20 +0000

FGI-FSN —

In California a convicted felon’s DNA will not only be checked to see if they committed other crimes, but it can also check to see if family members might have committed crimes as well..

In less than two years, a new and controversial DNA searching program launched by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.

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Problems with the Austin Crime Lab?

Forensics Guy — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:00:45 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Are the accusations by former DNA analyst Cecily Hamilton well founded, or just the parting jabs of a disgruntled ex-employee? At this point there is no way to know for sure.

Kudos to the City of Austin, for working with the defense community in finding agreeable outside experts to investigate the matter.

Authorities said

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Detroit Crime Lab to Re-open?

Forensics Guy — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:00:59 +0000

FGI-FSN —

The Detroit Crime Lab might be re-opening. If it does, it will be under the Michigan State Police, not Detroit PD.

If city officials open a crime lab in a new police headquarters, the facility won’t be staffed by Detroit police.

Detroit police tell the Detroit Free Press for a story Tuesday that Michigan

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New Ohio Law Requires Police to Store DNA Evidence

Forensics Guy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:00:09 +0000

FGI-FSN —

The state of Ohio just passed a law that requires law enforcement to retain biological evidence:

Police departments, sheriff’s offices and crime labs throughout the state will be required to retain all biological evidence collected from crime scenes of specified crimes for up to 30 years — in some cases longer — beginning Tuesday,

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Michigan State University to Study Rape Kit Backlog

Forensics Guy — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:00:49 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Michican State University is going to study how long/how much, it will take to clear out Michigan’s rape kit backlog.

A Michigan State University study may hold the key to processing 10,500 rape evidence kits never analyzed by the now-defunct Detroit Police crime laboratory and could lead to prosecution of hundreds, possibly thousands, of

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Michigan Chief Toxicologist Admits BAC Results Lack Error Rate

Forensics Guy — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:39:49 +0000

FGI-FSN —

A recent story on DUIAttorney.com highlights what many forensics labs fail to do — report their error rate.

None of the labs in Arizona report the error clearly in their official reports, even though the recents National Academy Of Science report indicated they should.

Most labs in Arizona even use a forensic software application that

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Rape Backlogs Can’t be Cleared up by Simply Throwing More Money at Crime Lab

Forensics Guy — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:00:13 +0000

FGI-FSN —

There are a lot of opinions and news stories about rape kit backlogs. Many people advocate more money for crime labs. Some talk about outsourcing rape kits to private laboratories. The blog article below even advocates making sure tax money already earmarked for law enforcement is channeled to helping reduce

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San Francisco Prosecutor’s Office shake-up after 1700 Drug Cases Called into Question

Forensics Guy — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:00:53 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Additional information is coming out regarding the scope of Deborah Madden’s recent criminal history conviction, drug/alcohol use, and drug evidence theft. It appears that upwards of 1,700 cases have had Ms. Madden’s involvement since her criminal domestic violence conviction, previously not disclosed to prosecutors.

The then chief of the drug crimes division of

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Is Sanfranciscoitious Catching in Illinois?

Forensics Guy — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Besides San Francisco and Fresno California’s questionable practices involving drug chemistry work, it appears something might be amiss at the Illinois State Police. Kudos to the ISP for barring the analyst from further case work, and getting the information out, until the investigation is concluded. Hopefully the prosecutor office will inform

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Crime Lab Wanted — Donations Accepted

Forensics Guy — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:21:59 +0000

FGI-FSN —

It’s a sad state of affairs when the crime lab has to ask for donations, in order to have the facilities to meet demand.

KTNV 13 Action News broadcast about a Crime Lab fundraising project to raise funds to build a Forensic Science Center/Crime Lab in Henderson Nevada. Video Rating: 4

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SF Prosecutor Accuses Judge of Bias

Forensics Guy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:00:21 +0000

FGI-FSN —

What do you do when you get caught not playing by the rules? Accuse the umpire of applying the rules unfairly. At least that’s what I saw the 7–9 year olds on my son’s baseball team do last season.

Apparently San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris agrees, and has accused

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Scathing Article About Houston PD Crime Lab

Forensics Guy — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:00:14 +0000

FGI-FSN —

A recent Houston Chronicle editorial blasts the Houston Crime Laboratory. The article starts off by stating:

On television, on the police drama CSI (for Crime Scene Investigation), the brilliant, dedicated completely professional staff of the Las Vegas Police Department solves every crime that comes into its hands through flawless forensic science and with

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Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Individual Gun Rights

Forensics Guy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:27:06 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Today the US Supreme Court ruled as expected in MacDonald v Chicago. In a 5–4 ruling, they reiterated their previous ruling (Heller v District of Columbia) that the Second Amendment guarantees individuals’ rights “to keep and bear arms.” They also stated, clearly, that the ruling does not prevent state and local

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Douglas County Citizens Paying for State-wide Forensic Analysis

Forensics Guy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:00:03 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Is it just me, or if a lab is going to charge to analyze evidence that isn’t collected within it’s jurisdiction, shouldn’t they charge enough to cover the costs to analyze it?

What we have in Nebraska is tantamount to forensic welfare.

The Douglas County crime lab is a bargain for law enforcement agencies throughout

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Forensics Guy Interviewed Regarding Recent Phoenix Police Officer Slaying

Forensics Guy — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:32:39 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Forensics Guy was recently interviewed by the Phoenix CBS local affiliate KPHO, regarding the type of ammunition used in a recent Phoenix Police Officer slaying.

Below is a portion of the relevant text from the article, with a clarification for accuracy.

Watch Video

PHOENIX — A .223-caliber bullet was used to kill Phoenix police Officer Travis

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San Francisco Crime Lab Fiasco Now a Political Pawn

Forensics Guy — Mon, 17 May 2010 15:00:06 +0000

FGI-FSN —

An interested blog entry on the Sacramento Bee by Susan Ferriss points out that one Democrat candidate for California Lt. Governor is using the San Fransisco PD drug lab situation to further her campaign.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn is ramping up her use of San Francisco’s troubled crime lab in her

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Arizona DPS Crime Lab Budget Crisis

Forensics Guy — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:00:29 +0000

FGI-FSN —

If AZ Prop 100 doesn’t pass, it will mean longer turn around at the state crime lab. Forensic science analysis costs money. If the state crime lab isn’t funded, agencies will have to find other cheaper (ie: private labs) alternatives:

If voters fail to approve Proposition 100, the Arizona Department of Public

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Arizona Adopts Daubert Standard

Forensics Guy — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:00:09 +0000

FGI-FSN —

It came as a complete surprise to me, but apparently Arizona just left behind the Frye Standard for expert testimony, and adopted the Daubert Standard. See the recently signed into law Arizona SB 1189.

What it means is that expert witnesses, scientists and other witnesses giving opinion based testimony of a technical nature,

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