Innocence Blog

Science Thursdays: Lab vs. Courtroom - How Much Proof Is Enough?

Posted: March 10, 2011 5:15 pm

Tensions between legal and scientific methodologies complicate the acceptance of forensic science, domestic forensic science issues are linked to wrongful convictions and international forensic institutions are shuttering or sputtering.  Here’s a roundup of forensic news:

NPR discusses the tension between integrating a technology in court and ensuring it is first properly validated.

Norah Rudin and Keith Inman discuss the principles of science in forensics and comment on proposed legislation to reform forensic science.

A forensic expert testified in a New Zealand trial that gunshot residue can linger in the air after a gunshot is fired, so the presence of residue is not proof that a person fired a gun. 

An Arizona woman exonerated of capital murder charges based on faulty medical evidence is seeking compensation from Maricopa County.

Drug test results for a Long Island teen who struck and killed an elderly woman while allegedly intoxicated may be in admissible because of the closure of the Nassau County Police Crime Lab drug unit.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation agent, whose work lead to the wrongful conviction of Gregory Taylor, says he did nothing wrong. 

In the UK, private labs testify that the closure of the national Forensic Science Service will not have a negative impact on the field.

All three of Calgary’s medical examiners are departing, leaving the city with no forensic pathologists.