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Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions
Loaded on Oct. 15, 2010
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2010, page 1
Filed under:
Contractor Misconduct,
Police Misconduct,
Government Misconduct,
Malicious Prosecution,
Evidence,
DNA Testing/Samples,
Mechanical Searches/Scanners,
Crime,
Statistics/Trends,
Databases,
Conspiracy,
Staffing,
Jury Instructions,
Expert Witnesses,
Sentencing,
Wrongful Conviction,
Failure to Train/Supervise.
Locations:
United Kingdom,
India,
United States of America.
To millions of people whose knowledge of crime labs comes from television shows such as CSI, Bones, Crossing Jordan and the venerable Quincy M.E., the forensic experts who work at such labs seem to be infallible scientists who use validated scientific techniques to follow the evidence to the truth, …
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More from this issue:
- Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
- Prisoners of the Census in New York: Democracy on the March!, by Eric Lotke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- New York Prisons Avoid Budget Axe, by David Reutter
- Are Doctors Complicit in Prison Torture? The Maine Medical Community Looks at Solitary Confinement, by Lance Tapley
- State Auditor Issues Report on Washington Department of Corrections
- $13 Million Settlement in DC Mass Arrest of Protestors, by David Reutter
- Settlement Allows North Carolina Prisoners to Receive Compensation for Writings, by David Reutter
- Expanded Eligibility for New York Medical Parole Has Little Effect, by Matthew Clarke
- Ex-Cons Face Tougher Job Market in Great Recession, by David Reutter
- Governing Through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear, by Jonathan Simon (Oxford University Press 2007), 344 pages, by Ian Head
- New York Prison Chaplain Accused of Smuggling Weapons
- Prisoners’ Self-Help Litigation Manual, 4th Edition, by John Boston and Daniel Manville, Oxford University Press, 960 Pages, $39.95, by Paul Wright
- Former President of Florida Sheriff’s Association Enters Plea in Kickback Scheme, by David Reutter
- $3.125 Million in Settlements in Oregon Prisoner’s Beating Death
- Tennessee Judge Facing Misconduct Charges Tries to Depose Disciplinary Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Awarded $185,000 in Civil Rights Claim; Harassment Continues, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Says Qualified Immunity Warranted for Comb-Binding Denial, by Mark Wilson
- Washington Prisoners Need Not Show Prima Facie Case Upon Challenging Prison Discipline, by David Reutter
- Virginia Issues Report on Monitoring of Sex Offenders Subject to Registration
- Georgia Ends Contact Visits for Death Row Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Texas Controversy: Governor Guts Forensic Science Commission, by Matthew Clarke
- For Lease: Never-Used 525-Bed Oregon Jail, $45 Million or Best Offer, by Mark Wilson
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Ban on Dungeons & Dragons, by Brandon Sample
- New York Prison Superintendents Live in Lap of Luxury on Taxpayer Subsidy
- Third Circuit Reverses $642,398.57 Attorney Fee Award for RFRA Claim by Immigration Prisoner
- U.S. Supreme Court: No Bivens Remedy Available Against PHS Staff, by Brandon Sample
- Fraudsters Sentenced in Cornell Prison Construction Scheme, by Brandon Sample
- Successful Appellate Ruling Invalidating Statute Creates Prevailing Party for Attorney Fee Award, by David Reutter
- Exhaustion Excused Where Warden Misled Prisoner During Grievance Process, by Brandon Sample
- Ninth Circuit: Los Angeles County Not Liable for Occasional Over-Detentions, by Michael Brodheim
- Female Assistant Attorney General Pleads Guilty in Wife-Beating Case, by Mark Wilson
- Sexual Abuse of Youths at Tennessee Juvenile Facility Widespread, by David Reutter
- Fake Rape Claim Puts Woman in Prison, by Brandon Sample
- News in Brief:
- Limitations Period in Suit Over Delay in Providing Surgery Begins When Prisoner is Recommended for Surgery, by Brandon Sample
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- GAO Report on ICE Jail in Fort Bliss Finds Independent Failures, Sept. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Overcrowding, Security Systems, Americans with Disabilities Act, Immigration Detention.
- BOP Denies Providing Substandard Dialysis Treatment Despite Prisoners’ Deaths, Court Filings, Understaffing and Lack of Oversight, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Staffing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Delaware’s Lack of Prison Healthcare Oversight, Sept. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Grievances.
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Atlanta Jail Begins Turning Away Misdemeanor Arrestees, Sept. 1, 2026. Escapes, Staffing, Security Systems, Consent Decrees.
- New ICE Detention Standards Appear Designed to Help GEO Group Avoid Paying Wages, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Immigration Detention.
- Report Highlights Repeated Overdoses at Florida County Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Drug Overdose.
- The GEO Group Pays California $104,510 to Settle Workplace Safety Charges at ICE Detention Facility—Where Local Cops Won’t Investigate Crimes, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Rising Deaths in Los Angeles County Jail Linked to Longer Stays, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Reduction of Prison Population.
- What 911 Calls Reveal About Jail Operations, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Statistics/Trends, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Staff Training.