Can crime lab results be trusted?” is the wrong question for a defendant and his or her defense attorney to ask because the only honest answer is some form of “It depends” or “Not always.”
Rather, building and proceeding with a defense depends on answering the following questions as completely as possible:
- Which lab test results are police and prosecutors planning to use to make the case that the defendant committed the alleged crime?
- What samples were tested in a crime lab?
- Were all the tested samples collected legally and in accordance with rules created by courts and the legislature to protect suspects’ rights and safety?
- How were the tests conducted? Best practices, legal standards, and state of the art change constantly. Were all the lab’s practices up to date and fully compliant?
- What equipment was used to perform the tests?
- Were all the pieces of lab equipment used to perform the tests in good repair, recently certified for accuracy, and operated correctly?
- How much time elapsed between the collection of the samples and when they were analyzed? This information is especially important when it comes to alcohol and drug tests.
- Were all the crime lab technicians who performed the tests properly trained and adequately supervised?
- Who signed the lab reports?
- Did everyone who collected, transported, handled, and stored the testing samples keep proper records to show that no tampering occurred?
- Can the samples be independently tested by experts chosen by the defense team?
- Do the lab results from the crime lab and the independent tests match?
- If different labs reach different results, why did that happen?
Even this long list does not exhaust all the questions a Columbus, Oho, drunk driving attorney or criminal defense lawyer will ask on behalf of his client. The goal is to ensure that any lab test results presented to a judge or jury to “prove” guilt can withstand the highest degree of scrutiny.
Why All the Questions?
Never forget that securing a criminal conviction requires presenting proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Showing that, say, the location and possession of blood samples taken from a drunk or drugged driving suspect cannot be fully accounted for from the time they were drawn until they were placed into long-term storage introduces a great deal of doubt over whether blood concentration values presented by a prosecutor can be trusted.
In another example, when a criminal defense attorney who learns that an untrained technician signed off on a DNA test interpretation, s/he will have a case to make for calling the finding into question. The same is true if a second analysis commissioned by the defense lawyer shows that the DNA could have come from a person other than the defendant.
When he takes on a case, one of the first things Columbus OH drunk driving attorney and defense lawyer Colin Maher does is request lab test results and ensure he has access to all the testing records. If you need a legal advocate to perform these services for you, call The Maher Law Firm at (614) 205-2208 or set up an appointment online. The initial consultation on your case is free.
