Diana Morales: Texas; Austin police DNA lab supervisor: ('Oh, no. Here we go again' department...More grist for our mill as we head into 2017... HL); Her performance reported by The Austin American-Statesman to have "triggered alarm" in a sex assault case..." At one point, minutes before she was set to testify in the May trial, she also had to call another analyst to help her with calculations, prosecutors said. Grunewald and Smith documented their worries, and the district attorney’s office made those memos part of a file of potential witnesses whom they consider unreliable. Yet Morales, whose qualifications to analyze DNA had been questioned by a colleague as far back as 2010, continued working for the Austin Police Department. Only last week, after the American-Statesman revealed how Morales handled the broken freezer and state experts informed the department that they no longer wanted to help retrain her, did officials reassign her from the lab to the department’s records division. The latest revelations come as the scope of the problems inside the troubled lab continue to come into focus, rippling throughout the Travis County criminal justice system."

STORY: "Austin DNA lab leader’s work triggered alarm in sex assault case," by reporters Tony Plohetski and Andrea Ball, published by The Austin American-Statesman on December 15, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS: "Prosecutors at the Travis County DA’s office questioned DNA lab leader Diana Morales’ reliability as a witness. State auditors raised a red flag because it seemed the lab hadn’t followed its own protocols in the case."

GIST: "Two months after an Austin police lab supervisor stayed mum about a broken freezer housing hundreds of DNA samples this year, Travis County prosecutors in an ongoing sexual assault trial got panicky about her analysis and questioned her about her conclusions in that case. Her answers alarmed them even more, according to memos written by the prosecutors. Prosecutors Brandon Grunewald and Robert Smith believed DNA technical leader Diana Morales contradicted herself during two separate conversations, according to their memo. At one point, minutes before she was set to testify in the May trial, she also had to call another analyst to help her with calculations, prosecutors said. Grunewald and Smith documented their worries, and the district attorney’s office made those memos part of a file of potential witnesses whom they consider unreliable. Yet Morales, whose qualifications to analyze DNA had been questioned by a colleague as far back as 2010, continued working for the Austin Police Department. Only last week, after the American-Statesman revealed how Morales handled the broken freezer and state experts informed the department that they no longer wanted to help retrain her, did officials reassign her from the lab to the department’s records division. The latest revelations come as the scope of the problems inside the troubled lab continue to come into focus, rippling throughout the Travis County criminal justice system. This week, the Statesman reported that the state would no longer work to retrain four of the lab’s six DNA analysts, including Morales, after losing confidence in their abilities. And officials have said it might cost up to $14 million to review results of testing from the lab in 6,000 cases over a 12-year period. Interim Police Chief Brian Manley said he learned of concerns about Morales’ work in the sexual assault case against 26-year-old William McGee in June, when the Texas Forensic Science Commission also cited her performance in that case as troublesome. Officials responded to the commission’s numerous concerns by closing the lab.........The two incidents aren’t the first time Morales’ work has come under scrutiny. In 2010, a former crime lab employee wrote a 25-page memo complaining about personnel and professional problems at the crime lab. Among her complaints: Morales wasn’t qualified to do her job and had cheated on a test to decide whether she was competent to analyze DNA. In her allegation, the former employee accused a supervisor of helping Morales make DNA calculations, but an internal investigation determined that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by Morales or her supervisor."

The entire story can be found at:
 

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/crime--law/austin-dna-lab-leader-work-triggered-alarm-sex-assault-case/7Rwn2cGy1781kJesXdcCVJ/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.