Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak: Daily Hampshire Gazette looks at "The drug lab mess" and rejects "rogue chemist" theory. Wants "system" examined.

EDITORIAL: "The drug lab mess" published in January, 2013. (Reader may have to register under "free access" to view this editorial.

GIST: "In July, the state police assumed oversight of both the Amherst and Jamaica Plain labs from the state Department of Public Health. The state police were already running 10 labs around the state. Now they run all but one, at the UMass Medical School in Worcester, which is supervised by the Worcester County district attorney. The goal in having state police take over the DPH labs was to improve efficiency and set uniform standards. The labs under DPH supervision lacked the resources to meet national accreditation standards that the state police lab system had achieved. In the wake of the Amherst case, an independent review of all the state’s labs is warranted to ensure they are meeting accreditation standards. The state public health director, who resigned over the Jamaica Plain scandal, blamed it on the actions of a “rogue chemist.” In our opinion, the state must examine its system of accounting for materials processed and look also at how staff are trained, monitored and reviewed."

The entire editorial can be found at:

http://www.gazettenet.com/home/3993142-95/state-lab-police-amherst

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.

Dr. Aubrey Levin: Former forensic psychiatrist's sexual assault trial goes a third day. The Canadian Press.

STORY: "Aubrey Levin's sex assault trial's jury goes a third day," by the Canadian Press, published on January 27, 2013.

GIST: "For a third straight day a seven man-four woman jury will seek to determine the fate of a prominent Calgary psychiatrist accused of molesting several of his court-appointed patients. Dr. Aubrey Levin, 74, is accused of sexually assaulting nine of his male patients, all of whom were assigned to him through the courts between 1999 and 2010. The case was handed to the jury on Friday but it failed to reach a verdict for a second straight day Saturday.........The case took a strange twist after it was sent to the jury. A juror who was dismissed a couple of weeks ago told the court she`d been approached near the court house and offered an envelope full of cash to find Levin not guilty. The psychiatrist's wife, Erica Levin, 69, has been under house arrest for contempt of court and is expected to be charged with obstruction of justice over the next few days."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/27/aubrey-levin-calgary-psychiatrist-jury-goes-third-day_n_2560657.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.  

Larry Swearingen: DA Says his DNA Motion is a stall tactic (meant to delay his execution): Offer for expedited testing is rejected on basis that testing required is complex and time-consuming. Reporter Jordan Smith. The Austin Chronicle.

STORY: "DA says Swearingen DNA motion is a  stall tactic: Offer for expedited testing is rejected," by reporter Jordan Smith, published in the Austin Chronicle on January 25, 2013.

GIST: "Lawmakers in 2011 updated the Texas post-conviction DNA testing statute, in part to broaden the definition of biological material – thus, directly addressing the issue that had blocked Swearingen from testing the pantyhose ligature along with other items, including articles of Trotter's clothing and scrapings from under the fingernails of one of her hands. (Previous testing on scrapings taken from one of her hands revealed an unknown DNA profile; whether that profile has been compared to DNA in a national database is unclear.) As such, Swearingen's attorneys – which includes Houston's James Rytting  and now Bryce Benjet  and the New York Innocence Project  – last week filed a motion to secure DNA testing of the as-yet untested materials. Although  (DA) Ligon initially scoffed at the idea, he has changed course, this week offering to expedite transfer of the items to the lab of the defense's choosing, and to pay for the DNA testing out of the county's pocket. Swearingen's attorneys have declined the request. That prompted Ligon to issue a press release Friday, lambasting the defense for stalling what Ligon sees as the inevitable execution of Swearingen. "It is obvious that Swearingen's attorneys desire additional testing only if it will result in another delay of the execution," reads the press release. "The district attorney remains willing to facilitate the DNA testing requested by the defense, but will oppose any further stay of execution." While Swearingen's attorneys are "relieved" to hear that Ligon has finally agreed to DNA testing, they think that a rush to get it done within a month is unreasonable. "Due to the nature of the evidence in this case, the testing required is complicated and could require several different types of analysis," said Barry Scheck co-director of the Innocence Project. "The careful forensic work required will simply take more time than we have under the execution date that was set by the state." In other words, the defense wants to make sure the DNA analysts are looking closely at the evidence and not at the clock. Moreover, Scheck said that conducting the testing pursuant to an agreement with Ligon outside the provisions of the statute "that was amended in direct response to this case would severely compromise Mr. Swearingen's ability to get the reliable testing that can prove his innocence."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/news/2013-01-25/da-says-swearingen-dna-motion-is-stall-tactic/

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.  

http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/news/2013-01-25/da-says-swearingen-dna-motion-is-stall-tactic/


Sent from my iPad

Aarushi Talwar case: India; A fascinating brilliantly written look at one of India’s most notorious murder trials - and the brutal harm caused to the innocent by outdated forensic and investigative techniques: Shree Paradkar tells her cousins's story. Toronto Star. Must Read.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Kudo's to Shree Paradkar and the Toronto Star for putting the spotlight on  this troubling, on-going  trial which has all the makings of a miscarriage of justice and a perversion of forensic pathology and sound police investigation.  The Star has accompanied the story with an array of  valuable links. I do not use the words "Must Read" lightly:

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

STORY: "Aarushi Talwar murder: A look at one of India's most notorious trials," by Shree Paradkar, published by the Toronto Star on January 26, 2013.

GIST: "When I tell my cousins’ story to non-Indians, the reaction is usually shock and puzzlement. How can a country have democracy and anarchy in equal measure? How can an IT powerhouse accept outdated forensics and investigative techniques? The answer is simple. There are many Indias. I grew up in one of them. I lived in the same cocoon as Nupur, Rajesh and about 350 million middle-class Indians — a third of the country. Members of that group enjoy varying degrees of luxury; we had maids, cooks and drivers. Human rights, sciences and the arts are discussed within this cocoon. The police operate outside of it. I knew they were not like Law & Order SVU. I did not expect yellow tape around a crime scene. I did expect police to protect it by at least shutting doors. It came as a shock an investigative system could fail so badly."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1320111--aarushi-talwar-murder-a-look-at-one-of-india-s-most-notorious-trials

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.   

Houston Crime Lab: From ignominy to role model: How Houston surged ahead of the curve in forensic science. David A. Harris. Houston Chronicle.

COMMENTARY: "Houston ahead of curve in forensic science,"by David A. Harris, published in the Chronicle on January 18, 2013. (David Harris, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of law, is the author of "Failed Evidence: Why Law Enforcement Resists Science.")

GIST: "In the crucial area of forensic science, Houston is ahead of the curve. A look at the rest of the country on the intersection of law enforcement and science shows that while most police and prosecution agencies generally resist science as it applies to what they do, Houston has taken some rare steps forward.........The National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) has been the most vocal critic of the idea of independence for forensic labs. In an official resolution in 2010, the NDAA announced that it would oppose any effort to make laboratories independent of law enforcement. The idea that the people in any organization will attempt to please those in charge - a thoroughly researched form of a standard cognitive bias that can be countered by making labs independent - does not concern the NDAA. And the NDAA's position is not the least bit unusual. The premier crime laboratory in the nation is the FBI's own laboratory, and three years after the Academy report, the FBI has made no move to make the lab independent. Unfortunately, the NDAA's effort to resist recommendations for improving law enforcement investigation based upon scientific work is the norm in most jurisdictions in the country. There are now years of solid, peer-reviewed and published scientific work on the basics of what police do: eyewitness identification, interrogating suspects and using basic forensic science such as fingerprint identification, ballistics and analysis of hair and fibers. Some of this work has been around for decades. It has pinpointed the sources of many errors with these common methods and it has also proposed ways to improve police work in these areas, at relatively low cost. And yet most of law enforcement refuses to change their methods in order to avoid costly errors and wrongful convictions. They ignore the science, saying that they know best and will not be dictated to by a bunch of laboratory eggheads - even in the face of 300 proven wrongful convictions. Thankfully, the leadership in Houston has taken another path with regard to the independence of the crime lab. They have not spent time and energy denying the science that shows, without question, an increased possibility of bias and error when labs are not independent. Instead, they've made a break with the past and will be moving forward into an era of better forensic work. Houston can serve as an example of what kind of progress is possible."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Houston-ahead-of-curve-in-forensic-science-4206722.php

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.  

Dr. Aubrey Levin: Bizarre development. Former forensic psychiatrist's wife has been arrested for allegedly trying to bribe a juror. Jury is now sequestered pending its verdict. Reporter Daryl Slade. Calgary Herald.

STORY: "Aubrey Levin's wife arrested for allegedly trying to bribe juror," by reporter Daryl Slade, published in the Calgary Herald on January 25, 2013.

GIST: "As the jury began deliberating on the fate of former court psychiatrist Dr. Aubrey Levin on Friday for charges of sexually assaulting nine patients, his wife remains in hot water for allegedly trying to bribe one of the jurors. Erica Levin, who had been in court every day for more than three months of the trial, spent two days in remand and the last two weeks on bail under house arrest after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donna Shelley, presiding over her 73-year-old husband’s trial, cited her for contempt. Shelley reluctantly dismissed the female juror on Jan. 14 as a precaution after the woman wrote a letter to her outlining the alleged bribe three days earlier, then ordered Mrs. Levin, 69, to be arrested. “This is an extremely serious matter. If proven, it is a serious criminal matter with serious criminal consequences,” the judge said. “We have a juror who has done nothing wrong regarding her oath and instructions.".........The juror told the judge that she recognized the woman, who offered her either $1,000 or $10,000 in a white envelope at the 5th Street LRT platform adjacent to the courthouse in payment for a not-guilty verdict, as having sat in the gallery behind her husband many times in the trial that began in October. The juror also told the judge the perpetrator said “my husband” at least twice. Erica Levin was prohibited from attending the courthouse and to not contact any jury member in any way as long as it continues. She was subsequently released on bail by another judge, Justice Ron Stevens, on $25,000 in non-cash surety and placed under 24-hour house arrest until her husband’s trial has concluded. The trial has continued with the remaining 11 jurors.
City police continue to investigate, have acquired closed-circuit video involving the alleged bribe, and criminal charges could also be laid after Dr. Levin’s trial."
 

The entire story can be found at:

Huffington Post entry:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/25/aubrey-levins-wife-charged-bribe-juror_n_2552573.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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. 

Ed Graf: Texas. A better approach needed to allow courts to deal with convictions based on junk arson science: Grits for Breakfast.

POST: "Judge recommends habeas relief in conviction based on junk arson science," published by "Grits for Breakfast" on January 25, 2013.

GIST: "Graf's case will be the first time the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will consider whether a defendant convicted based on junk arson science may be entitled to habeas relief, or at least the first since the whole controversy over the Todd Willingham case brought international attention to the subject. But precedents at the high court are all over the map regarding whether such convictions can be overturned when the science changes or improves, and several judges on the CCA think it shouldn't be allowed. The Texas Legislature this spring will consider a bill (expected to be filed next week) to close that gap in state habeas law to clarify that new, potentially exonerating scientific evidence can provide a basis for post-conviction relief. The measure is one of two recommendations from the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions that the Legislature has not yet acted upon (the other is to require police to record custodial interrogations). For Graf's sake, and others similarly situated, I hope it passes this time around.........This morning Grits is headed to the Forensic Science Commission meeting where they'll hear a presentation on the status of the arson review being conducted by the state fire marshal and my employers at the Innocence Project of Texas."

The entire post can be found at:

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.ca/2013/01/judge-recommends-habeas-relief-in.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.