We all know that a defense counsel (and for that matter trial counsel) should not trust what comes out of a military drug lab, USACIL, or DCFL – I won’t rehash the problems over the years – which may well be continuing. While the problems have been substantial, DOD and courts have been quite happy to rely on the various “forensic” labs to put or keep people in jail.
So, why does this surprise me.
“Review Found FBI Hair Analysis Flaws in 250 Cases, But DOJ Didn’t Inform Defendants and Public (does this sound like USACIL or what)” says the ABA Journal.
The Washington Post is doing a mini-McClatchey.
Convicted defendants left uninformed of forensic flaws found by Justice Dept.
Justice Dept., FBI to review use of forensic evidence in thousands of cases.
The review comes after The Washington Post reported in April that Justice Department officials had known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to the convictions of potentially innocent people but had not performed a thorough review of the cases. In addition, prosecutors did not notify defendants or their attorneys even in many cases they knew were troubled.