Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Thanks to CAAFLog here’s a link to a short article in the Florida Courier about Phillip Mills the errant DNA examiner at USACIL and some impacts of his shoddy, lazy, and possibly manipulative work. Some highlights.
In a 2001 Navy case, for instance, Mills didn’t examine a knife presented as evidence. Another lab technician was more thorough several years later, and found the DNA of someone who wasn’t the suspect.
An offender still on the loose and a person possibly falsely accused.
Two former Navy lieutenants, Samuel Harris and Roger House, have been luckier, in a manner of speaking.
The evidence from an unfounded 2002 sexual assault case involving the two officers was retained, allowing investigators to discover years later that Mills had gotten it wrong. Exonerated by the Navy judge advocate general, Harris and House are pursuing back pay and other remedies through the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Other people may have gotten off scot-free because of Mills’ errors.
Mills didn’t find stains or DNA in 49 cases that he analyzed from 1995 to 2005. Because his examinations were "incomplete, rushed and not properly screened," according to a lab review, it’s likely that he missed some evidence.