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'Scent Lineups' Stink to Critics

By standdown

That's the title of a report in today's USA Today written by Kevin Johnson.  LINKTwo federal lawsuits are casting a harsh spotlight on an investigative tool long beloved by American law enforcement: a bloodhound's nose.Lawsuits filed in Victoria, Texas, allege that Fort Bend County Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett and his team of hounds ? James Bond, Quincy and Clue ? failed controversial sniff tests known as "scent lineups."Much like in traditional lineups, the dogs link human scents left at crime scenes to samples from suspects.In each case, the suits allege, Pikett's dogs called attention to the wrong person. Both former suspects have been cleared.The legal challenges are "a first for us," says Randall Morse, an assistant county attorney who is representing Pikett...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).