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Lab Analyst Decision Complicates Prosecutions

By Steve Hall

That's the title of a report in today's Washington Post on the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling in  Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, last month.  Subitled, "High Court Requires Scientists to Testify," it's written by Tom Jackman. The predictions are dire. In New York, murderers could walk free. In Fairfax County, drunken driving cases could be dismissed. And nationwide, thousands of drug cases might have to be thrown out of court annually. Legal experts and prosecutors are concerned about the results of last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires lab analysts to be in court to testify about their tests. Lab sheets that identify a substance as a narcotic or breath-test printouts describing a suspect's blood-alcohol level are no longer sufficient evidence, the court ruled...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on July 15, 2009 (boomark / email).