Cops in Lab Coats and Forensics in the Courtroom (original) (raw)

2016, 13 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 543

Sandra Guerra Thompson’s book, Cops in Lab Coats: Curbing Wrongful Convictions Through Independent Forensic Laboratories, debuts when forensic flaws are reaching a pinnacle of exposure. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—arguably the best of the best in the forensics world—has conceded that it is currently re-examining thousands of closed cases for errant and faulty forensic testimony. While the FBI has conducted this type of review on a previous occasion, this time the review is public and all of us—including criminal defendants—know about it. Law enforcement’s past cover-ups of faulty forensics is at the heart of Thompson’s book: she posits that forensic labs should be independent rather than controlled by prosecutors and used to convict persons no matter the human cost. In brief, Thompson’s book captures the recent history of forensic validation—and invalidation—and its critical impact on the criminal justice system. Cops in Lab Coats traces the recent history of forensic reform in the context of the criminal justice system and exposes the damage inflicted on that system by forensic fraud. Thompson’s inclusion of wrongful convictions in her discussion mirrors the national conversation. Innocence is the primary impetus to ensure that forensic disciplines become more reliable, forensic findings more testable, and forensic inquiries more independent.