COURT REVISITS RULING FORCING LAB ANALYST TESTIMONY

The U.S. Supreme Court revisited an issue it had appeared to resolve just months ago dealing with crime lab test results and when crime lab analysts must testify in court. In two cases from Virginia, the court flirted with undermining or reversing the ruling in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts.

All eyes were on Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the newest member of the Supreme Court, whose background as a Manhattan prosecutor gave many hope that she would tip the balance against the Melendez-Diaz decision. Sotomayor did not disappoint, asking lots of questions as the court considered two drug convictions based on affidavits from crime lab analysts as to what the substance was that was found on or near the defendants. But at the end of the day, she was noncommittal.

Read the full NPR story here

INNOVATIVE TATTOO MATCHING TECHNOLOGY

MorphoTrak has acquired a unique tattoo matching technology developed by Michigan State University. With this technology, the law enforcement community will now have the capability to accurately and efficiently search tattoo image databases to identify suspects, criminals and victims.

Read the MorphoTrak press release here.

U.S. SEVENTH CIRCUIT WEIGHS IN ON CRIME LAB EVIDENCE

The Supreme Court was not the only court wrestling this week with the admissibility of crime-lab evidence. A day after the Justices heard oral argument in Briscoe v. Virginia, the Seventh Circuit decided United States v. Turner. Both cases put into question the vitality of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts.

The ruling in Melendez-Diaz required that crime lab analysts testify if their reports were submitted into evidence in keeping with the defendant’s right to confront his accuser. Since then states have been struggling with ways to comply without increasing the burden on underfunded and understaffed crime labs.

Read the full story from the Marquette University Law School blog.

CRIME SCENE RECONSTRUCTIONIST CERTIFICATE DELAYED

You may be aware that the IAI is preparing to offer certification in the field of crime scene reconstruction. The Crime Scene Certification Board will administer that program and will be a new and separate certification from those currently offered by that board. There will not be a hierarchy to that certification in comparison to the three levels of certification currently offered. It will be a separate certification.
Originally scheduled for implementation in January, 2010 it is now set to begin in
March of this year. Watch the IAI’s website, www.theiai.org, for more details about this new program and dates of launch.

-Joe Polski, IAI COO

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1999-2009

Our web site, moia.org, celebrated ten years of continuous operations.

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