Science News

A New York State Crime Lab Director loses her job, while digital forensics experts escape scientific scrutiny. Here’s this week’s roundup of forensic news.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is

refusing

to release information on over two dozen examiners who failed certification tests.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office’s employs some of the nation’s top pathologists, but a lack of independence has also lead to hiring “

patronage employees

” from successive county administrations.  

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, a New York State crime lab director has lost her job for

incorrectly claiming

that the statute of limitations had expired on items in evidence. 

 

Minimally trained examiners

can become digital forensics experts and can unknowingly make assertions about a defendant’s actions that are not supported by fact. Digital forensics experts need the same level of scrutiny that other forensic science disciplines have been getting in recent years.