I came across this article and it made me sick to my stomach.  It made me mad and when you read it I’m sure you’ll be mad too.  A “forensics” lab in San Diego was found to be producing faulty test results that lead to innocent people being convicted of being under the influence of narcotics:

Local criminal cases may have been tainted by false drug tests:

The criminal drug cases against as many as 1,000 people may have been tainted by false-positive narcotics tests from a Los Angeles-area lab, and defense lawyers in San Diego County have been told by prosecutors that their clients may be jailed due to faulty tests, it was reported Saturday.

Imagine an innocent person, someone you love, is arrested and is falsely convicted of a DUI or a drug related offense because of sloppy lab work.  They are thrown into prison losing their freedom over a crime they did not commit.  They lose their job, have to spend enormous amounts of money on legal and court fees.  They lose their dignity and self-respect.  They lose everything because someone in the crime lab was careless and didn’t follow the right procedures.

I have defended thousands of DUI and Drug cases in Pennsylvania and I can tell you from first hand experience that this happens a lot more than you think.  I have blogged previously about how the Wellspan Hospital System in Central Pennsylvania has discontinued doing DUI blood tests for the government.

The main problems are the same.  The laboratory staff is overloaded with work and cuts corners and doesn’t follow scientifically recognized procedures.  This leads to tainted results and false DUI convictions.

This is another reason why the Innocence Project is so important.  There are many many people who are in jail for crimes they did not commit all because of faulty and sloppy forensics.  It’s a tragedy of epic proportions that could happen to any of us.  This is one of the reasons I urge you to find an attorney who is a forensics expert to represent your criminal or DUI case.  If you are in Central Pennsylvania, please call me at The McShane Firm at 1-866-MCSHANE.  I am a recognized forensics litigator and have the knowledge to challenge the government and call them to account for their junk forensics.

-Justin J. McShane, Esquire, Pennsylvania DUI Attorney

I am the highest rated DUI Attorney in PA as Rated by Avvo.com

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Justin McShane

PA DUI attorney Justin J. McShane is the President/CEO of The McShane Firm, LLC - Pennsylvania's top criminal law and DUI law firm. He is the highest rated DUI attorney in PA as rated by Avvo.com. Justin McShane is a double Board certified attorney. He is the first and so far the only Pennsylvania attorney to achieve American Bar Association recognized board certification in DUI defense from the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. He is also a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Approved Agency.