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Case Reviews
"The Important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them."
Sir William Bragg (1862-1942)
Case reviews are a process by which the attorney is provided an overview of the investigation. Generally the following documentation is involved in this process:
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Crime scene reports
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Investigative Reports
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Laboratory Reports
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Laboratory Bench notes
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Photographs/Videos
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Witness Statements
Case reviews are a cost effective means of determining:
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Strengths and weaknesses of the case. |
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Recommendations for further investigation/examinations. |
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Recommendations for other expert participation. |
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Recommendations for additional demonstrative aids. |
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Recommendations for the best means to present the evidence. |
Case reviews can apply to the widest variety of investigations. It also provides the greatest amount of information to the attorney.
Case Examples
A certified latent print examiner wrote a report indicating they "could not eliminate the defendant as being the source of the fingerprint." This is DNA wording. Interestingly we obtained the "bench notes" from the lab and found the particular latent was shown to 4 or 5 other certified latent examiners who opined the print was "inconclusive." You can answer the question does "cannot eliminate" have the same meaning as "inconclusive?"
In another case a DNA analyst indicated that a blood sample contained a partial profile. Some of the alleles in the partial profile were inconclusive. They went on to write that if the inconclusive alleles were ignored, the defendant could not be eliminated as the source of the blood. I am not a DNA expert, but I am unaware of any scientific process that allows certain factors be ignored and render an opinion on the rest.
The real strength to this process comes from the fact the review is being conducted by objective experts whose knowledge of the case is often represented by the documentation provided.