The biggest criminal law story this week has to be the ongoing controversy over the SBI. Two independent reviewers examined the work of the Forensic Biology Section of the SBI lab -- the section responsible for blood testing -- and found 230 cases in which problems existed. In some cases, for example, "[l]aboratory test results were overstated or lab notes contradicted the reported results," while in others, "reports . . . fail to mention . . . one or more negative or inconclusive confirmatory" tests. The review is available here. A News and Observer story summarizing the fallout is here. A former analyst's defense of his work at the lab is here. Perhaps the most astonishing single sentence in the report, to my mind, is this: "it was indeed the sanctioned practice of some NC SBI Laboratory Analysts to omit the results of certain negative or inconclusive confirmatory tests in final lab reports under certain circumstances, and this practice later became written SBI policy in 1997." But the SBI was not the only news story of interest this week. Some others worth noting include: 1. Former Illinois Governor Rod Balgojevich was convicted in federal court of making false statements to the FBI, but his jury hung on 23 the 24 counts against him, including the most serious allegations -- those regarding his alleged attempt to sell the Senate seat formerly held by President Obama. The New York Times reports on the case here. The government has vowed to retry the former [...]
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