A disgruntled ex-employee of the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science, Dallas County’s crime lab, has filed suit against his past employer, accusing the institute of “slip-shod analysis” and “sloppy science.” Dr. Chris Nulf, a forensic biologist, claims the labs use expired chemicals in testing procedures, that the lab failed to secure case files, and that a box fan blew over lab areas where evidence was examined. Nulf was fired in May, for what the SWIFS claimed to be “unsatisfactory performance.” However, he says he was let go after repeatedly pointing out problems with the laboratory to his superiors.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins says prosecutors will be required to re-examine a number of closed cases if Nulf’s accusation’s are correct. “Our ultimate goal is to seek the truth. If there’s an indication that something was done improperly, then we will take the appropriate measures to make sure we rectify it.”
The lab is not the first to be in the line of fire over the last few years. Crime labs in Houston, Fort Worth, and the Texas Department of Safety’s lab have all been accused of shoddy practices in the past. Experts believe it is most likely due to the relative lack of regulations over the labs themselves. There is no government body to oversee or inspect them and a proposed law requiring spot checks on the labs recently died in the legislature. Still, Nulf’s lawsuit could prove to have an immediate effect on labs throughout the state as Houston criminal attorneys and others begin to question the credibility of the lab evidence itself.
To read more about Nulf’s lawsuit, see the article on WFAA. Image Via lofaesofa [Flickr]
A convicted rapist from Harris County will be given a new trial for his crimes based on the destruction of DNA evidence by the Houston police crime lab. Lawrence J. Napper was arrested for the raping a six year old boy in 2001 after already having three rape convictions on his record. When the child was asked to identify Napper in a line up, he was able to, but when he was asked to do so in the courtroom, he was unable to identify the suspect.