Criminal Defense Waldorf Criminal Defense Attorneys Discuss “Forensic Evidence” and its Use in Maryland Criminal Cases By Law Office of Robert Castro, P.A. | February 22, 2024 Share If you watch any sort of crime or police drama on TV, you probably have some idea about what “forensic evidence” is and how it is used during criminal cases. In truth, however, real life is never as dramatic as it is depicted on television or in the movies. Importantly, unlike what you see on television and in the movies, forensic evidence is NOT always the “friend” of the prosecuting attorneys. Forensic evidence can be used to exonerate an accused. Just as importantly, good Maryland criminal defense attorneys know that forensic evidence provides a list of potential methods of challenging the sufficiency, validity, and admissibility of the prosecution’s evidence. Forensic evidence often involves laboratory testing of some substances or things found at or near the crime scene, like bullets, body fluids, powders, fibers and hair that might contain DNA, blood stains, footprints, tire tracks, and fingerprints. From a practical standpoint, it is crucial to understand the process. Let’s take an example of hair found at the crime scene. That hair has to be collected at the scene. It has to be placed in a container (a small plastic bag is the usual method) and kept uncontaminated from other hair at the crime scene (like the hair of the police investigator who collected the sample). The container must be transported to the police station and then delivered to the crime lab or other testing facility. Then, it has to be tested and compared with other relevant hair samples (like from the victim and the accused). A report must then be prepared. There are actually many more discrete steps, but the foregoing is sufficient to make the point. Every step in the process is a potential point at which good criminal defense attorneys can attack the sufficiency and validity of the evidence. First, there is a “chain of custody.” Can the prosecutors prove that the hair samples taken from the scene are, in fact, the samples tested? Then, there are issues with respect to contamination. Can the prosecutors prove that the sample was not contaminated somewhere in the chain of custody and even at the lab during the testing process? Finally, the lab results can be challenged on the basis of errors in the testing process. Were the machines calibrated correctly? Were the machines and equipment cleaned before the tests began? If not, then “our” hair samples might have been contaminated by a previously tested sample from another case. Another important point to make is that lab test results involve some level of opinion. Thus, aside from directly challenging the evidence and procedures, it is possible in some cases to hire counter-experts. These experts — hired by the Maryland criminal defense team — will dispute the opinions reached by the prosecutor’s lab experts. This often involves the defense experts running their own tests on the samples collected at the scene of the accident. As can be seen, the use of forensic evidence in a criminal case is complex and, for the prosecutors, can be a “two-edged sword.” Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.
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