Report of Serious Crime Lab Deficiencies

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According to a report released on February 18, 2009, by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, the nation’s crime labs on the federal, state and local levels are rife with serious deficiencies including lacking practitioner and laboratory independence, standards, oversight and certification. The National Research Council called for the establishment of a wholly independent federal agency, the National Institute of Forensic Science to address the problems in the current science and system.

As this relates to DUI / Drunk Driving defense, we experience a wide variation of policy, procedures and testimony from the various county crime labs statewide in California.

The testimony variation also includes chemists within the same county crime lab who testify differently from each other in DUI / Drunk Driving cases.