- Michigan’s Forensic Crime Lab near Lansing
In Michigan the testing of all blood drawn from people accused of drunk or drugged driving is tested only in this laboratory located near Lansing, Michigan.
Each year, tens of thousands of blood samples are tested in this laboratory, and according to testimony provided at several trials and evidentiary hearings, the State Police Forensic Laboratory in Lansing has never made a mistake. Is this possible?
It would seem that forensic laboratories across the Country are under siege as the public learns about the shoddy work being done and the abject failure to independently monitor what happens inside these laboratories. A quick Google search reveals the following articles:
- Chicago Tribune article that acts as a sort of compendium of many of the problems in forensic laboratories across the country.
- Detroit News article that talks about the major problems in the Detroit crime lab.
- Wisconsin Law Journal article discussing the problems with crime labs in that state.
It is interesting to note that none of the examples pertain to DUI cases. They fail to mention the debacle in Washington over simulator solutions or the current problems in Wisconsin, not to mention the litigation that recently took place in New Jersey, any source code litigation, or any other conceivable issues currently or recently being litigated relative to the prosecution or defense of alleged drunk drivers.
From a scientific perspective it is simply not possible for errors to never occur. Nevertheless, in Michigan it remains to be seen if problems in blood testing in drunk driving cases will be revealed or exposed as they have been in other forensic labs across the Country.
In the meanwhile, one way to decrease suspicion of such problems would be to open the laboratory for the inspection of defense attorneys and/or defense experts. Thus far the lab is strictly off-limits to such inspections.
This post was written by...
baronedefensefirm – who has written 204 posts on .
Patrick T. Barone is the author on two books on DUI defense including the well respected two volume treatise Defending Drinking Drivers (James Publishing), and The DUI Book – A Citizen’s Guide to Understanding DUI Litigation in America. He is also the author of a monthly DUI defense column for the Criminal Defense Newsletter, published by Michigan’s State Appellate Defender’s Office. Mr. Barone is an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he teaches Drunk Driving Law and Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Criminal Defense Attorney’s of Michigan’s Trial Lawyer’s College where he provides trial skills training to Michigan’s criminal defense practitioners. Mr. Barone lectures nationally on various DUI defense topics, and he has appeared in newspapers, on television and on radio as a drunk driving defense expert. Mr. Barone has been certified as an instructor and practitioner of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and has also attended a 24-hour certification course at National Patent Analytical Corporation (the manufacturer of the DataMaster) and has thereby been deemed competent by the manufacturer to operate, perform essential diagnostic verifications and calibration checks on the DataMaster. Mr. Barone is a Sustaining Member of College for DUI Defense. Mr. Barone is the principal and founding member of The Barone Defense Firm, whose practice is limited exclusively to defending drinking drivers. The Firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan.
