Texas prosecutors asked to stop using scent identification
Posted By Herman Martinez on Sep 26, 2009 4:26pm PDT
One of the most frustrating things as a lawyer is not being able to properly prepare to cross examine a witness. When it comes to scentific evidence there are journals, data, and studies that are available for review. Most scentific evidence is subject to peer review and most pass their standards before the evidence is deemed legitimate. These give lawyers the opportunity to properly cross examine a scientific witness. For some reason, a Fort Bend, Texas sheriff has been excluded from these expectations when using this unusual process called Scent Identification. Scent Identification is the process by which evidence containing a scent is allowed to be sniffed by the bloodhound. In doing this, the sheriff claims that the bloodhounds that he trains are able to pick up a smell and lead them to the culprit of the crime. He does not have any training, has not conducted any studies, and can not produce any peer reviews since there is no other person that claims to be able to train dogs to do this in the world. Not Surpisingly, the Innocence Project is demanding that the Texas Forensic Science Commission ban the use of Scent Identification. Most egregious, there is a Federal Lawsuit based on wrongful convictions stemming from this unscentific identification process.