Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In 2003 major problems came to light concerning the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory (HPDCL). Subsequent investigations (Bromwich, 2006) have revealed that the lab was conducting substandard work for more than a decade. Poor scientific work resulted in the false conviction of at least two men and has cast doubt on the scientific testimony presented in hundreds of criminal cases. These problems were brought to light via journalistic investigations, and not by the legal system itself.

The purpose of this study is to explore the viewpoints of practicing criminal lawyers in Houston regarding the scandal. I’m interested in learning what they knew and when they knew it regarding poor work in the lab. I’m also interested in their views regarding why the scandal occurred and why the laboratory problems took so long to surface. The legal process is intended to catch errors and problems in the evidence presented in criminal cases. My goal is to discover why the obvious problems in Houston were not uncovered sooner and what steps might be taken to improve the ability of the legal process to detect problems in scientific evidence.