In 2013, Annie Dookhan, a chemist in one of Boston’s crime labs, made headlines when she pleaded guilty to 27 accounts of misleading investigators, filing false reports and tampering with evidence. Investigations revealed that Dookhan forged the initials of evidence officers, tested numerous samples without properly signing them out, dry labbed samples (visually identified drugs as opposed to forensic testing), and logged five times the average number of tests per month. The Dookhan scandal forced her lab to close and freed hundreds of defendants who suffered a violation of their right to a fair trial. Now sentenced to 3-5 years, Dookhan is facing the consequences for her betrayal of public trust. Now it seems as though Bexar County may have its own Dookhan copycat.
Integrated Forensics Laboratories of Bedford, Texas is now under fire for the actions of one its employees. Cherrie Lemon’s most recent misstep occurred in May when Lemon lost another analyst’s worksheet, however her track record of shoddy work does not end there. Lemon has been known to turn in sloppy paperwork, leave samples unsealed with the possibility for contamination, and on one occasion she mislabeled the names of 350 blood samples. In order to deal with the accusations against them, Integrated Forensics Laboratory has hired a new general manager and fired Lemmon.
While not expected to cause any significant court delays, Bexar County authorities are now scrambling to fill requests for retesting. The sheer number of tests that may have been adversely affected by Lemon’s work has the criminal defense attorney community of Bexar in an uproar. Then the story gets worse. Not only were the clients of many attorneys possibly wrongly charged, but in an email to Bexar County prosecutors, the ousted lab director of Integrated Forensics Laboratories stated that defense attorneys did not need to know of the investigation until after the audit.
Sorting out this incident will likely prove to be a huge burden on the State, however it is an excellent opportunity for changes to be made to the system. When it is possible that the validity of a test has been compromised, both sides should be notified, simple as that. This evens the playing field between the prosecution and defense and allows defense attorneys additional options in proceeding with their case.
The investigation into the missteps of Integrated Forensics Laboratories and Lemon will not happen overnight and the real victims have yet to be revealed, however, this incident should serve as a notice to law enforcement, testing facilities and attorneys. When a person’s freedom, pocketbook and well-being rest in the hands of a laboratory it is imperative that the process be transparent and efficient.
