CLPEX Chat Board

Does anyone from Texas have an opinion regarding Gov. Perry's decision to replace 4 members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission?

Well on one side of the coin------their appointment time was up and he appointed new ones to the commission.

On the other side of the coin he could have waited a few days to do that after their meeting.

On the edge of the coin the discussion on the case that is creating the hullabaloo would take longer than one meeting to resolve----do you wait 4 or 5 months past the appointment time to appoint someone.

On the other edge---better to appoint the new ones now for a year----the report is not going anywhere, it is already paid for???? (I think). Give the commission time to consider it fully and pull in other experts if needed.

You can play this thing anyway you want to----just depends upon which side of the fence you are sitting. Like fingerprints, you can argue they are reliable with 100 year history or you can argue they need to be thrown out as they are not scientific enough.

Truth is subjective-----pick one. (Shark)

Just gotta say no matter what his intentions were it does not look good.

I suppose there might be quite a range of opinion on how how powerful a factor looking good should be in governance decisions.

David---I would have to agree with you---it looks that way.

This from their website:

The Texas Forensic Science Commission investigates complaints that allege professional negligence or misconduct by a laboratory, facility or entity that has been accredited by the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety that would substantially affect the integrity of the results of a forensic analysis.

The term "forensic analysis" means a medical, chemical, toxicological, ballistic, or other examination or test performed on physical evidence, including DNA evidence, for the purpose of determining the connection of the evidence to a criminal action. The term does not include: latent fingerprint examinations; a breath test specimen or the portion of an autopsy conducted by a medical examiner or licensed physician.

The other issue that has raised its head lately in the news is did the commission have the authority to investigate as they were originally formed to look at accredited labs. The original report that was generated that was used in trial did not come from any accredited lab.