Will There Be Bias?
Slate has an article today on the grotesque corruption of a Mississippi forensic examiner who used bogus bite mark analysis to help prosecutors, ultimately leading to the bogus imprisonment of innocent people. The author of the piece has reported on the situation before and offers an interesting observation:
One key problem is that forensics labs often fall under the auspices of prosecutors. Even honest crime-lab workers, medical examiners, and other experts can be subtly influenced to make evidence conform to a prosecutor's wishes.
Pro-prosecutor bias is exactly what Maryland public defenders say is wrong with Dr. William Vosburgh, the director of D.C.’s incipient crime lab, in an October 2007 story in the Washington City Paper. A coincidence: Vosburgh might have testified more about blood-spatter patterns than bite marks during his career in Maryland, but he does know a thing or two about teeth—he used to be a dentist.
Vosburgh responded to the story with an angry letter, and an attorney in Maryland responded to Vosburgh’s miffed missive with a pissed epistle of his own.
2:04 pm
Mr. Delaney - do you have any sources on Dr. Vosburgh other than the articles cited? I have been avidly searching for verifiable info on the good Dr. myself and would be interested in what fellow colleagues, employees, etc. have to say about him. More importantly, I am interested in concrete facts about his credibility, ethics, and suitability for the position he now holds.
10:46 am
I'm with you, Bud. How is this man qualified for the position? How did he qualify in PG County? You don't go from being a family practice dentist to a DNA expert without some serious schooling - I don't find any education for him in this area.
11:48 am
From Vosburgh's bio on the D.C. government website:
With a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and doctorate in dental surgery, Dr. Vosburgh practiced dentistry for six years before changing careers to forensic science. He joined the Anne Arundel County Police Department (MD) in 1987 as a forensic chemist and quickly moved forward to create the Forensic Serology section as the laboratory expanded. He designed and implemented all aspects of their DNA program in 1992.
In 1998, he joined Prince George's County Police Department where, as DNA laboratory manager, he was responsible for grant writing, architectural design, construction oversight, equipment specification, hiring and training of personnel for the county’s new DNA laboratory.
Dr. Vosburgh was promoted to director of forensic services for Prince George's County Police in 2001 where he oversaw: the Drug Analysis Laboratory, Serology/DNA Laboratory, Firearms Examination Unit, Computer Forensics Unit, Evidence Collection Unit and the Regional Automated Fingerprint Identification System (RAFIS).
Dr. Vosburgh joined the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System in July 2004 and was the staff forensic odontologist at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Deleware. He was responsible for examinations and management of the daily operations of identifying fallen troops by dental records.
He has qualified as an expert witness in Maryland courts in the fields of drug analysis, forensic serology, DNA analysis, forensic odontology and bloodstain pattern analysis.