Charles Ramsay Explains "Serious Deficiencies" Uncovered at St. Paul Crime Lab With Eyewitness 5 News

Posted On July 25, 2012 by Daniel Koewler

As was reported earlier, the St. Paul Crime Laboratory is coming under increasing scrutiny after Attorneys Christine Funk and Lori Traub exposed that this lab operates under "serious deficiencies" that sharply call into question the scientific validity and reliability of its test results.

Now new evidence reveals that these serious deficiencies have been known to prosecutors for months . . . including the prosecutor who operates as "second-in-command" for the Dakota County Attorney's Office. And if there is one thing our firm has repeatedly stressed - both in public and in court - it is that everyone in our court system needs to constantly work to ensure that our scientific evidence is being handled according to established procedures and protocols.

Charles Ramsay was interviewed by our local 5 Eyewitness News about the ethical problems that arise when a prosecutor knows that one of its labs is operating in way that could, in the words of one expert, "come up with false positives like crazy." Ramsay drew on his years of practice to explain why prosecutors cannot be permitted to ignore their ethical duty to disclose favorable evidence to an accused person, and why the Dakota County Attorney's Office had both a legal and ethical duty to disclose this information instead of burying it.

Ramsay's television interview is available below, or you can read the article here.