Misconduct at the Lab?

“Misconduct at the Lab?” A Performance Task Case Study – Advanced Version The following performance task case study is designed to help you solidify your grasp of data analysis and quality control principles. 1 It is hoped that you will be able to think critically about this multifaceted problem and express your conclusions effectively in the form of a written report. For further instructions see the first item of your packet, an email from Stacey Evans, the fictional district attorney of fictional Gothan County. Note that all characters described in this performance task are fictional and that no resemblance to actual persons is intended or implied.

1

This isn’t to say that the scenario and materials provided are realistic in every respect. For example, it would be highly unlikely to employ standard addition when analyzing for methamphetamines and the sequential presentation of the QA samples in Piper Taylor’s notebook is unrealistic as it would be much more likely these samples were analyzed as part of a larger data set.

From: Stacey Evans

January 22, 2016

As the district attorney of Gothan County, I am writing to solicit your help with accusations of data falsification that recently arose in connection with the validity of drug tests conducted at the county crime lab. One of our newest hires, Ashton Blaine, has recently come forward with allegations that a longtime analyst, Piper Taylor, has been falsifying the results of drug analyses. In particular, it is alleged that Taylor has been over reporting the levels of narcotics in evidence samples. Since the charges facing a suspect depend on the amount of drugs found on their person, if this allegation is substantiated it could force the re-examination of over 3,000 drug cases handled by the lab since Taylor’s hire two years ago. Indeed, rumors of problems at our lab have already led local defense attorney Logan Bendix to allege that a client, Kelly Mosler, was recently convicted of criminal possession with intent to distribute on the basis of falsified evidence. In order to investigate these allegations of misconduct, I would like to engage your services to perform an independent investigation. Please submit your findings in a written report presenting and arguing for your findings into whether:

• analyst Taylor has been falsifying narcotics assays • Taylor’s narcotics assays led us to improperly charge Mosler with felony possession with intent to distribute based on Taylor’s claim that Mosler was in possession of greater than five grams of drugs. Had Moseley been found to have less than five grams of drugs Mosler would only have faced charges of misdemeanor possession.

• our forensic lab should change its quality assurance practices to avoid future improprieties or allegations of impropriety. To assist you in your investigation I’ve included copies of several documents, including a copy of:

1. Analyst Blaine’s email alleging that Taylor has been falsifying evidence reports 2. A report from the Gothan county crime lab’s QA manager describing Taylor’s analyses for six standard samples.

3. Printouts from Taylor’s e-notebook showing Taylor’s analyses of the six QA samples. Note that these results were obtained on samples made by diluting 1/100th of the seized sample in 10 mL of 20:80 (v/v) acetonitrile: pH 2.0 phosphate buffer and diluting the resulting solution by a factor of ten.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Private investigator’s report on potential conflicts of interest in this case News article detailing allegations of police misconduct in the Mosler case Excerpt from Piper Taylor’s testimony in the Mosler case Results of an independent lab’s analysis of the Mosler evidence E-notebook printouts showing Taylor’s analysis of the Mosler evidence. The Mosler evidence was prepared by following an identical procedure to that used for the QA samples.

We look forward to hearing of the results of your competent and discrete investigation. Sincerely, Stacey Evans, J.D. Stacey Evans, J.D. District Attorney, Gothan County 4764 East Willowbrook Lane Gothan, IA 47523 Tel: 453-275-4673 Fax: 453-275-7066

From: Ashton Blaine To: Jaime Mediu

January 12, 2016

Jaime, As you know I am grateful for the opportunity to work at the Gotan County Crime lab. The work we do helps our local law enforcement agencies to fairly enforce the law as they protect the citizens of Gothan County. That is why I am sad to report that I think Piper Taylor has been falsifying the results of methamphetamine assays. I first noticed this when I inadvertently checked out twenty samples that Piper had analyzed the day before. In no case did I find the amount of methamphetamine Piper reported. Instead, each sample contained anywhere from 45 to 60% less methamphetamine. Because of Piper’s long service to the lab, I was at first skeptical that I may have been performing my analyses incorrectly. However, after obtaining results that agree with certified reference standards, I am now confident that Taylor has been over reporting the levels of methamphetamine in each sample. I must admit that the decision to come forward with this information was agonizing for me due to the respect I have for this lab and for Piper as a fellow analyst. However, since the amount of drugs found in suspects’ possession is used to determine the charges leveled against them I believe that I have an ethical obligation to bring Piper’s actions to your attention. Ashton Blaine Ashton Blaine Crime Analyst Gotan County Crime Lab 4762 East Willowbrook Lane Gothan, IA 47523 Tel: 453-275-4673 Fax: 453-275-7066

From: Jordan Hai To: Jaime Mediu

January 13, 2016

Jaime, As you requested I added several methamphetamine standard samples to the evidence bags assigned to Piper Taylor today. In each case Piper systematically overestimated the amount of methamphetamine in each sample, as shown in the table below. Sample #

GCS-42A-PT130106-4 GCS-42C-PT130106-8 GCS-45L-PT130106-3 GCS-47B-PT130106-1 GCS-49A-PT130106-2 GCS-49B-PT130106-1

Actual amount of Methamphetamine (grams) 4.75 3.22 2.64 4.03 7.28 1.31

Amount reported by Piper Taylor (grams) 6.95 5.08 4.16 6.23 10.3 2.66

% Taylor over reported 46 58 58 55 42 103

I agree with you that this situation could be serious. Had the first, second, and fourth samples been actual police evidence they would have incorrectly led the prosecutor to conclude that the suspect in question was in possession of enough methamphetamine to sustain a felony possession with intent charge. Normally, I would call Piper in for retraining or discipline but since you asked me to handle this matter discretely I am unsure exactly what to do. For now I am simply having all of Taylor’s samples reanalyzed by a second analyst. However, since we already have a backlog of samples I would like to avoid this doubling of effort for too long. Please advise when you are ready for me to take additional action on this matter. Jordan Jordan Hai Gothan County Crime Lab Supervisor Gotan County Crime Lab 4762 East Willowbrook Lane Gothan, IA 47523 Tel: 453-275-4698 Fax: 453-275-7066

From: Pat Riley To: Stacey Evans

January 22, 2016

Mr. Evans, As per your request, we have looked into possible connections between your technicians Ashton Blaine and Piper Taylor, and the criminal defendant Kelly Mosler. Our findings are summarized below: 1. Our investigators were unable to determine any connection between Ashton Blaine and Kelly Mosler. In fact, our investigators determined that Blaine does not keep close ties with family and has relatively few friends, some of whom describe Blaine as something of a loner. Furthermore, a check of Blaine’s credit report and publicly available financial records revealed that the Blaines had fallen behind on their mortgage after a child was diagnosed with lymphoma last year. However, Blain recently paid off all outstanding debts after making a $25,000 deposit to a checking account on January 14. We have so far been unable to determine how Blain obtained this money. 2. Our investigators were unable to determine any connection between Piper Taylor and Kelly Mosler. However, we did discover that a number of Taylor’s relatives work in law enforcement, including a sister who serves as a DEA field agent in Laredo, Texas. A check of Taylor’s financial records did not turn up anything suspicious. In fact, Taylor typically carries very little month to month debt (