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Accessible legal tips, know-how and news for anyone with a complaint or legal issue from Stephen Gold, author of The Return of Breaking Law, the book

Monday 20 February 2017

Forensic Test Evidence

Randox Testing Services specialises in forensic toxicology and drug and alcohol testing. If you have been convicted of a criminal offence in a prosecution which relied on forensic evidence then that evidence could have been provided by someone at Randox. Or if you have been involved in family proceedings in which there was an issue about whether you were or had in recent times been consuming controlled drugs or too much alcohol, evidence on that based on a body sample (probably hair) could have been provided by someone at Randox.

Police have arrested two Randox employees as part of an investigation into whether lab workers deliberately manipulated data to suggest positive results. It is understood that Randox itself called in the police after it became aware of a problem with one case that led to an internal investigation. The police are reviewing up to 500 criminal cases which may have involved Randox scientific evidence.

In any criminal case, a conviction would not have been based exclusively on Randox evidence. Other evidence would almost certainly have been part of the prosecution case but the forensic evidence could have been crucial.

If I had been convicted on the strength of Randox forensic evidence and still maintained my innocence or if I had had a family case go against me on the strength of Randox evidence and was maintaining that the evidence was wrong then I would be seeking legal advice to see whether or not and, if so, how my case could be reopened.