Counsel’s Effective Answer to a Trial Challenge
Article overview: [When] asked whether the FBI’s decision to test hair for cocaine demonstrates such tests are generally accepted as being reliable in the scientific community, Okorocha disagreed, stating the FBI uses other procedures, such as polygraph, which are not generally accepted as reliable. Imperial Cty.…
[When] asked whether the FBI’s decision to test hair for cocaine demonstrates such tests are generally accepted as being reliable in the scientific community, Okorocha disagreed, stating the FBI uses other procedures, such as polygraph, which are not generally accepted as reliable.
Imperial Cty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. v. J.M. (In re J.M.), 2018 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1924, *18-19
Why this answer worked
The response exposed a category error: an agency’s decision to use a technique does not, by itself, prove general scientific acceptance or reliability for every forensic purpose. The quoted answer redirected the issue to methods, validation and the actual admissibility standard.
Read more about the Frye standard and scientific evidence.
Related reading: For related context, read When Courts Quote Expert-Witness Analysis, Ranger Wiens and Tanya Ortega: Trial-Performance Commentary. Browse the Forensic Toxicology topic hub.
