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Los Angeles Criminal Legal System Undermined 
by Months of Faulty DNA Testing

The integrity of Los Angeles County’s justice system is under fire following the news that potentially defective DNA test kits were used for months in thousands of criminal cases. 

Despite being notified in August 2024 that its kits were “prone to intermittently poor performance,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (“LASD”) continued to use them through February 2025. Approximately 4,000 samples are now subject to retesting, with Sheriff Robert Luna admitting that some may be too degraded to re-analyze, casting doubt over the outcomes of potentially hundreds of cases.

The department claims it only became aware of the warning letter this March, as it had been sent to a now-former employee. Critics call this a disastrous lack of oversight and indicative of systemic failures in chain-of-custody and scientific accountability. 

L.A. County Public Defender Ricardo D. García condemned the mishandling as a “violation of due process” with far reaching consequences for both pending and resolved cases, saying it causes more mistrust in an already strained system.

Luna’s refusal to disclose key details, including the test kit manufacturer, the identity of the former employee, and a full list of affected cases has only deepened concern. District Attorney Nathan Hochman promises to investigate and remedy any individual injustices, but critics warn the damage is already done.

Legal experts like Duke University’s Brandon L. Garrett emphasize the broader crisis: a forensic system with little oversight or meaningful quality control. “There’s this larger problem that quality controls just do not exist in the world of forensics like they do in the world of medicine,” Garrett said. 

The use of faulty DNA kits may have produced incomplete results, potentially delaying justice or undermining prosecutions. This preventable error underscores the need for stronger oversight in forensic testing within the nation’s largest sheriff’s department.  

 

Source: The New York Times

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