This is an old issue going under a new name. For decades we have seen prosecutors rushing to arrest and try cases due to public pressure. In Chicago this has lead to beatings to elict confessions and, eventually, the commutation of more than a hundred death sentences. Prosecutors complaining about the CSI effect should remember their ethics and history.

Clicking on the Quicktopic formatted URL works for me

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/.../513334238.html?DNA

ST for some reason that link doesn't work for me

I swear... there's more black light used on a single episode of CSI than at any rave I've ever been to.

The real Las Vegas CSI do not exactly inspire confidence:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/.../513334238.html?DNA

Is it really such a bad thing that people have high evidentiary expectations in criminal cases? With all the debate lately about capital punishment and the possibility of executing an innocent person, I think it's a good thing that the knowledge of what is theoretically possible - both with regard to forensics and police procedure - be as widespread as possible. Because when people know what it looks like when it's done perfectly, they're more likely to know when it's done ineptly. And I just don't think that the likelihood of increased cost for the prosecution is an acceptable complaint when so little is spent on public defenders - if you won't pay for a decent defense, high standards for forensics and procedures seem pretty reasonable.

thots?