3/23/2015· Child Welfare
Taint: A Question of Reliability, Not Credibility or Competence
By: Kim Hart
Isn't it interesting how the courts recognize taint in so many different contexts?1 We have an illegal search by the police and everything found during the illegal search becomes "fruit of the poisonous tree"-it is said to be tainted. The Houston Police Department's Crime Lab does not observe proper sterile procedures in handling DNA and the specimens are contaminated-they are said to be tainted. We have a lineup where the crime victim sees one White guy, three Hispanics, and two Blacks. The identification of the White guy is said to be tainted, the product of a suggestive or improper lineup.
