Question

Rodney Coaker is detained at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport on suspicion of drug smuggling. Agents do not find major quantities of drugs in his luggage. However, they pass his clothing through a newly designed “cocaine spectrometer” which supposedly can detect minuscule amounts of cocaine. The spectrometer reports that there are trace quantities of cocaine in Coaker’s underwear. He is tried on federal cocaine-smuggling charges. At trial, the designer of the spectrometer testifies that the device is reliable and that the results reported for Coaker’s underwear indicate that cocaine must have come in contact with the underwear shortly before the test. The design of the cocaine spectrometer has never been made public or subjected to peer review; nor has the device so far become generally accepted as a method of drug testing. Do these facts mean that the court should bar the use of the spectrometer evidence?

Answer 1

Facts of the case – Rodney coaker is detained and tried in the court basis a newly designed ‘cocaine spectrometer’ detecting that there are trace quantities of cocaine in Coaker’s underwear. It is also provided that design of the cocaine spectrometer has never been made public or subjected to peer review; nor has the device so far become generally accepted as a method of drug testing.

Analysis and Conclusion– For any evidence to be acceptable in the court, it should be duly verified and tested else there arises doubt over the integrity on the evidence. In the present case, the spectrometer is newly designed and it has not been made public nor subjected to any peer review. Further the device is even not been generally accepted as a method of drug testing.

Further, while checking the luggage of Mr. Rodney no drugs were found by the agents at Airport. This means that there is no conclusive evidence to prove that Mr. Rodney is a drug smuggler.

The court cannot just accept the spectrometer evidence basis on its finding and it must first establish the credibility of spectrometer.

Hence, the court should not bar the use of spectrometer evidence.