Can a Crime Lab Work on Cold Case Homicides?

There is no statute of limitations on murder.

Crime labs can work on any case for which they have evidence, particularly homicides. The factors affecting their ability to examine cases are case load, evidence degradation and the statute of limitations on the crime.

Case Load

The substantial case load pressure placed on crime lab forces the labs to prioritize cases. For example, as of August 2010, a report by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General listed a massive backlog of more than 3,200 forensic DNA cases. This backlog often lends itself to political pressures to pass over certain cases in favor of others.

Forensice Evidence Degradation

Over time, due either to contamination or other processes, evidence---especially DNA evidence---degrades. As a result, crime labs tend to focus on "fresh" cases. While cold case work can be performed, it requires a combination of well-maintained evidence with new leads, or evidence to increase the case's priority.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is a major determining factor of whether to even examine a cold case. Since homicide has no statute of limitations, it is the type of cold case most likely to be examined, but still often requires political pressure on the lab to reopen.

References

• Review of the FBI Lab's Forensic DNA Case Backlog; DOJ OIG; Aug 2010