By Mandy Locke & Joseph Neff

A year and a half ago, in the face of mounting criticism, N.C. State Bureau of Investigation leaders vowed that the agency’s forensic crime laboratory would employ the best and brightest analysts and get them nationally certified in their specialty.

Over the last year, SBI leaders worked hard to deliver. But a problem surfaced this month: About 25 analysts failed those certification exams, results that SBI leaders say they accidentally kept a secret.

Now, SBI leaders are resisting handing over the information, saying the test results are private personnel records and can only be turned over with a court order.

District attorneys say they were blindsided and must now revisit hundreds if not thousands of old cases since December that were handled by analysts who failed the exam.

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Source: Charlotte Observer