Corrected entry: Jack McCoy asks his witness, an expert geneticist, what the odds are that a DNA sample presented in evidence matches that of the defendant. He answers "About one in two hundred." He just stated that the chances of a match are half of one percent! This is a huge, serious error on the part of an expert witness, and if he later tried to correct his mistake it would seriously undermine his credibility. The defence attorney repeats the mistake just a few seconds later while questioning him, but she doesn't see the mistake he has made, either. The odds he gave are the odds that the DNA sample DOESN'T match the defendant.
Law & Order (1990)
1 corrected entry in season 6
Factual error: Ryan, the laboratory technician, eats his lunch of burger and fries while discussing a murder case with Assistant D.A. Claire Kincaid. Trouble is, they are in his laboratory. No lab technician ever, ever eats or drinks in a laboratory - it is the most basic lab protocol imaginable. He could contaminate his samples in any one of a hundred ways, he inevitably contaminates his gloves or fingers with residue from his meal and he risks poisoning himself with accidental transfer. This is not a character error - lab security is hammered into science students starting with the first day of first year and number one on the list is never, ever eat or drink in your lab.
Det. Lennie Briscoe: I'm trying to decide what to arrest you for - obstruction of justice, harboring a fugitive or just being a general pain in the ass.
More trivia for Law & Order
Question: Why did Arthur fire Serena?
Answer: He believed that she had become too empathetic towards the defendant they had been prosecuting, and that her actions were driven by her emotions instead of facts. While empathy is a good quality in general, a certain degree of detachment is required in order for a prosecutor to do one's job effectively.
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Correction: McCoy asks "what are the odds the semen came from someone other than Mr. Munoz" (the defendant). So he does state the odds correctly.
Bishop73