Evidence against Dobson 'would not fill teaspoon'

Clothing used as evidence against Gary Dobson and David Norris may have been contaminated.
12 April 2012

The evidence against Gary Dobson could be fitted into a teaspoon - and even then it would be virtually invisible, the Old Bailey heard this afternoon.

The fibres and fragments found on his clothing did not come from direct contact with Stephen Lawrence but from contamination and police incompetence, the jury was told.

Convicting Dobson would be "a gross injustice" because he was at home with his parents and far from the murder scene, the court heard.

In an opening speech Timothy Roberts QC, defending Dobson, told the court: "The papers in this case are extremely voluminous but the physical evidence on which the charge is brought - the fibres and fragments - would not fill a teaspoon.

"If the evidence was placed in a teaspoon you would still have great difficultiy seeing it because it can only evaluted under a microscope. so the charge is based on a pinch of material.
"That is the essential point of the case, because if evidential particles are so small they can not be seen by anyone then accidental, unwitting transfer can easily take place."

Police failed to impose a strict handling system on the exhibits to ensure they remained uncontaminated over the years, the QC added.
As a result "the whole system for protecting and preserving the integrity of the clothing exhibits in this case is unsafe - unsafe to the whole system."

Basic precautions were ignored. Seals on exhibit bags were used even though they were designed only to last 12 months leaving them prone to burst open.

They were sealed with sticky tape which is a contaminant itself, said Mr Roberts. It is alarming to think that for 13 years all that has separated Gary Dobson from a gross injustice has been a thin fragile barrier of paper and tape," he added.

Stephen Lawrence exhibit bags were left at risk of being mixed with those of the defendants, overseen by people with no specialist training. Records never existed and and even exhibits were lost.

One one occasion police photographed one exhibit on the floor of a police station, picked it up and then photographed another exhibit on the same piece of floor.

The two garments allegedly at the heart of the case against David Norris actually belong to one of his brothers, the court heard. In his opening speech Stephen Batten QC, defending Norris, told the jury that nothing was found on Stephen Lawrence which the prosecution claims could have come from Norris.

The jeans which are said to bear forensic evidence linking them to Stephen were decorators' trousers. Said Mr Batten: "It seems to have been overlooked (but) what is the probability, or possibility, that a self respecting young man would be out for the evening with his mates in those filthy things?"

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