Federal Court Holds Forensic Scientist Liable for Evidence Fabrication in Ralph Birch’s Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit

In a rare decision, a federal court ruled in favor of KLLF client Ralph Birch before his case even reached a jury, holding famed forensic scientist Henry Lee liable for fabricating evidence that led to Mr. Birch’s wrongful conviction.

On July 21, 2023, federal judge Victor A. Bolden issued an 84-page decision in a lawsuit filed by KLLF on behalf of exoneree Ralph Birch. Mr. Birch's case alleges that egregious misconduct by investigators caused him to be falsely convicted and serve 30 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Judge Bolden’s decision granted summary judgment to Mr. Birch on his claim that Dr. Henry Lee, former Director of the Connecticut State Forensic Laboratory, fabricated evidence that led to Mr. Birch’s wrongful conviction. Specifically, the Court found that Dr. Lee falsely claimed to have conducted forensic field tests that presumptively identified the presence of blood on a towel found at the crime scene, which prosecutors argued showed Mr. Birch had used the victim’s bathroom to clean himself off after the murder. Subsequent investigation conducted after Mr. Birch had already spent decades in prison revealed that the towel had never actually been tested and had no blood on it, leading the Connecticut Supreme Court to overturn Mr. Birch’s 1989 conviction in 2019. 

Judge Bolden’s decision also denied motions filed by the town of New Milford, Connecticut and former state and local police officials seeking to avoid a civil trial, finding that Mr. Birch’s claims are supported by sufficient evidence to merit consideration by a jury. The Court concluded that a jury could permissibly find that the police fabricated evidence used to prosecute Mr. Birch, buried exculpatory information, and conducted the investigation in a negligent manner. 

KLLF’s David Lebowitz and Doug Lieb represent Mr. Birch, alongside West Hartford-based co-counsel Kirschbaum Law Group, LLC.