ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Public Defender for the Orlando area is reviewing almost 2,000 cases now that a sheriff’s office fingerprint expert has been reassigned because of mistakes.
Public Defender Bob Wesley said Wednesday in a statement that his office is checking to see if any clients’ rights were violated.
Marco Palacio, a fingerprint expert with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, was reassigned recently after the mistake came to light.
State Attorney Aramis Ayala then notified the public defender and other private defense attorneys about potential problems with Palacio’s work.
Wesley says it may take a half dozen staffers months to review the cases to make sure no one was unjustly convicted.
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