| Main Character: Miami | |
 | |
| Name | Maxine Valera |
| Gender | Female |
| City | Miami |
| Job | Lab techinician |
| Rank | DNA analyst |
| Status | Alive |
| Portrayed By | Boti Ann Bliss |
| First Appearance | Hard Time |
A DNA analyst assigned to the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. She was temporarily suspended from her duties in Season 3 for technical errors and was then reinstated by Season 4.
She has an unfortunate habit of taking shortcuts with evidence, which caused her suspension and also brought her under suspicion when the lab was investigated by the FBI (episode 425, "One of Our Own").
She goes on a date with Natalia Boa Vista's ex-husband, Nick Townsend, and thinks she is his killer after he turns up murdered, though this assumption is proved to be untrue. Jake Berkeley (who investigated the case) kept insisting that she and Natalia had killed him, despite the fact that Townsend was brutally beaten to death.
She and Natalia were cleared, however, when it is revealed that Nick Townsend's death is related to the case of Lauren Sloan and her husband Jeff Murdock. Jeff killed Nick in order to get back his wife's earring.