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Monthly Archives: August 2017
Nationwide, Judges continue to admit disavowed “science”
Originally posted on Christine Funk:
The Santa Cruz Sentinel is reporting the disturbing trend nationwide of judges continuing to allow evidence unsupported by science. Examples of judges continuing to allow forensic science which is not been properly validated into the…
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Ballistic DA in bitemark case goes after Innocence Project attorneys and a blog
A prosecutor has his shorts in a bind over press coverage and an op-ed about his bitemark case. My guess is, by inference, the discussion of the continued prosecutorial use of junk forensics should be hidden from public view. The IP has … Continue reading
Actions of bitemark experts before testimony brings consequences after exoneration
From a recent Tech Dirt op-ed. “We’ve discussed the junk science masquerading as forensic science in criminal cases. Coming in slightly ahead of chatting with psychics is “bite mark analysis.” According to these so-called experts, each bite mark is just as unique as … Continue reading
Want to see a ‘positive ID” bitemark pattern?
Here is what was used to convict one defendant as the “only person” who could have made this mark. The defendant has been in prison for decades. then look at this “adjusted” image of the same image right after this … Continue reading
Trump admin cuts DNA testing for Missing Persons – Drug War wins again
Pursuing non-violent drug use and funding the US incarceration industry takes a higher priority in Trump/Sessions’ forensic agenda than identifying unknown human remains and unidentified persons in the US. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/19/dna-lab-reduces-testing-for-missing-people-amid-funding-woes.html
Chris Fabricant of the IP talks about judges avoiding science in the courtroom
“At some point, we have to acknowledge that precedent has to be overruled by scientific reality.” Some of that science — analysis of bite marks, latent fingerprints, firearms identification, burn patterns in arson investigations, footwear patterns and tire treads — … Continue reading
The Next iOS Update Has a Feature to Prevent Cops From Searching Your iPhone
The new feature should be of particular interest to protesters or anyone else who would rather the police not read all their contacts and text messages.
Bitemark dentists get put into civil court to hear from exoneree Robert Stinson
” We conclude that we lack jurisdiction to hear the defend‐ ants’ appeals of the denial of qualified immunity because those appeals fail to take the facts and reasonable inferences from the record in the light most favorable to Stinson … Continue reading
Forensics and Law for the Week: From the News and Courts in the US
Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Michigan State University have published a new study on the development of an algorithm that can determine whether a fingerprint found at a crime scene contains enough information to be uploaded … Continue reading
Houston crime lab gets more bad press: misplaced evidence
https://www.click2houston.com/news/dna-evidence-in-19-year-old-case-found-in-former-houston-forensic-science-employees-office The article states that the new administration of the revamped crime lab reported this discrepancy and have safeguards in place regarding eliminating this type of error.
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