Author Archives: csidds
Taking hair comparisons to task in AZ – Should be 100’s of cases
In another whack at the Jeff Sessions version of the inviolate status of police ‘forensics’, this article brings to light, a coalition of AZ crime labbers, DAs, the appellate court and a post-conviction org. It’s obvious that there is some … Continue reading
Million dollar expert brain guy gets whacked in Las Vegas
Judges do understand the “hired gun” aspects of expert witnessing. A insurance defense motivated neurosurgeon must have used too many boiler plate testimonies in their courts. They threw him out on his ear. One judge reviewed 371 of his … Continue reading
Lamenting leaving courtroom science admissibility to cops and lawyers
“Bite marks is the obvious example. It’s inconceivable to most of us as to how this stuff even continues to be admitted.” – member on the National Commission on Forensic Science. Here’s from the US District Attorneys Association (@NDAAJustice ) … Continue reading
Talking forensic heads ignore the dental evidence in London tower disaster
The Grenfell Tower disaster. The medical side of forensics talks about DNA being the cornerstone for potential identification. He does admit that teeth are highly resistant to total destruction in high temperature environments but misses the obvious dental identification material … Continue reading
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Tagged dental identification, human identification, mass, mass disaster recovery
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Thailand study on optic nerve hemorrhage in abuse and non-abuse infant deaths
The sample size in this study is very small, although the authors have been collecting data for 13 years. http://www.fsijournal.org/article/S0379-0738(17)30145-7/fulltext?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=0379-0738_201707_276__&elsca4=Pathology%7CForensic%20and%20Legal%20Medicine
A court looks at BAC assumptions that aren’t based on scientific investigation
If only bitemarkers could be taken to task by a trial court like this blood alcohol ‘expert.’ On cross-examination, Wetstein [the BAC guy for the DA] acknowledged that he did not know what the defendant had eaten that night, how … Continue reading
Federal Public Defenders want autopsy report of ARK execution – State objects
Nothing describes the onerous lack of prosecutorial transparency regarding the death penalty better than this article on the State of Arkansas legal maneuvering to hide what happened at the April 27th execution of Kenneth Williams. “Witnesses to the execution reported … Continue reading
Grant money to test DNA from dubious convictions probably will dry up with Trump
The costs of uncovering wrongful convictions are expensive. All innocence projects and criminal defense organizations require substantial donations to pursue the few cases they glean from thousands of requests from the public and inmates. Each case like the one mentioned … Continue reading
How DNA and exonerations dropped a bomb on police crime labs
These exon cases (350) brought forth a 45% presence of flawed, inaccurate or misleading prosecution forensics. Ignore the dude who says in this article that its only a matter of “resources.” http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/technology/the-shifting-science-of-dna-in-the-courtroom/533124173
Major US science orgs oppose Sessions cancelling of forensic science commission
The AAAS, ACS and two other groups associated with main-stream science put in their two cents about desiring “independent and transparent” review and monitoring of police forensic research and methods. This will largely prove futile. It is obvious that the … Continue reading
