Latest News on Forensic Science and Criminal Law
-
Join 223 other subscribers
Author Archives: csidds
Forensics: Focus on bitemark beliefs and “The Syndrome”
While spending nearly a full May 5th springtime time day listening to the “Country Dentist” Dr Michael West lavish a Mississippi courtroom with his god-like powers of forensic observation aided by a blue light flashlight, I began to reflect on … Continue reading
Posted in Bite Marks, Bitemarks, criminal justice reform, CSI, death penalty, Dr. Michael West, exoneration, forensic testimony
Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, AMERICAN BOARD OF FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY, Bad forensic science, criminal justice, CSI, district attorney, forensic examiner error, junk forensic science, wrongful convictions
Leave a comment
Ballistics runs aground in TX. Its Forensic Comm ferrets out another mini-scandal
This all started from a complaint filed by a solo lawyer from Texas. The complaint sounds strikingly similar to the Steve Chaney bitemark complaint that led to the shoot-down of the dentists training and teaching bitemarks at UTSA and elsewhere. … Continue reading
Another crime lab scandal arises from Virginia : Old school blood-typing failures
On the heels of Keith Allen Harward’s 33 years of wrongful incarceration, Virginia is now tackling hundreds of cases over the decades containing more questionable forensic “science.” Harward’s erroneous identification from a bitemark is only the beginning. “The Innocence Project … Continue reading
Taking a look at forensic science fakery – The Country Dentist
Lets get real, the connection between rigorous multiple studies in forensic science and what is done “in the field” can be described as inconsistently applied. Ive been exposed to a single Journal of Forensic Science article from 1984 that was … Continue reading
MS Court hears substantial testimony about why bitemark conviction from 1992 was flawed
The following May 5th, 2016 newspaper article from the Columbus MS Dispatch outlines the dynamics of last week’s hearing in which Superior Court Judge Howard accepted voluminous evidence requested by the MS Supreme Court regarding bitemark and DNA evidence relevant … Continue reading
A rather chilling example of public drug-testing bills racing past forensic testing
A decidedly poor application of “forensic science” in the courts strikes again. Its obvious that legalizing pot in some states has taken criminalizing pot possession off their books and created a less than measured approach dealing with DUI stops. Multiple … Continue reading
Upgraded FBI dental system used to discover identities of missing persons @AmerDentalAssn
Somewhat maligned prior to 2004, the dental ID portion of the NCIC (CJIS) Missing and Unidentified program was revamped to a much simpler data entry protocol and search parameters. Integral to finding names of unknown deceased persons, law enforcement investigators must … Continue reading
Back and forth in court about raising technical instrumentation ballistic standards
Does this picture have J. Edgar Hoover and Shirley Temple doing a bullet comp? A prosecutor takes exception to a defense ballistics guy saying higher definition imaging improves accuracy in bullet and rifling comparisons. The guy states that crime labs … Continue reading
What it takes an innocent inmate to get accepted by the Illinois Innocence Project
The following acceptance guidelines are illuminating as to the factors that enter into an inmate being accepted as a client. It is a daunting list. Preeminent are 1) the inmate must have a history of claiming innocence throughout his/her criminal history, 2) … Continue reading
Ignoring the scandal of erroneous forensic testimony by dentists @AmerDentalAssn
Notable in these archives of bite mark involved convictions, later overturned, is the lack of oversight and investigation into the causes of these tragedies by both the dental examiners’ professional organizations, the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Forensic … Continue reading
FORENSICS and LAW in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends 