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Author Archives: csidds
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
Inside Exoneration litigation in Mississippi – At Times it’s Utter Frustration #ELHoward
In 2016, Texas determined that dental bitemark experts should not be admitted in court. What’s now happening in Mississippi (MS) is a classic legal and forensic science example of continuing that agenda. 1993. A bitemark ID was achieved in MS … Continue reading
Forensic Saga: Raising past bitemark convictions – 1987
The realm of gleaning forensic science fact from fiction is an ongoing chapter in the larger subject of scientific progress. Empirical testing and re-testing are the cornerstone of how science evolves. But, what about practices that have had no legitimate testing … Continue reading
Forensics: 2d bitemark opinion in the John Kunco case. Where is justice for him? #ADA
“The victim was able to identify Kunco by virtue of a recognizable lisp. Five months after the woman was attacked, an ultraviolet photograph of her back was enlarged and healed bite wounds were compared to a mold of Kunco’s teeth. … Continue reading
UK Cabinet’s new administraton of forensic sciences seems incomplete or worse?
All I can glean from scant web info is that its full speed ahead for the Forensic Science Regulator (actually a good idea in theory) oversight to become law but she doesn’t get any “enforcement control ( among other issues) and … Continue reading
Forensics: Not mob journalism. How bitemarks ruled the courtroom and still do
Overview of the prosecution’s bitemark case. John Kunco has now exhausted his appellate review options in Pennsylvania.
