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Category Archives: AAFS
The saga continues at the Ventura County Medical Examiners office
I would like to commend Dr. Ann Bucholtz (shown above) for her short, but effective tenure as Ventura County’s Medical Examiner. My perspective is as the forensic dentistry consultant for the VCME office for over 30 years. Dr. Bucholtz’s legacy … Continue reading
LEOs not reporting police shooting/custody deaths still using their DOJ grant money and MRAPS
The disonant (or maybe permissive) Department of Justice federal oversight of local law enforcement agencies seems to rival a tragicomedy versions of “who’s on first?” Or more impolitely, the boondoggle. The decades-long sharing of military equipment with police ( 1033 program … Continue reading
Posted in AAFS, Civil rights, criminal justice, criminal justice reform
Tagged criminal justice
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PCAST in the news – The DNA Blog from the New York Legal Aid Soc
Edited by Julie Fry Written by Celia Givens PCAST report raises questions about validity of forensic sciences in criminal courts A new draft report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has caused concerns about the … Continue reading
Clarification and Retraction of CSIDDS use of AAFS logo
Statement: To Whom It May Concern In RE: CSIDDS blog post from September 12, 2016 On occasion, I have used AAFS annual convention banners in my blog posts. The reader must not be not be misled or misconstrue or consider that … Continue reading
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Regardless of #PCAST, bitemark matchers praise themselves and re-up their “Bitemark Breakfast”
*See note at bottom. To be expected, although in an ironic twist to the above image, the AAFS affiliated bite mark bunch continues to press on with their agenda. This is in the face of a tsunami of criticism from media … Continue reading
“You have no balls” says a noted bite mark dentist – More about this and the #PCAST report on forensics
Bill Richards, who spent nearly 23 years in prison based on dubious bite-mark evidence, was released in June. Photo: Courtesy of Michael Semanchik, California Innocence Project. The inimitable and award winning Jordan Smith at The Intercept once again lays the hammer on the prime example … Continue reading
Forensics: How a criminal defense expert got some bad news from a judge – “Not qualified”
Nothing but warning signals come out in this news article about a self-styled yet prior qualified (in other cases) DNA expert running into some trouble. The record states he admitted having no direct experience in using actual DNA profiling lab equipment. … Continue reading
Forensic Science reform gets a knee jerk backlash from the District Attorneys – #PCAST
National District Attorneys Association slams President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report Note that the NDAA (national DA association) president is none other than San Bernardino’s pro death penalty DA Michael Ramos (@michaelramos). I’m not surprised at this … Continue reading
BIte Mark Matchers now under scrutiny by the Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board
THE FIELD: BITE-MARK COMPARISON Forensic dentist Richard Souviron, during a police workshop, urges caution over bite-mark comparisons: “You’ve got to be real careful with this kind of evidence.” Tribune photos by Alex Garcia. Tribune photo by Alex Garcia Yes, … Continue reading
Forensic racism suggests “blinding” case details as a cure.
Here’s a new level of nastiness. The above is an example of scientific racism reported from the forensic anthro post Ancestry, Race and Anthropology. A new example from Iowa. From the Desmoines-Register A thistle to former state forensic scientist Amy Pollpeter, who expressed blatantly racist sentiments on social … Continue reading
