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Category Archives: AAFS
Forensic Standards bill could “transform” forensic science and get rid of bitemark IDs
A new bill introduced last week in the US Congress could put some “teeth” into creating and then enforcing federal standards for the practice of 11 forensic disciplines either criticized or debunked (aka bitemark pattern testimony) by the 2009 National … Continue reading
StingRay surveillance gets hit in court; Flawed forensics and legal outcomes
NEW YORK LEGAL AID SOCIETY dna NEWSLETTER July 19 2016 Federal judge suppresses evidence collected by warrantless StingRay cell-site simulator device in NY drug case. In his decision, U.S. District Judge William Pauley wrote: “Absent a search warrant, the Government may … Continue reading
‘Vindictive Prosecution’ hangs over DA reluctant to not recharge Bill Richards
Today’s article from Jordan Smith at The Intercept provides history and new developments to Bill Richards’ 23 year journey from a murder conviction to freedom despite District Attorney Mike Ramos unerringly “stupid” threats of re-investigating Richards for the murder of … Continue reading
A lesson about scientific proofs vs. “causation beliefs” use in courts
This written appellate opinion sums up the challenge of “gatekeepers” (the judges) at the trial level filtering out expert witness bombast of opinion from actual scientific “causation.” The bombast in the forensic field of testimony can be seen in the … Continue reading
Retribution in criminal justice reform
“In (the) battle over Nebraska’s death penalty, victims’ families refuse to be political pawns” by @lilianasegura at The Intercept. This parallels California’s upcoming vote to abolish the death penalty. There probably will also be a pro-death penalty measure on the … Continue reading
Trouble with teeth and the better side of new forensic research – National Geographic
A general review of past police forensic methods that led to wrongful convictions and the newer development in forensics that could change criminalistic communities. Genetic phenotyping for facial reconstruction being the hottest topic in the media. Full article: The Trouble With … Continue reading
Another obstinate and proudly relentless prosecutor from Louisiana
On to Louisiana and its about a death penalty conviction for child murder. “Dale Cox (pictured above) was the Louisiana prosecutor against Crawford (the defendant), a case which rested almost exclusively on the testimony of a state forensic pathologist who claimed … Continue reading
Unfounded calculation assumptions in LifeCode DNA testimony: 2016 SC ruling in Simmons
VACATED IN PART AND REMANDED A telling tale with highlights of the court’s opine on DNA testimony from the commercial DNA lab LifeCodes reveals what forensic malfeasance or misconduct or “puffing results” really means. Lets say that over selling “science” … Continue reading
Forensics: Rehab program for academics caught cooking research data shows trends
This is certainly food for thought for those folks who consider academics and researchers above reproach. “Criminality” may be an overstatement in most cases, so maybe “misconduct” could be combined with “ineptitude.” I’ve seen intellectual dishonesty quite popular with the … Continue reading
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Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, Bad forensic science, criminal justice
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The bloom is off forensic DNA’s infallibility – Scientific American
Eric Frimpong and Santa Barbara defense attorney Robert Sanger in 2008. With the FBI making a step to reel in its history of wayward forensic conclusions, Scientific American wades into the “restructuring” of DNA opinions in much the same way. … Continue reading
