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Category Archives: AAFS
Forensics: More judicial illiteracy about scientific principles
Somewhere there must be an appellate judge who understands something about reliability. The 7th US Circuit sure needs some help. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/08/04/federal-appeals-court-drug-dog-thats-barely-more-accurate-than-a-coin-flip-is-good-enough
Flickering Examples of Science getting into Forensics | From Science and the DNA Newsletter
Forensic labs and experts considering blind testing to remove potential context bias At the NIST “Error Management” Conference earlier this month, experts agreed that “a key problem…is that people who evaluate evidence from crime scenes have access to information about … Continue reading
Forensics: 1996 op-ed warning about DNA’s effect on bitemark opinions
A warning to bitemark experts that has been ignored by the AAFS and its flesh bite experts. This was published in the forensic dental newsletter of the ABFO. http://www.expertlaw.com/library/identification/bite_marks.html
Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, CSI, Forensic Science, forensic science reform
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Forensics : 1960 When bitemarks were considered equal to fingerprints……..
………a British dentist said “bruises in human flesh” bitemarks were”unreliable evidence” and expressed reasons that were, 49 years later, used by the National Academy of Sciences in 2009 . He also said “usually a self-styled expert” and “so-called expert (s)” … Continue reading
Bad actors and negligent experts in Crim Justice still immune.
This follows up previous blogs about how citizens, damaged by CJ incompetence (including some lawyers) and bad acts, run afoul of legal interpretations of immunity for state employees and their minions. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/07/30/people-wronged-by-the-criminal-justice-system-face-a-long-road-to-compensation (copyright 2015 Dental and Forensic Services LLC )
Federal judge opinion about “experts peddling junk science to credulous judges and jurors”…..
This federal court (from the Chicago area) opinion speaks to how people exonerated of serious crimes have little legal recourse (having no state statutes and judicial case law privileges or right to sue most government “actors.”) for recompense for damages caused … Continue reading
Forensics: A BIG dust up in AUSTRALIA over 400 opines of a state Medical Examiner
This all started with a recent judicial (last year) opinion on a 20 year-old case dealing with “murder in a bathtub.” The government’s path guy, Dr. Colin Manock, got clobbered in a book about this case and which seems to … Continue reading
Update: White House Report on Forensics Science: “Eradicate” the Use of Bitemarks
Update on the Update: More on this today (Wednesday July 22, 2015) from Radley Balko at THE WATCH On Tuesday, July 21, the White House OSTP issued an oral presentation by: Jo Handelsman “Dr. Jo Handelsman is the Associate Director for … Continue reading
Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, criminal justice reform, CSI, Forensic Dentistry, junk forensic science
Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, AMERICAN BOARD OF FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY, Bad forensic science, Forensic science, innocence project, junk forensic science, junk science, White House
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Bitemarks in child abuse case reveals how skin injury patterns vary dramatically on a single victim
This amazing article documents how human bite marks on a single victim, arguably by one suspect, are extremely inconsistent in pattern, shape of tooth marks and other details. Here’s a few questions. Would you look at the bite marks before … Continue reading
Justice Kozinski on Lying Police and more on forensic science and CJ “guesswork”
EVIDENCE OF POLICE DISHONESTY LEADS TO OVERTURNED CONVICTIONS NATIONWIDE Here are some quotes from a justice of the US Ninth Circuit of Appeals. Justice Alex Kozinski talks about police misconduct and worse in the Debra Milke case. “The Ninth Circuit … Continue reading
