Category Archives: ABFO

Junk Science in the US and the UK – Hands across the sea

  The blog starts on how scientific arguments about DNA (and everything else dealing with forensics) within the US courts are so heavily affected by legalisms which allow one state (in this newest case NJ) to accept the opinion of another state (NY … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, criminal justice reform, CSI, Forensic Science Bias | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bitemark Evidence Proving to be Unreliable | National Law Journal

A bad month for the bite mark crew of the American Academy of Sciences and the NIST/DOJ National Commision on Forensic Science. http://m.nationallawjournal.com/module/alm/app/nlj.do#!/article/1751566393

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, criminal justice reform, CSI, junk forensic science | Leave a comment

AP:Mississippi death row inmate returns to trial court to argue for vacating conviction – bitemarks

Besides new DNA from post-conviction testing, the MS Special Assistant Attorney General Jason L. Davis  says that “new” evidence showing bite marks are now discredited “science” should now be barred. He seemed confused about his own state’s crime lab’s DNA results … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bad Forensic Science, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, criminal justice reform, CSI, Forensic Science | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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 | 4 Comments

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

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, CSI, expert testimony, forensic science reform | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 )

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Civil rights, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI, Exoneration costs, expert testimony, forensic science misconduct | 1 Comment

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

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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 , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bite Marks, Bitemarks, CSI | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment