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Category Archives: criminal justice
DNA “falsifiability” gets some airtime, CRIME LAB chaos in MA, “vigorous debate’ in SBS
The latest in scientific quandaries within forensics from the NY Legal Aid Society Newsletter. Fool’s Gold: Legal Aid Society DNA Unit featured in Atlantic Magazine article about the increasing use of unreliable DNA “science” in the criminal justice system DNA … Continue reading
Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI, DNA mixtures, DNA profiling, forensic science misconduct, forensic science reform
Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, Bad forensic science, DNA profiling, falsified evidence, forensic examiner error, Forensic science, junk forensic science
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Another crime lab scandal arises from Virginia : Old school blood-typing failures
On the heels of Keith Allen Harward’s 33 years of wrongful incarceration, Virginia is now tackling hundreds of cases over the decades containing more questionable forensic “science.” Harward’s erroneous identification from a bitemark is only the beginning. “The Innocence Project … Continue reading
Forensics: National Inst of Justice training webinars
Controlled Substances & Toxicology Focus on DNA Sequencing IPE & Trace Evidence Postmortem Interval & Molecular Autopsy
Posted in criminal justice, CSI
Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, criminal justice, CSI, Forensic science
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Forensics: The role of social media as a watchdog on abuse of power and and imperfect science
I have significant experience listening (especially at the last AAFS meeting) and reading snide comments from mostly volunteering participants (commonly defensive) in the “forensic science reform” debate demeaning the “blog” aspect of journalistic reporting. My vocal response at the AAFS … Continue reading
Expanding government DNA archives form major debate on involving innocent people
The shadow of “big brother” watching you comes out in print within this piece about massive forensic DNA collection in numerous states. California has the biggest database. “The question is: Do we want the government to have all these genetic … Continue reading
Posted in Civil rights, criminal justice
Tagged Criminal Justice, Forensic science, government dna databases
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Forensics : Details of trace evidence obtained in child murder/abuse case in Canada
The only thing the defense could get in rebuttal was that the CSI tech didn’t “test” every object available at the crime scene residence. Its a hint that the CSI could have missed some exculpable evidence usable for the defense’s … Continue reading
Posted in criminal justice, CSI, expert testimony
Tagged Criminal Justice, CSI, Forensic science, forensic testimony
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Forensics: The White House Office of Sci Tech investigates Bitemark Believers on Jan 15
The Obama Administration offers a potpourri of forensic practitioners at a public hearing scheduled for Jan 15th. Among them is one of the pro bitemark witnesses who pled for mercy before the Texas For Sci Commission a month ago. Here is … Continue reading
Dialogue about Science Peer Review in the Courts : Scientific American : Faigman
This is a “how to do it” from Law Professor David L. Faigman at Hastings of UCBerkeley. He shows an extensive review on where the US courts are on this subject and why they are not always reliable. He has some interesting … Continue reading
Major US Forensic Lab Scandals by State : The DOJ takes a stab at solution
Rumblings about mess-ups in US government-run forensic labs has finally reached the US DOJ. The reliability aspects of who does the “accreditation” is another matter. Thanks to NACDL and @celiagivens at the DNA Newsletter. DOJ to Mandate Lab Accreditation The … Continue reading
Professor Christophe Champod interacts with famed Scottish forensics center
Lord Advocate: Scotland’s crime campus makes us world leaders in forensic fight against crime A refreshing look at political support for forensic science research and crime investigation using a multi-disciplinary scientific approach. Professor Christophe Champod, from Lausanne, Switzerland, is mentioned … Continue reading
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