Category Archives: criminal justice

Latest on #SandraBland investigation | From @MarshallProj

What happened inside Cell 95? A Texas official says police are investigating the death of Sandra Bland as a murder, but videotape from the jail shows no one entering her cell during the critical moments before she was found hanged. … Continue reading

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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

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Federal court opens door for “new” DNA tests

Forensic science advances get another boost. This quashes DAs disingenuous arguments that appeal litigation for additional DNA testing is bound by a time “statute of limitations.” The rub are states’ laws that require a standard of proof of innocence that … Continue reading

Posted in criminal justice, criminal justice reform, exoneration, Forensic Science, wrongful convictions | 1 Comment

Bizzaro lawsuit claims ex crime lab tech driven to suicide.

I had no idea 1980s crime labbers used their own semen as referenced control samples. This one’s ended up found in a cold case murder investigation. http://www.cbs8.com/story/29569783/widow-of-ex-sdpd-crime-lab-employee-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit

Posted in criminal justice, CSI | 1 Comment

DC crime lab gets ex-FBI lab manager as its new chief.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/district-expected-to-name-new-head-of-embattled-dna-lab-officials-say/2015/07/16/e4379528-2bf5-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html

Posted in criminal justice, CSI, DNA mixtures, DNA profiling | Tagged | Leave a comment

Philippine Forensics: Dust-up over 1995 manner of death of a US Naval Officer

The officer’s family disputes suicide findings of multiple US and Phil criminal investigators. They brought in a “US forensic expert” who has an interesting pedigree. I wonder how much he charged the family for services? Full article A massive PR piece … Continue reading

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The rise of the Innocence Project was based on DNA and a fractured system of forensic science

I have been perusing threads in the press concerning dialogue of forensic practitioners about the gaps and misapplications of their forensics in the US criminal justice system.  There aren’t many.  For the most part, there are a vocal few within the forensic communities … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bitemarks, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, Forensic Science Bias, forensic science misconduct, forensic science reform | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

FORENSICS: What is a “partial DNA match?” Or, what ARE we talking about here?

This blog follows the event of the Albuquerque police using a “partial DNA match” sufficient to hold a man in jail for 17 months.   The news release from New Mexico is vague about what the police are changing in their … Continue reading

Posted in Bad Forensic Science, criminal justice, CSI, DNA profiling, Forensic Science | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

ABQ PD uses a “partial DNA match” to put the wrong man in jail for 14 months

And here is how they got the wrong guy. “After settling a lawsuit, the police department changed its procedure. Officers must now explain how strong the DNA match is for any potential suspect before a judge agrees to issue a … Continue reading

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, CSI, DNA profiling, exoneration | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“No preset rules in DNA Forensics”: examples of errors and doubts in DNA casework that juries must tackle.

This does not read like CSI Miami. Wait, that one got cancelled. Thank you Jesus. “A 2013 survey by the National Institute of Standards and Technology asked analysts from 108 labs to look at a three-person mixture and determine if … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, criminal justice, CSI, death penalty, DNA mixtures, DNA profiling, Forensic Science, police crime labs, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment