Category Archives: criminal justice reform

Sketchy police use of body cameras; LEO use of predictive crime software biased and useless

Posted on October 14, 2016 by csidds

NYPD has yet to outfit any of their officers with body cameras despite a 2013 federal court ruling that ordered the implementation of a body camera pilot program in at least 5 NYPD precincts: “Envisioned as a tool to bolster … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Crime lab scandal, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI | Tagged AAFS, ABFO, ADA, Anthropology, ASCLD, ASFO, bias, bite mark, bite marks, bitemark, bitemark analysis, bitemark evidence, bitemark testimony, Bitemarks, board certified dentist, comparison confirmation bias, David Sheets, DNA, Dr. Greg Golden, Dr. L.T. Johnson, Dr. Michael Bowers, Dr. Michael West, Dr. Robert Barsley, Dr. roger Metcalf, Elsevier, exoneration, expert opinion, forensic, Forensic Dental Evidence, forensic dentist, forensic dentistry, forensic odontologist, Forensic Odontology, Forensic science, homicide case, Humberto Leal, Innocence partners, innocence project, Innocent, Investigator's Handbook, JADA, Kennedy Brewer, Kunco, Leal, Leigh Stubbs, Levon Brooks, Mary Bush, Michael bowers, Michael West, Mississippi Innocence, NAS National Academy of Science, National District Attorney Association, National Forensic Science Foundation, observer effects, Odontology, PCAST, Peter Bush, police body cameras, predictive crime software, Ray Krone, Ray Miller, reliability research, Saliva, screening film, starks, Stinson, surveillance video, theIAI.org, toolmark, University of Buffalo, UV photography, validity, West, Wisconsin, wrongful conviction, wrongful convictions, wrongfully convicted | Leave a comment

Serial rapists and underachieving government crime lab; cops as “super-experts”

Posted on October 13, 2016 by csidds

“Did Failures at APD’s Crime Lab Lead to Sexual Assaults in Houston?” (Austin Chronicle) A new Harvard Law Review article titled “The Judicial Presumption of Police Expertise” questions whether police should be treated as expert witnesses when giving testimony in criminal … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime lab scandal, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI, expert testimony | Tagged AAFS, ABFO, ADA, Anthropology, ASCLD, ASFO, bias, bite mark, bite marks, bitemark, bitemark analysis, bitemark evidence, bitemark testimony, Bitemarks, board certified dentist, comparison confirmation bias, David Sheets, DNA, Dr. Greg Golden, Dr. L.T. Johnson, Dr. Michael Bowers, Dr. Michael West, Dr. Robert Barsley, Dr. roger Metcalf, Elsevier, exoneration, expert opinion, forensic, Forensic Dental Evidence, forensic dentist, forensic dentistry, forensic odontologist, Forensic Odontology, Forensic science, homicide case, Humberto Leal, Innocence partners, innocence project, Innocent, Investigator's Handbook, JADA, Kennedy Brewer, Kunco, Leal, Leigh Stubbs, Levon Brooks, Mary Bush, Michael bowers, Michael West, Mississippi Innocence, NAS National Academy of Science, National District Attorney Association, National Forensic Science Foundation, observer effects, Odontology, PCAST, Peter Bush, Ray Krone, Ray Miller, reliability research, Saliva, screening film, starks, Stinson, surveillance video, theIAI.org, toolmark, University of Buffalo, UV photography, validity, West, Wisconsin, wrongful conviction, wrongful convictions, wrongfully convicted | Leave a comment

LEOs not reporting police shooting/custody deaths still using their DOJ grant money and MRAPS

Posted on September 15, 2016 by csidds

The disonant (or maybe permissive) Department of Justice federal oversight of local law enforcement agencies seems to rival a tragicomedy versions of “who’s on first?” Or more impolitely, the boondoggle. The decades-long sharing of military equipment with police ( 1033 program … Continue reading →

Posted in AAFS, Civil rights, criminal justice, criminal justice reform | Tagged criminal justice | Leave a comment

Regardless of #PCAST, bitemark matchers praise themselves and re-up their “Bitemark Breakfast”

Posted on September 12, 2016 by csidds

*See note at bottom. To be expected, although in an ironic twist to the above image, the AAFS affiliated bite mark bunch continues to press on with their agenda. This is in the face of a tsunami of criticism from media … Continue reading →

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bite Marks, costs of wrongful convictions, criminal justice reform, junk forensic science | Tagged ABFO, American Academy of Forensic Science, Bad forensic science, junk forensic science, Miscarriage of justice, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

Forensic Science reform gets a knee jerk backlash from the District Attorneys – #PCAST

Posted on September 3, 2016 by csidds

National District Attorneys Association slams President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report Note that the NDAA (national DA association) president is none other than San Bernardino’s pro death penalty DA Michael Ramos (@michaelramos). I’m not surprised at this … Continue reading →

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI | Tagged Bad forensic science, forensic science reform, junk forensic science | 3 Comments

Look into why #Prop66 is a load of prosecutorial crap – False confessions by kids after interrogations

Posted on September 2, 2016 by csidds

San Bernardino District Attorney @MichaelRamos stumps for California Prop 66. “One analysis of 44 proven false-confession cases revealed that more than a third of the interrogations lasted six to 12 hours, many lasted between 12 and 24 hours, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice reform, death penalty | Tagged criminal justice, CSI, falsified evidence, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

BIte Mark Matchers now under scrutiny by the Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board

Posted on August 31, 2016 by csidds

THE FIELD: BITE-MARK COMPARISON Forensic dentist Richard Souviron, during a police workshop, urges caution over bite-mark comparisons: “You’ve got to be real careful with this kind of evidence.” Tribune photos by Alex Garcia. Tribune photo by Alex Garcia Yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, Bite Marks, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI | Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, AMERICAN BOARD OF FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY, Bad forensic science, DNA profiling, forensic examiner error, junk forensic science, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

When crime labs go rogue. Safety suffers. Honesty seems more doubtful.

Posted on August 8, 2016 by csidds

Max Houck (@maxmhouck) used to run the Washington DC Forensic Science facility which then boasted as being “independent” a la Houston’s Forensic Science Center. Above is his Twitter response to and post about police managers refusing an open and transparent scientific … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI, DNA mixtures | Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, Bad forensic science, crime labs, FBI Crime Lab, innocence project, wrongful convictions | 1 Comment

StingRay surveillance gets hit in court; Flawed forensics and legal outcomes

Posted on July 19, 2016 by csidds

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 →

Posted in AAFS, ABFO, criminal justice reform, CSI, DNA profiling | Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, Criminal Justice, Forensic science, junk forensic science, Miscarriage of justice | Leave a comment

Texas Symposium on Exonerations, bad forensics, bad prosecutions and the death penalty.

Posted on July 8, 2016 by csidds

Anyone out there knowing a DA supporting the death penalty as a secure means of doling out proper justice in the US might do well to send him/her the information flyer showing the topics being discussed in Houston this August. … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice, criminal justice reform, death penalty | Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, district attorney, Forensic science, Michael Ramos, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment