Category Archives: criminal justice reform

Utter silence from over 400 individual US crimes labs after @PCAST forensic report

Posted on November 27, 2016 by csidds

The US crime lab communities that receive public funding were said to number over 400 (see below) in the 2009 Bureau of Justice Statistics report. Its striking to me that NOTHING has been in the news about what they think … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI | Tagged criminal justice, CSI, Forensic science, PCAST | Leave a comment

Chummy crime labber gets close scrutiny.

Posted on November 20, 2016 by csidds

Not exactly PC in today’s hyper sensitive awareness of cognitive bias in police crime lab environments http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/11/19/do-thank-you-notes-hint-at-impropriety.html

Posted in criminal justice reform, CSI, Forensic Science, Forensic Science Bias, forensic science misconduct, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Anti-PCAST District Attorney Says Bitemark Analysis Opponents Are “Flawed”

Posted on November 18, 2016 by csidds

This National DA Assoc president works in San Bernardino County, among other things a place where bitemarks helped put an innocent Bill Richards in prison for 23 years. Ramos (campaigning for California’s Attorney General post and pro death penalty) has … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice reform, CSI, death penalty, Ray Krone bitemark case, William Richards Exoneration Case, Wrongful Conviction | Tagged Bad forensic science, junk forensic science, junk science | 1 Comment

Taking decades to uncover lost DNA: California will execute in 5 years

Posted on November 13, 2016 by csidds

Needle-in-a-haystack hunt for evidence in old Virginia murder case required endurance, luck But what may prove the toughest obstacle was overcome two years ago by a private investigator and a persistent University of Virginia Hospital employee who scaled warehouse ladders … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice reform, death penalty | Tagged criminal justice, death penalty, Forensic science, wrongful convictions | Leave a comment

Exonerations in the News: the myth of “worst of the worst”

Posted on November 4, 2016 by csidds

Justin Brooks and Brian Banks From the WrongfulConvictionsBlog Michigan Radio: Poor and black more likely to be wrongfully convicted… Star Tribune: Innocence Project questions Thomas Rhodes’ murder conviction in wife’s death near Spicer… Nebraska Radio Network: Kirk Bloodsworth brings his … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice reform, CSI, death penalty, human rights violations, William Richards Exoneration Case, wrongful convictions | Tagged Bad forensic science | Leave a comment

Jury looking at exaggerated forensic opinions – a strong bias results

Posted on November 1, 2016 by csidds

A law prof tries a simple way to explain what PCAST is concerned about. He also includes the following: [Brandon Garrett at Va. Law’s Faculty Q&A] Few studies had been done examining how jurors appreciate some of the most commonly … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice reform | Tagged criminal justice, CSI, exaggerated forensic opinions, wrongful conviction | Leave a comment

Controversial use of familial DNA searches helps lead to finds in cold cases

Posted on October 27, 2016 by csidds

A broader look at familial DNA use within criminal investigations. Some good, some bad. What appears in all examples, is that ‘presumptions’ of guilt can be incorrect and send prosecutors off in the wrong direction. What’s also apparent is that … Continue reading →

Posted in AAFS, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, CSI, DNA mixtures, DNA profiling | 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, DNA likelihood ratios, 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

Netherlands Forensic Institute ranks high in world-wide successful investigations

Posted on October 19, 2016 by csidds

I hear that the NFI ( located at the Hague ) also has an excellent physician/forensic anthropologist traveling the world on these cases. I love those loupes! This article highlights the world-wide scope of a national crime lab. I haven’t seen … Continue reading →

Posted in criminal justice reform, CSI, Identification DVI, Mass Disaster recovery | Tagged forensic anthropology, Netherlands forensic institute, r, r. gerretson | Leave a comment

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