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Category Archives: Forensic Dentistry
Forensics: Getting rid of bitemark believers. Updated Evidence Rule Warns Judges Against Junk Science
Changes to a new federal rule of evidence will go into effect on Friday, reminding judges that they should be extra vigilant about not allowing “junk science” from expert witnesses to reach juries. — Read on news.bloomberglaw.com/employee-benefits/updated-evidence-rule-warns-judges-against-junk-science
Forensics: 44 exoneration cases involving bitemark opinions had a 77% error rate. The Impact of False or Misleading Forensic Evidence on Wrongful Convictions | National Institute of Justice
Wrongful conviction, or the conviction of a person for a crime that they did not commit, is one of the greatest travesties of the criminal justice system. As of 2023, The National Registry of Exonerations has recorded over 3,000 cases … Continue reading
Forensics: Unfair Ballistics examiners wrongly describe some results, Iowa State profs say
When ballistics experts say a match between 2 bullet casings is ‘inconclusive,’ it nearly always means a non-match, a result that could help defendants — Read on http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2023/11/27/forensic-ballistics-examiners-results-questioned-in-isu-research-iowa-state-evidence-crime-scene/71584697007/
Forensics: Right to ‘bodily autonomy’ upheld. ‘Disproven and unsupportable’: Kansas judge blocks junk science abortion restrictions – Kansas Reflector
A Kansas judge blocked several long-standing and newly-implemented abortion restrictions in the state on Monday. — Read on kansasreflector.com/2023/10/30/disproven-and-unsupportable-kansas-judge-blocks-junk-science-abortion-restrictions/
Forensics: Do this for bitemarks please. Colorado may soon bar police and coroners from referencing “excited delirium” in lethal force cases
The now-debunked diagnosis has been widely used by police and paramedics to justify the use of force — even lethal force — in cases where they say suspects exhibit superhuman strength and extreme agitation. — Read on http://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-may-soon-bar-police-coroners-referencing-excited-delirium-lethal-force-cases/
Forensics: A medieval test in use. “Unreliable” Lung Float Test Still Being Used to Convict Women of Murder — ProPublica
The “lung float” test claims to help determine if a baby was born alive or dead, but many medical examiners say it’s too unreliable. Yet the test is still being used to bring murder charges — and get convictions. — … Continue reading
Forensic bias: Telling us less than what they know: Expert inconclusive reports conceal exculpatory evidence in forensic cartridge-case comparisons.
APA PsycNet DoiLanding page — Read on psycnet.apa.org/
Forensics: Koehler, Mnookin and Saks on The scientific reinvention of forensic science. Bitemarks NOT reinvented in their analysis. Ask the #AAFS why this has NOT happened.
Forensic science is undergoing an evolution in which a long-standing “trust the examiner” focus is being replaced by a “trust the scientific method… — Read on http://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2301840120
Forensics: Retrospective on effects of Mary Bush reseach. “Impossible to find old cases.” UB researcher brings awareness to flaws in bitemark evidence
There’s an ongoing effort to raise awareness and reverse mistakes caused by bite mark evidence. — Read on spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2023/09/25/ub-researcher-brings-awareness-to-flaws-in-bitemark-evidence
Forensics: Anatomy of junk forensics baffling Juries that don’t understand forensic science who send innocent people to prison − a short training video could help
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary… — Read on http://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/juries-that-don-t-understand-forensic-science-can-18393874.php
FORENSICS and LAW in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends 