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Forensic Science Reform: Justice Department issues first standards for forensic expert testimony
Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington in Oct. 2015 (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press) The top US government agency involved in funding and management oversight of the FBI forensic science community just put out “guidance”on forensic … Continue reading
Illinois crime lab responds to state law allowing police to ignore Discovery of forensic testing
Lets just say that the police “commenting” about a bill passing through the Illinois legislature that supports non-disclosure of crime lab testing processes is similar to police agencies not being forthcoming with police body camera recordings. Besides the fact that the … Continue reading
California Supreme Court determines advances of forensic science sufficient to vacate conviction
Its all about 2 bitemark opinions from a murder trial. In an unanimous 7-0 decision, the court’s holdings vacates Bill Richards murder conviction from 1997 and makes his imprisonment since 1993 subject to release from prison and opens up future exoneration … Continue reading
Washington DC crime lab continues to coverup its law enforcement bungles
Originally posted on FORENSICS and LAW in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends:
? Backstory before the story about guns walking away from the DC crime lab. After a sweetheart period with its “independence” from LEO management via its multi-million dollar…
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A rather chilling example of public drug-testing bills racing past forensic testing
A decidedly poor application of “forensic science” in the courts strikes again. Its obvious that legalizing pot in some states has taken criminalizing pot possession off their books and created a less than measured approach dealing with DUI stops. Multiple … Continue reading
Upgraded FBI dental system used to discover identities of missing persons @AmerDentalAssn
Somewhat maligned prior to 2004, the dental ID portion of the NCIC (CJIS) Missing and Unidentified program was revamped to a much simpler data entry protocol and search parameters. Integral to finding names of unknown deceased persons, law enforcement investigators must … Continue reading
Back and forth in court about raising technical instrumentation ballistic standards
Does this picture have J. Edgar Hoover and Shirley Temple doing a bullet comp? A prosecutor takes exception to a defense ballistics guy saying higher definition imaging improves accuracy in bullet and rifling comparisons. The guy states that crime labs … Continue reading
What it takes an innocent inmate to get accepted by the Illinois Innocence Project
The following acceptance guidelines are illuminating as to the factors that enter into an inmate being accepted as a client. It is a daunting list. Preeminent are 1) the inmate must have a history of claiming innocence throughout his/her criminal history, 2) … Continue reading
Forensic Saga: Raising past bitemark convictions – 1987
The realm of gleaning forensic science fact from fiction is an ongoing chapter in the larger subject of scientific progress. Empirical testing and re-testing are the cornerstone of how science evolves. But, what about practices that have had no legitimate testing … Continue reading
Forensics: 2d bitemark opinion in the John Kunco case. Where is justice for him? #ADA
“The victim was able to identify Kunco by virtue of a recognizable lisp. Five months after the woman was attacked, an ultraviolet photograph of her back was enlarged and healed bite wounds were compared to a mold of Kunco’s teeth. … Continue reading
FORENSICS and LAW in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends 