Early into its release, #Forensic Science Reform text goes to the classroom!

Posted on January 14, 2017 by csidds

Image result for kent forensic science student uk

A respected under and graduate forensic science program in the UK has introduced copies of our Academic Press/Elsevier text into its reference library and student discussions. Greatly appreciated! Here’s the notice for their students’ new semester.

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Your article of the week

Only published  recently  is  the  text:

Forensic  Science  Reform  (Protecting the Innocent)

The  work  is  written  by  friends  in  the  US and  already  I’ve  arranged for us to have copies in our library, so please take a look if you get chance. This will  add  so  much  vital  context and understanding  of professional  practice  to your studies. I’m sure the authors  will not mind me sharing with you a few pages from this book and hopefully this will whet your appetite to get the book from the library. We’ve been  studying  quite  a  lot  on issues  of  bias,  uniqueness, and  pattern evidence. Likewise, I know that many of you are beginning your Fires and Explosions  Modules with soon, so  maybe   this   case   is   of   particular   relevance.   It’s   a summary of events surrounding the case of Cameron Todd Willingham  who  was  executed  in  Texas  in  2004  following having been convicted of arson which caused the death of his three daughters. Over the years there has been much focus on this cause célèbre and the  science ’ used to convict Willingham. Each of  the  chapters  in  the book  begins with  a  case  study  underpinning and reinforcing our need to get things right. No case is more poignant than this and l hope you ’ll take a moment to read and consider the very high expectations  placed on you as forensic scientists.

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For the discerning public: Read ALL the #forensic orgs that opposed PCAST standards

Posted on January 12, 2017 by csidds

Image result for anti-science memes

With two exceptions being the Innocence Project  and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The AAFS was rather tentative.

PUBLISHED STATEMENTS IN RESPONSE TO THE PCAST REPORT ON FORENSIC SCIENCE IN CRIMINAL COURTS

After the release of PCAST’s report in September 2016, more than a dozen organizations issued statements in response. Links to some of these statements are listed below:

 National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers: http://www.nacdl.org/PCAST_Report

 Innocence Project: http://www.innocenceproject.org/president-obamas-report-forensicscience

 American Academy of Forensic Sciences: http://news.aafs.org/policy-statements/presidentscouncil-of-advisors-on-science-and-technology-pcast-report

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 American Congress of Forensic Science Laboratories: http://ffg.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents_OPC/2016_0921_PS_PCAST.pdf

 American Society of Crime Lab Directors: http://pceinc.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/10/20160930-Statement-on-PCAST-Report-ASCLD.pdf

 Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners: http://afte.org/uploads/documents/AFTEPCAST-Response.pdf

 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives: http://www.theiai.org/president/20160921_ATF_PCAST_Response.pdf

 Department of Justice: http://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-advisory-council-releasesreport-critical-of-forensics-used-in-criminal-trials-1474394743

 Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/fbi-pcast-response.pdf  Forensic Institute: www.theforensicinstitute.com/news-articles/views-andopinions/commentary-of-pcast-2016

 International Association for Identification: http://www.theiai.org/president/IAI_PCAST_Response.pdf

 Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists: http://www.mafs.net/documents/PCAST%20- %20MAFS%20Response.pdf

 National District Attorneys Association: http://www.ciclt.net/ul/ndaajustice/PCAST/NDAA%20PCAST%20Response%20FINAL.pdf

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iCloud connected home devices free game for criminal investigators

Posted on January 11, 2017 by csidds

Image result for devices like amazon echo

also add water meters……………

Amazon Echo now an Expert Murder Witness ? (Forbes)

How much can police find out from a murderer’s Echo (Verge)

From the NYC Legal Aid Society.

Arkansas police asked Amazon to provide them with all audio files recorded by an Amazon Echo device owned by James Bates who has been charged with the 2015 murder of one of his friends inside Bates’ home. Amazon Echo devices record all spoken audio when users say a specific word or phrase—usually “Alexa”—and then transmit the sound recordings to a remote cloud-based server. A search warrant served on Amazon asked for all of Amazon’s data including Echo’s audio recordings. Amazon has agreed to provide the victim’s account holder information and purchase history but they have refused to share any information from its servers.

In addition to the Amazon Echo, Arkansas investigators are also using information from Bates’ smart home water meter, “alleging that an increase in water use in the middle of the night suggests a possible cleanup around the crime scene.” Privacy experts have raised concerns about the Arkansas investigation as well as other potential privacy violations associated with “smart” home devices. Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation noted, “Traditionally, the home has been the apex of 4th Amendment privacy protection in respect to law enforcement…The tricky thing about a device that’s recording data inside of your home is that you may be transmitting that recording in such a way that the government can directly collect it, or, as in the case we have in Arkansas, it may be that the data is sitting on Amazon’s servers.”

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Read PCAST’s forensic response to outpouring of resistance by prosecutors and labs

Posted on January 11, 2017 by csidds

Newly published, it is clear that PCAST on forensic ‘science’ is taking a serious stance to much of the mis-information presented by the host of it’s deniers in the US criminal justice system. That would be prosecutors, the US attorney general, the International Association for Identification, and some smaller groups of police forensic ‘science’ techs.

PCAST goes into detail regarding the extent of their studies which included their generous requests after the body’s report in November. Some substantial critics failed to show up for continuing any participation. I’m rather embarrassed by the entire bunch.

PCAST gives some mini-kudos (mostly to fingerprints and DNA) but it is clear that what they expect from forensics is generally beyond the ken of the bulk of the forensic industry. This becomes very apparent if you read the entire nine pages.

Of course, bitemarkers bit the dust once more on page 5. I would like to thank the 33 co-participants of the 2016 document on bitemarks’ fallacies that is mentioned. I had a bit to do with it. ASU Law Professor Michael Saks did all the heavy lifting on that one.

pcast_forensics_addendum_final (published 1-10-17)

Fight On

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NIJ sponsored forensic research at AAFS 2017 in NOLA

Posted on January 10, 2017 by csidds

Quite alot of this free (registration needed at RTI) February 14th meeting appears quite interesting. How’s this: “The Taphonomy of Human Hair” or “Forensic DNA Phenotyping of Quantitative Pigment in Human Physical Appearance Prediction”?

It appears that the latest research from the bitemark bunch (ABFO.org) didn’t make the cut. To be honest, I don’t expect any since the NIJ announced no plans to continue funding them a few years ago after this debacle.

RTI Agenda

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Narrative on forensics NAS/PCAST vs the world of law enforcement

Posted on January 10, 2017 by csidds

Image result for finger pointing

This look hits most of the highs and lows of contentious statements from law enforcement after the President’s Council took on their established police forensic turf. It does mention wrongful convictions stemming from overrated forensic ‘science’ which seemed left out of the conversations about why NAS and PCAST did what they did.

A few choice blurbs:

Anti PCAST: (the feds)

“The report makes broad, unsupported assertions regarding science and forensic science practice,” the Bureau wrote. “The PCAST criteria define ‘black box’ studies as the benchmark to demonstrate foundational validity, but provide no clarification on how many studies are needed or why some studies that have been conducted do not meet their criteria.

Pro PCAST: (mainstream scientists from the American Association for the Advancement Science)

“We expect the reports emerging from the project to encourage basic research and contribute to improving the quality of forensic science used in the legal system,” Frankel said last year. “The project’s impact could be transformational for the criminal justice system, enabling the public to have confidence that the ability to convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent is advanced.”

Cautious: (American Academy of Forensic Sciences)

“The PCAST report is an important start to the discussion of scientific validity and we look forward to continuing that discussion with the larger community of forensic science practitioners,” reads the October AAFS statement.”

Full article

 

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Once again its kitty litter that’s putting citizens in jail

Posted on January 8, 2017 by csidds

Image result for false positive drugs

So-called field ‘testing’ of suspicious substances by police runs afoul of their false positives.

As Loretta Lynch said, “all is well in criminal justice” right? If appointed Jeff Beauregard Sessions will surely double up on that one.

Kitty litter.

Krispy Cremes donut glaze.

KMart grade police field testing.

Interesting testing series on sugar, chocolate, and of all things placebo testing resulting in positives for meth, pot, etc. 

 

 

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Taking pattern evidence two years after burial? Why not? It’s a bitemark

Posted on January 7, 2017 by csidds

Image result for carpetbagger

You will love what the ex DA in this decades-old case has to say about “outsiders” causing problems. The State Attorney says this: “Our job is to do justice an to see justice one. We’re not afraid of having evidence tested…..in the unlikely event that the evidence points at the potential of guilt of another individual, We’d address that at that time.”

Excerpt:

 “The motion also says that more than two dozen wrongful convictions have been based on bite mark testimony, some involving the same expert witnesses who testified at Prante’s trial. Drs. Homer Campbell and Lowell Levine, who both testified on behalf of the state that the bite marks [ after exhumation ] in the photograph matched Prante’s teeth, also testified in four other cases involving bite marks that were eventually overturned as wrongful convictions.”

Full article

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Another ridiculous bitemark case emerges into public view after 30+ years

Posted on January 6, 2017 by csidds

Image result for john kunco

The evidence:

Image result for john kunco

I’m assisting in two other cases attempting to eradicate junk science within criminal courts. This third case is an example of similar arguments during an adversarial hearing combining attempts to test new DNA evidence and publish research debunking entrenched bitemark believers who still get paid to showup to talk of their wares.

Below is the most recent Commonwealth v J Kunco hearing transcript from last month. This is 300 pages revealing the Innocence Project’s Chris Fabricant and Dana Delger, along with local counsel, bringing forth the fallacies of “reasonable degree of dental certainty.” Dr. Tom David is for Mr. Hopson, the prosecutor, and Dr. Cynthia Brozowski as the defense expert bringing out why bitemark evidence is unreliable. Reading what the police considered to be the victim’s identification of her attacker is incredible. A police officer imitated speaking with a lisp. The woman said that was what the attacker sounded like. John Kunco has a lisp speech impediment. A positive ID.

comm-vs-john-kunco-pdf

More on Kunco  here  and here.

 

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Obama Left Forensic Science Reform At the Altar

Posted on January 5, 2017 by csidds

Image result for left at the altar

That’s according to Radley Balko at the Washington Post.

He sums up the missed opportunity for the outgoing US president to push his Attorney General Lynch and the FBI’s Comey to open a proper dialogue after the PCAST report from highly regarded scientists cast serious doubts on police forensics.

He says similar to some of my blogs on the ridiculous cop-led pushback after November’s lengthy report scorned much of the overblown pattern-matching tricks put forth in bitemarks, shoe prints, etc posing as some odd-version of science.

Full article “When Obama wouldn’t fight for science.”

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