It’s “Proper” Forensic Sci Week, FBI celebrates Dahmer case, and more

Posted on August 11, 2014 by csidds

tweetThe article is here. 

Forensics | Gov. Pence Issues Proclamation Declaring “Proper” Forensic Science week. That is an interesting disclaimer. I guess its not “Improper” forensic science week. Uhm, there must be a story behind who writes for the governor of Indiana. http://www.wbiw.com/state/archive/2014/08/gov-pence-issues-proclamation-declaring-aug-10-16-forensic-science-week.php …

A couple of US legislators speak  simple truths about  the disconnected  process of forensic science progress. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/evidence-in-criminal-trials-must-be-based-on-sound-science/2014/08/06/083d940a-1bde-11e4-9b6c-12e30cbe86a3_story.html

More crime lab problems, this time in Columbus, Ohio. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/08/08/lab-error-might-affect-38-cases.html …

Forensic Testimony: Science, Law and Expert Evidence. For those “CSI” types and those who hire them.

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“FBI – Serial Killers, The FBI and Jeffrey Dahmer.” It all started with a victim escaping Dahmer’s clutches. Not about the FBI tracking him down like J. Edgar Hoover. Most of his victims were homeless and poor. http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/august/serial-killers-part-7-the-fbi-and-jeffrey-dahmer/serial-killers-part-7-the-fbi-and-jeffrey-dahmer …

California Innocence Project: “See our client Timothy Atkins on the BET show Vindicated tonight at 10pm Pacific.” #XONR8 pic.twitter.com/0hEBEdhvPW

Atkins copy

 

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Doubtful testing in Miama crime lab, lying jail house snitch in Willingham execution, tricky DAs and a really stupid burglar

Posted on August 6, 2014 by csidds

Its not CSI Miami. Broward Crime Lab Scandal Could Taint Many Cases – http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2014-08-07/news/broward-crime-lab-scandal-could-taint-many-cases/ …

The FBI crime lab managers might learn from this case. FBI having its own forensic probs and goes after Mingo, WVA with a vengeance in “FBI – Violation of Public Trust”

Digital/Cyber Forensics – Google defends child porn tip-offs to police 

U.S. military ID team in Ukraine to help airliner crash probe – So far only 2 victims identified. 

1938 stand-off between the KKK and African American residents of Lakeland, Florida.

KKK copy

Dredging the Prosecutorial Muck in Orange County http://wp.me/p2224n-4Id  via @WrongConvBlog

Former Arizona prosecutors call for an independent review of Joseph Wood’s two-hour execution: http://azc.cc/1rZFqj3  via @azcentral

A Blog on Junk Science Forensics – At Last! http://wp.me/p2224n-4I0 

What TX did to convict man of arson and murder and then execute him. http://www.themarshallproject.org/2014/08/03/did-texas-execute-an-innocent-man-willingham/ …

Whistleblowing Federal workers tell of retribution by office relocation http://wapo.st/1udqYBY 

Home made booby trap nabs suspect. Think of Laurel and Hardy. http://www.wwltv.com/news/Booby-trap-nabs-suspect-268897221.html …

Ballistics’ “bullet uniqueness” concept to get Daubert reliability hearing in triple murder case – http://goo.gl/alerts/G8NU  #GoogleAlerts

… deputies at the (OCSD) jail “engaged in abhorrent conduct and were derelict in their duties” http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/08/thomas_m_goethals_dekraai.php … via @ocweekly

Expect this coming our way? Legislators Ban Media from Crime Scenes in Western Mexico http://shar.es/Lkop7  via @sharethis

Inmate in AZ 2 hour execution got 15x expected dose of meds. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/inmate_in_two-hour_execution_got_15_times_the_standard_dose_of_drugs_record/ … …

 

 

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Top 9 examples of what junk forensic science is all about

Posted on July 31, 2014 by csidds

Video Shows Controversial Forensic Specialist Michael West Fabricating Bite Marks via

Australian grad student says she can narrow down bullet lead components to specific companies = 97% accuracy. So what? The FBI decommissioned “bullet lead” (actually a misnomer) a few years ago. This research only purports to identify brands of ammunition. How many bullets does Remington etc. make a year? Millions. But m.phys.org calls it a “bullet fingerprint.” 

A new low: potentially thousands of convictions tainted by flawed forensic hair evidence at FBI .

“FBI hair examiners exceeded the limits of science. Over & over again. System issues, not bad apples.” So says UCLA (now under water) Law Professor Jennifer Mnookin. @jmnookin.

FBI refusal to act fairly by not correcting their own mistakes comes down to this: Who “certifies” the FBI lab? I googled “Whitehurst + FBI” for you to show the decades of backstory on this FBI culture. Don’t let anyone  believe their “bad apple” excuse used back in the 90’s. Plus, don’t believe its only limited to the FBI. Bad apples excuse in  bitemarks used to identify perps. 

Bitemarks: Dentist using non existent statistics in a very sad baby case in order to help convict.

The ultimate in non-scientific forensic double speak.  Juries are tasked to understand this?

A cautionary editorial on forensic science misconduct and dirty tricks. 

Hot off the press and popular. The “Forensic Science Avoidance Syndrome” and the “Time traveling Medical Examiner.”

 

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Other stuff:

Must read for baby Whistleblowers. How vague claims in defamation suits are used to shut them up.

Kudos for the current Brooklyn DA and his Conviction Integrity Unit. Well deserved.

 

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Forensics Case of the “Time Traveling Medical Examiner” plus the “Forensic Avoidance Syndrome”

Posted on July 29, 2014 by csidds

I will lead off with the “peripatetic in time” Mississippi non-forensic pathologist Steven Hayne’s continuing mis-steps in finding ways to express himself in an academic manner. Which nevertheless, always seems to lead to a conviction for murder. A new friend of mine, Ken Melson of the AAFS, I’m sure would call his testimony “vague and inarticulate.” Here is Radley Balko’s latest piece on Hayne.

This is my small contribution to the psychology literature associated with some forensic sciences. I am calling it the “Forensic Science Avoidance Syndrome.” FSAS is a form of cognitive disablement leading to coma when some AAFS recognized  groups (and the AAFS itself) are confronted with proofs that some “science” within their midst is “not science.” The coma phase may dissipate when someone really important calls them out about it. Then speech returns to rather robust CYA topics. It is notable that this can be infectious to the larger population. The final stage requires palliative treatment. The AAFS/ABFO members on the hot seat may be invited to join and/or form various committees which talk into the night. This one group has merit but possesses no enforcement function. Here’s a real  example of FSAS: 

Two false convictions  get no $$ relief from the 3rd Circuit. Judges trying to save government budget and taxpayers saying there is no cause of action for a miscarriage of justice. Something about good faith “juries” thrown in for good measure in the opine. The system protects itself once again.

Calif Innocence Project (at San Diego Cal Western Law)  in action. Video of Tim Atkins’ exoneration.

Bertillon for the 21st C: Facial-recognition tech catches suspect based on similarity to relatives. h/t @elizabeth_joh via @jmnookin.

Child to child bitemarks leads to caregiver’s felony plea bargain. Bites “life-threatening.” I have never heard of anyone being hospitalized for a human bite. Outpatient care, yes.

More on DA integrity units. Brooklyn ‘ground central’ for wrongful conviction claims. One of my most favorite DAs offices. Right next to Forrest Allgood’s in Mississippi. He is the capital punishment icon in that region.

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Forensic Integrity Units: A call to the AAFS for an audit of bitemark cases which have led to false convictions and incarcerations

Posted on July 24, 2014 by csidds

All I hear from the AAFS is silence on this subject of ABFO bitemark case audit. That’s not good.

csidds's avatarFORENSICS and LAW in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends

I have a brief editorial and then this week’s lineup of news links.

For most of us, a defendant’s “right to a fair trial” is a sacrosanct right “arising” from the US Constitution’s 6th Amendment (i.e. the Bill of Rights). It has been modified from the original Framers’ version to include such things as legal representation in criminal matters (Gideon v. Wainwright), discovery of material evidence to be used in any judicial proceedings, Brady, etc. These principles also extends to administrative proceedings using a “fair process” determination. What about this “fair trial” concept when outmoded and improperly tested forensic “science” is used to prosecute which leads to a conviction?” Another way to put it, “Is there a Constitutional right for a defendant to be protected from unvalidated forensics at trial?”

Barry Scheck of the New York Innocence Project speaks on much the same audit topic regarding Prosecutors. How about forensic science?…

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FBI hair comparison fiasco proves non DNA innocence cases are viable, when forensic science advances

Posted on July 24, 2014 by csidds

CSIDDS JUST ARRIVED AT 7,000 VIEWS. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING!

There are some who think that only DNA testing after criminal convictions can generate an exoneration. Well, that is not exactly true. The FBI has admitted that their decades long use of comparing hair characteristics was faulty. The aftermath to this is threefold: 1) lack of relevant testing within some police sciences and bitemark identification is initiating a slow but assuredly steady march towards standards and limits of use for certain forensic sciences. 2) the public is watching, 3) review of cases of misuse and faulty forensic assumptions are being vigorously reviewed by very dedicated Innocence Projects and similar advocacy groups.

This blog from the Wrongful Conviction Center in Chicago explains what is going on. 

The author Martin Yant describes a case where hair and DNA collided and DNA won again. He suggests that some just consider cases like these as outliers or the “bad apple effect.” Ive heard that before. BITEMARK BAD APPLES. 

* CBI lost piece of evidence in Aurora theater shooting trial 

* How dental records will help identify bodies from MH17 – 

* Remains identified by teeth as teen who disappeared in 2005 

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Forensics : NL experts and Interpol in Action: MH 17 Forensic Recovery Update and More….

Posted on July 22, 2014 by csidds
+AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister, “Evidence-tampering on an industrial scale”  at MH17 crime scene.
*Interpol DVI (Disaster Victim Identification) team and NL team begin initial MH17 victim processing outside rebel Ukraine territory. 200 body count does not match pro- Russian statements on body recovery. Its obvious the crash site needs full processing. Doubt that will happen.
+ MH17 bodies out of rebel area to be prepared for transport to NL. 
*Rebels release train with bodies from downed jet to unknown location, Dutch experts on site find more body parts. 
Aurora mass shooter wants judge to rule on ballistics evidence reliability. 
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FORENSICS: Time to Look Back 5 years. Scientific Status and NRC (NAS) Comments in “Identification from Bitemarks”

Posted on July 21, 2014 by csidds

Nothing can more chilling than what is going on in forensics over the last 5 years.   Certain national forensic organizations have and are still being investigated by US federal, Congressional or executive agencies or committees.

Certain forensic disciplines are no different. Interestingly, some groups step up to the plate and become proactive and participate in public discussions (as in the National Commission on Forensic Science), while others deny faults and object or become mute or nasty.

I’ve been getting nasty looks and comments for years from the pro-bitemark ID groups around the world. It seems to all have begun in 1999 when I was asked to co-author a chapter called  “Identification from Bitemarks.’ This chapter is  in a series of volumes published by West (law) Publishing Inc. It is still being updated and available. The total compendium is called “Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony.” Both were a mainstay reference of the 2009 NRC (NAS) report.

This link MSE_Ch_37_Bitemarks will allow the reader to a previous iteration of Ch 37 “Identification from Bitemarks.” Hot topics include:

Legal Issues.

37:7 erroneous identification and convictions

Scientific Issues. 

37.11: NRC (NAS) Report on Odontology.

37:12: Scientific status and proficiency testing.

37:13: Error rates.

37E: National Research Counsel Comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bitemarks and Wrongful Executions: Law Prof Considers the Connection

Posted on July 15, 2014 by csidds

One of three of the most popular CSIDDS posts on the hoax of bitemark experts and the AAFS ignoring evidence of forensic failures.

csidds's avatarFORENSICS and LAW in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends

A law professor has an impressive blog post that elaborates on the dangers of bad forensic science leading to executions of innocent defendants.  Read it here. He also has a few things to say about bitemark identification. A recent bitemark case interests him and he’s got some  points similar to mine. A synopsis of my bitemark travels follows below. I wish I could find a prosecutor with enough savvy to figure this stuff out and be just astute enough to be reasonable about it. One must go to Australia to find a judiciary that has learned from its mistakes  (starting in 1986).

I have been involved in multiple cases where bite mark identification was admitted by prosecutors  as “scientific” evidence to convict. Many have been at the trial court level where I have opposed the “elite” members within the forensic bitemark association connection,  AAFS/ABFO. I…

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Forensic Integrity Units: A call to the AAFS for an audit of bitemark cases which have led to false convictions and incarcerations

Posted on July 14, 2014 by csidds

I have a brief editorial and then this week’s lineup of news links.

For most of us, a defendant’s “right to a fair trial” is a sacrosanct right “arising” from the US Constitution’s 6th Amendment (i.e. the Bill of Rights). It has been modified from the original Framers’ version to include such things as legal representation in criminal matters (Gideon v. Wainwright), discovery of material evidence to be used in any judicial proceedings, Brady, etc. These principles also extends to administrative proceedings using a “fair process” determination. What about this “fair trial” concept when outmoded and improperly tested forensic “science” is used to prosecute which leads to a conviction?” Another way to put it, “Is there a Constitutional right for a defendant to be protected from unvalidated forensics at trial?”

Barry Scheck of the New York Innocence Project speaks on much the same audit topic regarding Prosecutors. How about forensic science? One problem. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences still considers bitemark identification a science. An AAFS audit of the American Board of Forensic Odontology’s casework tragedies would surely cause them trepidation. Here’s another trepidation they are experiencing.  ===================================

Delaware Medical Examiner fired after mishandled evidence.

“Registry of Prosecutorial Misconduct” project is launched. In response to courts lack of disciplinary oversight.

Excellent blog from the California Innocence Project . Cases explain why the “Registry of Prosecutorial Misconduct” was created. One case has a miscreant DA being found protected from censure because “a conviction would have ended her career.” The defendant had been in prison for 13 years.

Inside the judicial cloakroom. Prolific and outspoken 7th Circuit judge Richard Posner talks about judging.

In one study, judges allowed DA experts 95% of the time, but allowed defense experts 7.8% of the time. Bias much?

UK: Mobile forensic science units prevents botched crime scene collection. Lowers pendings from 75,000 to 13,000

Discussion on dishonest prosecutions, factual innocence and capital punishment.

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