Tag Archives: American Academy of Forensic Science

Remains of Nazi anatomy prof’s victims found at French forensic institute

Nazi anatomist’s collection of Holocaust victims “discovered” in France.  A horrible period in European history. Human experimentation by the Third Reich and its collaborators. The endless story about untested rape kits leads to Idaho. You can tell LE is predominantly run by … Continue reading

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Frye Rule still lives in NY: Judge rules disagreement of DNA experts boots NYCME LCN DNA

New York justice is an amazing blend of wildcard judicial decisions about what are “scientifically” reliable methods in order to allow expert forensic testimony. I’m amazed that a NY judge in a 2 1/2 year (!!!) Frye hearing on the issue surrounding … Continue reading

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Philippine Forensics: Dust-up over 1995 manner of death of a US Naval Officer

The officer’s family disputes suicide findings of multiple US and Phil criminal investigators. They brought in a “US forensic expert” who has an interesting pedigree. I wonder how much he charged the family for services? Full article A massive PR piece … Continue reading

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At what price, freedom? The moral challenges in forensic testifying. Some win and some fail miserably.

At what price, freedom?. An opinion article about expert witness integrity and examples of some total failures in the forensic science industry. From Dr. Mary Beth Hauptle, the most experienced forensic investigator dentist in the US. I am serious.

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Mini-police crime labs sprouting up all over thanks to the American Soc of Crime Labs

Somebody needs to tell this Winston-Salem police chief how “speedy crime lab tests” (to avoid huge delays from the state lab) might not work out so well in some circumstances. The “speedy trial” reward for being “speedy” in that his … Continue reading

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Multiple US forensic pathologists run afoul of “hired gun” syndrome and double dipping

This associate ME in Montana thought he ran the entire show but found that overdoing it on SBS and overstating the same thing for private car companies all the time can catch up with you. A loose cannon.  And this CA … Continue reading

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The rise of the Innocence Project was based on DNA and a fractured system of forensic science

I have been perusing threads in the press concerning dialogue of forensic practitioners about the gaps and misapplications of their forensics in the US criminal justice system.  There aren’t many.  For the most part, there are a vocal few within the forensic communities … Continue reading

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Pathologist gets spanked for using defendant’s statements as basis for determining cause and manner of death

This case defines some limits to what a medical expert can consider in rendering  “with medical certainty” testimony. This should be a message to the odontologists who rely on law enforcement to determine how many people should be considered potential “biters” … Continue reading

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“No preset rules in DNA Forensics”: examples of errors and doubts in DNA casework that juries must tackle.

This does not read like CSI Miami. Wait, that one got cancelled. Thank you Jesus. “A 2013 survey by the National Institute of Standards and Technology asked analysts from 108 labs to look at a three-person mixture and determine if … Continue reading

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‘Science’ trying to teach science standards in research and publishing. Where’s the J of Forensic Sciences?

This is basic stuff, but after a recent  publishing dust-up at Science, a group of gate-keeping science editors and their affiliates constructed a spread sheet with descriptors on how to more ‘scientifically’ vette research and articles published within their respective communities,. … Continue reading

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