Latest News on Forensic Science and Criminal Law
-
Join 223 other subscribers
Tag Archives: criminal justice
The Judiciary’s public shaming of trial prosecutors as a means to achieve justice?
This is a 48 page legal paper, but the author puts into the clear about what’s going on between federal appeals courts and the prosecutors who end up on their hit list. With no empowerment to reverse convicts, the fed … Continue reading
Advances of science affects some convictions – so far bitemarks aren’t included
The resounding inconsistencies in how US courts “handle” forensic expertise is brain-numbing. The Mississippi Supreme Court and the state attorney General Jim Hood’s go to chief appellate guy, Jason Davis (pictured above), are still investing in the now bitemark rejecting … Continue reading
Forensics: Focus on bitemark beliefs and “The Syndrome”
While spending nearly a full May 5th springtime time day listening to the “Country Dentist” Dr Michael West lavish a Mississippi courtroom with his god-like powers of forensic observation aided by a blue light flashlight, I began to reflect on … Continue reading
Posted in Bite Marks, Bitemarks, criminal justice reform, CSI, death penalty, Dr. Michael West, exoneration, forensic testimony
Tagged American Academy of Forensic Science, AMERICAN BOARD OF FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY, Bad forensic science, criminal justice, CSI, district attorney, forensic examiner error, junk forensic science, wrongful convictions
Leave a comment
Ballistics runs aground in TX. Its Forensic Comm ferrets out another mini-scandal
This all started from a complaint filed by a solo lawyer from Texas. The complaint sounds strikingly similar to the Steve Chaney bitemark complaint that led to the shoot-down of the dentists training and teaching bitemarks at UTSA and elsewhere. … Continue reading
Another crime lab scandal arises from Virginia : Old school blood-typing failures
On the heels of Keith Allen Harward’s 33 years of wrongful incarceration, Virginia is now tackling hundreds of cases over the decades containing more questionable forensic “science.” Harward’s erroneous identification from a bitemark is only the beginning. “The Innocence Project … Continue reading
MS Court hears substantial testimony about why bitemark conviction from 1992 was flawed
The following May 5th, 2016 newspaper article from the Columbus MS Dispatch outlines the dynamics of last week’s hearing in which Superior Court Judge Howard accepted voluminous evidence requested by the MS Supreme Court regarding bitemark and DNA evidence relevant … Continue reading
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
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
UK Cabinet’s new administraton of forensic sciences seems incomplete or worse?
All I can glean from scant web info is that its full speed ahead for the Forensic Science Regulator (actually a good idea in theory) oversight to become law but she doesn’t get any “enforcement control ( among other issues) and … Continue reading