Articles Posted in forensic

Except in a slightly different context, but still a similar point. Errin Morris, Cognitive Biasl and Evaluation of Forensic Evidence, The Champion, NACDL, May 2012. Remember, USACIL and all the others get a full brief sheet on why the evidence should be tested and lots of facts. The subsequent testing is not done in the…

MAJ Hasan’s UCMJ Article 32 hearing and likely court-martial is drawing and will continue to draw lots of attention — of course, duh. But just as we have seen in other high profile cases there are opportunities for what I call teachable moments. Here are two from the item posted by CAAFLog about the witness…

Here is Professor Friedman’s post about Briscoe. The Virginia Supreme Court today issued its decision in Briscoe on remand from the United States Supreme Court. . The court held that the former Virginia statutory scheme (under which the defendant had to call a lab analyst as his witness if he wanted to examine the analyst)…

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences has made some recommendations to Congress for legislation to reform forensic laboratories that obtain federal funds directly or through an organization (such as DoD) that receives federal funding. Preliminary Outline of Draft Forensic Reform Legislation – 5/5/10. Thanks GR. In addition, Innocence Project announces that: The American Statistical Association…

Gianneli on the Unreliability of Microscopic Hair Analysis Paul C. Giannelli (Case Western Reserve University School of Law) has posted Microscopic Hair Comparisons: A Cautionary Tale on SSRN. Here is the abstract: According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Report on forensic science, “testimony linking microscopic hair analysis with particular defendants is highly unreliable.”…

This is likely a duplicate post, but it’s worth it anyway. Here again is a piece from my old Crim. Law prof about forensics. Paul C. Giannelli (Case Western Reserve University School of Law) (University of Illinois Law Review, Forthcoming, Case Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2010-6) has posted Daubert and Forensic Science: The Pitfalls…

I’ve posted before about issues with forensic testing and police controlled laboratories (including military drug testing laboratories). Here is an article from my old crim law professor, a former Army JA. You’ve also heard me frequently talk about confirmatory bias in regard to police investigations and other investigations. Paul C. Gianelli, Independent Crime Laboratories: The…

I’ve posted before about issues with forensic testing and police controlled laboratories (including military drug testing laboratories). Here is an article from my old crim law professor, a former Army JA. You’ve also heard me frequently talk about confirmatory bias in regard to police investigations and other investigations. Paul C. Gianelli, Independent Crime Laboratories: The…

Does it exist or not. Here are a couple of news articles about a pending case in Fairfax, VA. Shaken baby syndrome itself is put on trial in Fairfax court Shaken-baby syndrome at center of Fairfax trial

Before we place too much faith in police sponsored and monitored laboratories, here is a word of caution. The New York State Police’s supervision of a crime laboratory was so poor that it overlooked evidence of pervasively shoddy forensics work, allowing an analyst to go undetected for 15 years as he falsified test results and…