Attorneys have asked me whether labs test for saliva, particularly in sexual assault cases. Dr. Maher “Max” Noureddine wrote the Forensic Tests for Saliva: What you should know post for this blog in 2011. His informative post explains how forensic tests for saliva work, including limitations of these tests. He discusses the RSID-Saliva test which …
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Fingerprint Error Rate on Close Non-Matches
Research by Jonathan J. Koehler and Siquan Liu on the accuracy of distinguishing between two close non-matches was published in Sept. 2020. Attorneys should be aware of the error rates presented in this paper, particularly when working on cases involving a match to a suspect developed by searching a fingerprint database. As fingerprint databases grow, …
Bridging the Gap V: Mitigation
Friday, Nov. 6, 2020 and Friday, Nov. 13, 2020Sponsored by NC Indigent Defense Services and the Office of the Capital Defender12.50 hours of general CLE credit anticipated This training is available to current capital roster attorneys, criminal defense investigators, mitigation specialists, and other authorized experts. Registration deadline is Oct. 30, 2020. The full program agenda …
Forensics Linguistics
In April 2020, Dr. Robert Leonard, Professor of Linguistics and Director of Hofstra’s Graduate Program in Linguistics presented a Hofstra Public Zoom Session on Forensic Linguistics. In the recorded session, Dr. Leonard shares his history working with the FBI and as a consultant on an extensive array of criminal cases and counterterrorism efforts, as well …
Forensic Toxicology: Methods Used and Common Errors in Screening and Confirmatory Tests
NC criminal defense and parent attorneys and their investigators may register for the program using this link. This five-hour live webinar on Nov. 19-20, 2020 will provide attorneys having little science training with the basics about the various forensic toxicology principles and techniques employed by forensic laboratories, contract labs, and probation officers around the country. …
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Updated requirements for handling, preservation, and storage of biological evidence
The NC State Crime Laboratory has updated its evidence protocols pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-268, which requires that the lab review and update its minimum guidelines for the preservation of biological evidence every two years. The procedures were updated in Aug. 7, 2020. Information about these updates was shared with IDS, the Chief …
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Newly-Developed Drug Test May Be Able to Help Distinguish Hemp from Marijuana
In July of 2019, Virginia became the first US state to acquire a new drug test created by a team of forensic chemists in Switzerland. The 4-AP test, or “Cannabis Typification” or “Swiss Test,” purports to be able to help differentiate between hemp– a legal variety of cannabis– and marijuana. However, laboratory documentation says that …
Newly-Developed Drug Test May Be Able to Help Distinguish Hemp from MarijuanaRead More
Introducing the New Public Defense Portal
NC Indigent Defense Services is excited to introduce a new streamlined communications platform for IDS communications with public defense attorneys that will save you time and eliminate clutter from your inbox. Beginning today, Aug. 17, 2020, we are asking all NC public defense attorneys to sign up for communications from the new Public Defense Portal …
Mental Health Resources on ForensicResources.org
As part of our mission to help North Carolina’s public defense community understand forensic science evidence and achieve better outcomes for clients, the office of the Forensic Resource Counsel continues our efforts to make information related to forensic science evidence more easily accessible to attorneys through this website. In that vein, we are pleased to …
Free Webinar – Drug Analysis: Methodology Used and Common Errors
On Sept. 18, 2020 from 1:00-2:15 PM EST, NC Indigent Defense Services will sponsor a free-to-attend live webinar program on drug analysis. The program is for NC criminal defense attorneys and NC criminal defense investigators. We anticipate the program will be approved for one hour of general CLE credit. Program registration is available here. Program Overview:This …
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Free Medical Forensics Webinars: Blunt Force Trauma; Traumatic Brain Injury & Intoxication; and Reading Medical Records
Godoy Medical Forensics is offering three free live webinars taught by a forensic nurse in August 2020. Attorneys and investigators can find more information about each program and registration links here. Blunt Force Trauma Webinar – Aug. 12This presentation is designed to teach attorneys and investigators about various injuries that result from Blunt Force Trauma. …
Free NACDL webinars on digital evidence
On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, NACDL and the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic are presenting two free CLE webinars: At 11:00am EST: “Policing the Police: Using Police Technologies to Uncover Law Enforcement Misconduct in Criminal Cases” with Debbie Levi, Director of Special Litigation with the Baltimore City Public Defender, and Ivan Bates, Managing …
Webinar – Likes, Posts and Shares: When the Government uses Social Media to Prosecute Your Client
This NACDL free live webinar is being offered in Aug. 6, 2020 at 3:00 pm. It is open to NACDL members and non-members. The webinar will cover how defense attorneys can challenge the use of social media evidence in criminal cases, as courts continue to grapple with the constitutionality and scope of the Stored Communications …
Upcoming Webinar – (Mis)identified: The Challenges of Identifying & Litigating Facial Recognition Technology in Criminal Cases
Police departments, federal agencies, and technology companies across the country are seeing revived scrutiny of facial recognition technology, which is capable of identifying people, sometimes without their knowledge or consent. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that some facial recognition systems perform differently depending on race and gender, and the use of such technology is not always …
The Electronic Frontier Foundation Launches the Atlas of Surveillance
On Monday, July 13th, the Electronic Frontier Foundation put out a press release (available here) announcing the launch of their Atlas of Surveillance. The Atlas, created in partnership with the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, is a searchable database of the specific surveillance technology law enforcement agencies across the country …
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