Law enforcement agencies nationwide have been secretly using IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity) catchers to track suspects through their cell phones. Typically this surveillance occurs without a warrant or court order. Also called “Stingray,” this device tracks cell phones using the radiofrequency signals radiating from the phone. The device is a shoebox-sized receptor that mimics …
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Using cell tower data to track a suspect’s location
With the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Riley v. California, the topic of cell phone forensics is on the mind of many attorneys. Cell tower location tracking is a related area where investigators gather information about a cell phone’s location using data from cellular towers contained in phone records. Attorneys should be aware that location …
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Strategic Litigation at the Innocence Project: Fighting to Change the Law around the Leading Causes of Wrongful Conviction
by M. Chris Fabricant and Karen Newirth The Innocence Project is seeking partners to litigate test cases involving unreliable forensic sciences and eyewitness misidentification. Attorneys with cases of potential interest should contact the IP directly at the email address provided below. On the morning of November 3, 1984, 63-year-old Ione Cychosz was found dead in …
Meeting with lab analysts and forensic pathologists prior to trial
Lab analysts at the State Crime Lab and forensic pathologists and toxicologists at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) are available to discuss cases with attorneys prior to trial. These experts can provide important information about the tests that were performed, the limitations of those tests, and the possibility of doing additional testing. Attorneys and …
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Hinton v. Alabama: Effective Counsel and Forensic Expertise
by Sarah Turberville, Senior Counsel, Criminal Justice Program, The Constitution Project on Tuesday, February 25, 2014 This article is re-posted from the National Association for Public Defense (NAPD) March newsletter. Please view the NAPD newsletter, available here, for additional articles relevant to effective criminal defense. On February 24th, the United States Supreme Court issued a per curiam reversal in the case …
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Participants Needed for Online Study on Forensic Evidence
Professors Brandon Garrett and Gregory Mitchell of the University of Virginia School of Law are conducting research on how people evaluate forensic evidence, and are inviting lawyers to participate in this research. Participation is voluntary and anonymous and takes only a few minutes. The study involves a few questions about a hypothetical criminal case and …
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Director of North Carolina State Crime Laboratory position posted
The North Carolina State Crime Laboratory has posted the position of lab director. The lab is seeking a candidate with a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in the physical or biological sciences with eight years of laboratory experience. The posting is open through November 25, 2013. Here is a link to the posting which describes additional qualifications. …
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Sample Motion for Independent Testing of Evidence
Defense attorneys may decide to make a motion for independent testing of forensic evidence in cases where either the State has chosen not to complete forensic testing of an item of evidence or where the State has tested the item and the defense would like it to be re-tested. This issue has come up more …
Post on new fees for forensic expert testimony
School of Government Professor Jessica Smith authored an informative post entitled Imposing Fees for Forensic Expert Testimony — Is It Constitutional? on the North Carolina Criminal Law blog this morning. The post looks at a new $600 fee imposed on defendants when a State Crime Lab or a local crime lab analyst testifies at trial regarding …
New State Crime Lab limits on items of evidence to be tested
The North Carolina State Crime Lab has released new Evidence Submission Guidelines (See Special Notice #3, starting on p. 6 of 71), effective for items of evidence submitted on or after September 1, 2013. Of special note are new limits on the number of items of evidence that law enforcement may submit in cases. The …
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Changes to Protocols for DNA Interpretation
Recently, the State Crime Lab has undergone several rounds of changes and updates to their protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the analysis and interpretation of DNA evidence. Attorneys should be aware of these changes and that only cases worked on or after the effective date will be subject to the new policies. Previously-worked …
Defense attorney taps into the NSA’s surveillance of telephone metadata in hopes of finding exculpatory evidence
Among the documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden to the Guardian in June 2013 was an April 2013 order by the FISA Court directing Verizon to provide the National Security Agency (NSA) records of “telephony metadata” for all foreign calls between the U.S. and other countries and all domestic calls within the U.S, including local …
Substitute Analyst cases update
The NC Supreme Court decided several cases in June that dealt with the admissibility of testimony by substitute forensic analysts. The lead case in this series is State v. Ortiz-Zape, a case in which a forensic chemist testified for the state regarding the results that a non-testifying analyst produced using the gas chromatograph mass spectrometer …
Evening at the School of Government, Part III: Firearms 101
We are excited to announce “Firearms 101,” the third program in our Evenings at the School of Government series. This series, cosponsored by the UNC School of Government and NC Office of Indigent Defense Services, consists of free presentations on forensic evidence and other criminal law topics that are designed to enhance the knowledge of criminal …
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Accessing Scientific Journal Articles
For attorneys trying to access scientific journal articles related to the forensic evidence in their cases, purchasing these articles online can be cost-prohibitive at around $30 per article. If someone in your office has an affiliation with a university, such as an intern, paralegal, or assistant who is pursuing another degree, they may be able …