This past Sunday, on his weekly half-hour HBO show, Last Week Tonight, comedian John Oliver discussed the growing prevalence of facial recognition technology in the criminal justice system. The issue is particularly relevant as protestors in the recent demonstrations demanding justice for George Floyd (and the numerous other BIPOC who have been subjected to violence …
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The Blind Leading the Blind: Recent Article Discusses the HFSC Blind Testing Program
From the National Academy of Sciences, to the Washington Post, to Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, there seems to be consensus that additional research is needed to validate several fields of forensic science. One challenge in collecting sufficient evidence to establish foundational validity is that because there is no ground truth in forensic casework, …
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Probabilistic genotyping software for interpreting DNA mixtures
NC attorneys may be aware that software programs are being adopted by crime laboratories to assist with interpreting complex DNA mixtures. The NC State Crime Laboratory is working on validating a procedure for the use of STRmix probabilistic genotyping software, which will likely go online in the coming months. It is crucial that attorneys understand …
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DNA Mixtures: A Forensic Science Explainer
NIST has created a primer on interpretation of DNA mixtures that explains what are DNA mixtures and why are they sometimes so difficult to interpret. The primer was published on April 3, 2019 and covers topics including: Low sensitivity vs. high sensitivity methods for detecting DNA When is a peak a peak? How to determine …
Can law enforcement compel a subject to unlock a device?
The NACDL Fourth Amendment Center has authored a Compelled Decryption Primer to help attorneys litigate the issue of whether law enforcement can compel a suspect to unlock or decrypt a device. The Fourth Amendment requires law enforcement to get a warrant to search a cell phone, even incident to arrest. Riley v. California, 573 U.S. …
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Houston in the Blind
Blind studies and procedures are the gold standard of evaluating the quality and reliability of scientific results. Unfortunately, this has long been lacking in forensic science. Fortunately, strides are being made to introduce blind testing to forensics, most notably in the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC). Currently, forensic scientists are tested periodically on their knowledge …
The Myth of the Reliability Test
UVA Law Professor Brandon Garrett and Innocence Project Director of Strategic Litigation M. Chris Fabricant wrote a law review article in the Fordham Law Review in March 2018 that examines whether Rule 702 is in fact functioning as a reliability test. The article is available for free download here. They looked at hundreds of state …
NIST urges caution in use of likelihood ratio
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released an article last week calling into question the use of the likelihood ratio to present evidence in court. NIST states that there is uncertainty about the appropriate use of the likelihood ratio. An expert’s subjective opinion may affect the calculation of the likelihood ratio, potentially distorting …
NACDL Releases Primers on Surveillance
With a focus on Fourth Amendment concerns, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) recently began a series of surveillance primers. The first primers in the series provide information on Automated License Plate Readers, Cell Phone Location Tracking, and Cell Site Simulators. NACDL will periodically release more primers on surveillance technologies. These documents are …
Forensic Evidence Errors in Arson Investigations and Crime Scene Processing
Paul Bieber (Director at Arson Research Project: http://thearsonproject.org/research/) explores the misidentification of an accidental fire as an act of arson and how unreliable, quasi-scientific techniques led to the mistaken execution of an innocent man. On June 30th, join the UNC School of Government and the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services for the seventh …
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New Research on “Touch” DNA
As the sensitivity of DNA analysis increases, scientists are able to develop profiles from ever-smaller samples of DNA. This has lead to testing of a wider array of samples collected from crime scenes, including window panes, bullets, hats and other clothing, cigarette butts, and many other items. Attorneys sometimes ask me about the likelihood of …
False Positives in Drug Field Testing Kits
The director of a lab recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police for forensic science excellence has called field drug testing kits “totally useless” due to the possibility of false positives. In laboratory experiments, at least two brands of field testing kits have been shown to produce false positives in tests of Mucinex, …
Brains on Trial with Alan Alda: How Neuroscience Could Change the Law
On September 11 and 18, PBS will air a two-part series which looks at the role neuroscience evidence may play in criminal trials. A trailer of the program is available here. The program will air from 10-11 pm on UNC-TV. The series uses a mock trial scenario in which a teenager is facing murder charges …
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BBC Knowledge Explainer DNA
Here is a 3-minute video that explains the basics of DNA’s form and function. It’s part of the BBC’s online Explainer documentary series. Though the focus of this short animated film is not forensic DNA analysis, it gives important information that attorneys or jurors need to understand before attempting to understand forensic DNA analysis. Attorneys …
Thousands of cases compromised due to faulty forensic analysis
In recent months, faulty forensic analysis has been exposed in several labs across the country. The failure of a handful of lab analysts to correctly perform forensic analysis has compromised thousands of cases. In each situation the failures are different, but they expose a lack of oversight of analyst performance in the affected labs. The …
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