North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services
// by Sarah Olson
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 …
Meeting with lab analysts and forensic pathologists prior to trialRead More
// by sarahsheridan
Fingerprint evidence left behind by a suspect or victim may identify who was at a crime scene and what he or she touched. However, it is important for defense attorneys to know, and to inform the jury, that the techniques used to locate and identify fingerprints are far from a perfect science. An understanding of …
Techniques for Collecting and Analyzing FingerprintsRead More
// by sarahsheridan
A recent piece of investigative journalism by Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers has created even more skepticism about the already scientifically-questionable polygraph test. Although polygraph test results are not admissible as evidence in most U.S. courts, the results of a polygraph test play a major role in the police investigation, often times helping the police …
// by terrisims
Defense attorneys interested in learning more about DNA statistics might find the following articles interesting because the “birthday problem” is analogous to looking for partial matches in a DNA database. The birthday problem is a classic puzzle that asks if you had a room full of people, how many people would you need in the …
// by Sarah Olson
By Maher Noureddine, Ph.D., President: ForensiGen, LLC Second in the series: Bodily Fluids and Forensics First, the biological facts about semen: Seminal fluid is a complex mixture of secretions from at least four male urogenital glands. The seminal vesicle gland contributes approximately 60% to this mixture, the prostate gland contributes approximately 30%, and the combined …
// by Sarah Olson
By Sarah Rackley Edited by Dr. Maher Noureddine, forensic DNA expert Note: Where State Crime Lab policies and procedures are referenced, I have cited to the most recent version that I have access to. What it is: CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) is the FBI’s program that allows forensic DNA laboratories to create and search …
// by Sarah Olson
By Maher Noureddine, Ph.D. First in the series: Bodily Fluids and Forensics You may encounter cases in which the prosecution claims that SBI tests establish the presence of human saliva on the victim as part of its proof that an assault occurred. This type of evidence is often seen in sexual assault cases. In cases …
// by Sarah Olson
By Maher Noureddine, Ph.D. and Sarah Rackley The field of forensic investigation continues to reap tremendous benefits from advancements made in various scientific disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology and others. The detection and analysis of biological molecules have been at the forefront of this advancement, even to the level of revolutionizing forensics as we know …
Bodily Fluids and Forensics: Introduction to the SeriesRead More
// by Sarah Olson
Posted by Sarah Rackley Edited by Dr. Maher Noureddine, forensic DNA expert The SBI lab started analyzing “touch DNA” around 2006. Now that the lab is capable of analyzing this type of evidence, investigators are collecting it more often, and I am hearing about it coming up in more cases. So, what is touch DNA …