Forensic ResourcesNorth Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services
North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services
// by Sarah Olson
The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the U.S. Department of Justice gathered information about the retention periods for call details, cell tower information, text message content, pictures, and other types of data. This information has been posted online by the ACLU.
Retention Periods of Major Cellular Service ProvidersRead More
// by Sarah Olson
This guide contains addresses and phone/fax numbers for the legal departments/subpoena compliance centers of cellular providers and social media sites. Please be aware of 2014 Formal Ethics Opinion 7 when issuing subpoenas. John Rubin’s 2017 blog post on subpoenaing-of-state materials is available here. Email Sarah Rackley Olson if you have any corrections or updated information for the subpoena guide.
// by Sarah Olson
Larry Daniel addresses common issues with child pornography cases in this guide. Topics include what information an expert will need and what services an expert may be able to provide. Daniel provides an explanation of technical terms commonly used in these cases.
// by Sarah Olson
This guide, prepared by Larry Daniel, provides information on the collection, preservation, and authentication of Facebook evidence from a digital forensics perspective.
// by Sarah Olson
The NC State Crime Laboratory has posted its DNA Section Audit Reports (1999-2018). If you would like a summary of these audits, with issues that may be relevant to casework highlighted, email Sarah Rackley Olson.
// by Sarah Olson
Guidelines for detector dog training, procedures, and care. Failure of a dog/handler team to implement these national-level guidelines may be a source of cross examination.
// by Sarah Olson
National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse publication that provides information on how to rebut specific defense arguments.
Overcoming Defense Expert Testimony in Abusive Head Trauma CasesRead More
// by Sarah Olson
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention publications that might be helpful in evaluating how a child abuse investigation was carried out.
// by Sarah Olson
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guide that teaches techniques for investigating child deaths, including scene investigation, interview techniques, and reporting practices for investigators.
// by Sarah Olson
The bibliographies (here and here) contain citations to published articles on bite mark analysis. If you need access to these articles, contact Sarah Rackley Olson.
// by Sarah Olson
Article by the Innocence Project identifying concerns with bite mark analysis and discussing five cases where individuals were convicted based largely on bite mark analysis, only to be proven innocent through DNA years later.
Cases Where DNA Revealed that Bite Mark Analysis Led to Wrongful Arrests and ConvictionsRead More
// by Sarah Olson
See pp. 106-118 for bite mark methodology guidelines, including methods to preserve bite mark evidence (p. 107), bite mark analysis guidelines (p. 112), bite mark terminology guidelines (p. 114), and guidelines for investigative and final bite mark reports (p. 117). The American Board of Forensic Odontology has an expert locator service available here.
American Board of Forensic Odontology Reference ManualRead More
// by Sarah Olson
This 2012 report by Paul Bieber of the Arson Research Project finds that cognitive bias is found in the field of fire investigation. Makes recommendations for how to minimize these biases.
Measuring the Impact of Cognitive Bias in Fire InvestigationRead More
// by Sarah Olson
by Marc Price Wolf, Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology (2009). Describes the shift in methodology and foundational principles that the field of fire investigation has undergone recently and discusses how habeas corpus relief can be utilized in arson cases.
// by Sarah Olson
This New Yorker article by David Grann provides and in depth investigation of the flaws in the Cameron Todd Willingham case.