Wells, G. L., Kovera, M. B., Douglass, A. B., Brewer, N., Meissner, C. A., & Wixted, J. T. (2020). Policy and procedure recommendations for the collection and preservation of eyewitness identification evidence. Law and Human Behavior, 44(1), 3–36. The Executive Committee of the American Psychology-Law Society appointed a subcommittee to update the influential 1998 scientific review …
Resources
FBI admits flaws in hair analysis over decades
The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered hair comparison evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000. Of 28 examiners with the FBI Laboratory’s microscopic hair comparison unit, 26 …
A Simplified Guide to Trace Evidence
Tiny fragments of physical evidence such as hairs, fibers from clothing or carpeting, or pieces of glass are examples of trace evidence, and can be transferred when two objects touch or when small particles are disbursed by an action or movement. This evidence can be used to reconstruct an event or indicate that a person …
Webinar: Blunt Force Trauma- What Every Attorney/Investigator Needs to Know
Registration is available here. The webinar is free to attend. For those requesting CLE credit, there is a $10 fee. For NAPD members, a recorded version may be available in their webinar archive. Description: This webinar offers definitions, examples, and explanations of various types of injuries, including the dating of bruises. Pressure ulcer prevention, assessment, and …
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Webinar: Reading Medical Records
Offered by Godoy Medical Forensics, Speaker: Tara Godoy
Webinar: Strangulation- Evaluating Strangulation Evidence From a Medical Perspective
Offered by Godoy Medical Forensics, Speaker: Tara Godoy
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Psychological Testing in Criminal Cases: the Utility of the MMPI
Date: Dec. 10, 2020, Presenter: Dr. Maureen Reardon, Offered by NC Indigent Defense Services
Psychological Testing in Criminal Cases: the Utility of the MMPIRead More
Portable NIST Kit Can Recover Traces of Chemical Evidence
A chemist at NIST has developed a portable version of his method for recovering trace chemicals such as environmental pollutants and forensic evidence including secret graves and arson fire debris. The briefcase-sized kit could enable detectives, field inspectors and others to carry with them a convenient version of NIST’s “headspace analysis” technique, which identifies solid or …
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Glass Analysis
The goal of this focus area is to improve the field of glass evidence analysis by developing new matrix-matched glass standards and by evaluating more objective approaches to evidence interpretation, such as the likelihood ratio. The latter will be accomplished through the development of glass databases that may be used to assign a significance to …
Trace Evidence Data Workshop: Improving Technology and Measurement in Forensic Science
Offered By: The National Institute of Standards and Technology. Multiple Speakers. Achieved Videos Available.
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Forensic Database Trace Evidence Table
Databases which include reference collections of trace evidence for fibers, glass, automobile identification, paint, tape, plastic bags, powders and impressions.
Improving a Database to Help Identify a Vehicle by Using Paint Fragments
For years, investigators have relied on the Paint Data Query database to identify the make of a vehicle by matching the physical attributes, chemical composition, and infrared spectrum of the paint, primers, and clear coating layers. However, there are concerns with the database, generic coding being one of them.
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Linking Suspects to Crime Scenes with Particle Populations
Two scientists with a long record of research into the forensic value of very small particle populations examined cell phones, handguns, drug packaging, and ski masks from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office examine whether such particles are valuable as physical evidence.
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Microtrace, LLC
Microtrace is a private microanalytical laboratory offering analytical services that are utilized by prosecutors, defense attorneys, police, forensic laboratories and, occasionally, the news media. Expert testimony and case reviews are provided. The website contains information about research and development in the field.
State v. Turner, 849 S.E.2d 327 (2020)
A SCL analyst performed an experiment measuring the direction and distance that shell casings traveled when a gun was fired at various angles and testified to the results, offering opinions about location of the shooter. On appeal, counsel argued that the tests were not “substantially similar.” The COA held that Rule 702 governs admission of …