The Court of Appeals found that the trial court erred in admitting testimony of the state’s fingerprint examiner where the expert failed to show he applied reliably applied the relevant methods and principles to the case, in violation of N.C. Evid. Rule 702(a)(3). Because the defendant failed to object at trial, the issue was reviewed …
Resources
Cellebrite Webinars
Cellebrite is offering a series of free online webinars. If you are looking to understand more about cell phone forensics, these programs should offer you a better understanding of what law enforcement or independent experts are able to find when performing a forensic analysis of a cell phone. Fundamentals Matter: Part 1 – Basic Setup …
Forensic Statistics for Lawyers
Part I: QuantificationPart II: Classification Part III: Comparison/Identification Did you ever want to understand what is meant by validity, reliability, accuracy, confidence interval, and similar terms? These webinars will explain those and other concepts in an accessible way. CSAFE researcher and faculty member at the University of California, Irvine Bill Thompson has developed a series of videos as …
NACDL Forensic Science in Criminal Law Webinar Series
NACDL has made available a 10-episode web series covering various topics of forensic science, including DNA, forensic pathology, toxicology, medical evidence, false confessions, and much more.
NACDL Forensic Science in Criminal Law Webinar SeriesRead More
Defending Death by Distribution Cases Blog Post
UNC School of Government Criminal Law Blog Post discussing actual and proximate causation, intervening causes, multiple drug cases, pre-existing conditions, and joint users by Phil Dixon. Published in Jan. 2020.
Defending Death by Distribution Cases Checklist
by Cynthia Hernandez & Taleed El-Sabawi, JD, PhD This checklist has been adapted from the “Drug-Induced Homicide Defense Toolkit” by Beety, et al., and the University of North Carolina School of Government blog post, “Defending Death by Distribution Cases”, by Phil Dixon. This checklist is meant to help criminal defense attorneys identify possible defenses to …
Hemp: A Forensic Perspective
Forensic Sciences at RTI International is offering a free webinar program on Mar. 31, 2020.
The presentation will discuss analytical strategies to answer the question: is the material presented for analysis an illegal product based on its total THC content?
Working with Mental Health Experts: Psychological Testing in Criminal Cases Online CLE
Friday, May 15, 20201:00-2:00 pm This previously-announced program will now be offered as a webinar instead of an in-person event. If you plan to attend, please register using this link and we will send you the WebEx instructions by email prior to the program. If you have questions, please email Sarah.R.Olson@nccourts.org. Co-Sponsored by the Guilford County Public …
Working with Mental Health Experts: Psychological Testing in Criminal Cases Online CLERead More
Recommendations for the Investigation, Diagnosis, and Certification of Deaths Related to Opioid and Other Drugs
Position paper which provides best practices for death scene investigation, autopsy, toxicology, and determining cause of death in overdose cases
General Guidelines for Training, Certification, and Documentation of Canine Detection Disciplines
ANSI/ASB Standard 088, First Edition 2020
Forensic Handwriting Examination and Human Factors: Improving the Practice Through a Systems Approach
NIST convened the Expert Working Group for Human Factors in Handwriting Examination to recommend ways to improve the practice and reduce the likelihood of errors. The Group’s report discusses human factors as they relate to all aspects of handwriting examination, including communicating conclusions through reports and testimony. The report also discusses education, training, certification, and …
State v. Newsuan, 837 S.E.2d 728 (2020)(unpub)
The court held that it was not plain error for a detective to testify as a lay witness that the defendant was displaying gang signs with his hands.
State v. Mitchell, 840 S.E.2d 276 (2020)
Rule 701 allows a non-expert to testify in the form of opinion or inference where it is rationally based on a perception of the witness and helpful to the determination of a fact in issue. Testimony from a lay witness and an officer about their suspicion that the defendant used an app to conceal text …
Psychological Assessments in Legal Contexts: Are Courts Keeping “Junk Science” Out of the Courtroom?
The Association for Psychological Science published a review by Tess Neal, Christopher Slobogin, Michael Saks, David Faigman, and Kurt Geisinger on the psychological assessment tools used by forensic psychologists. The study found 67% are generally accepted in the field and only about 40% have generally favorable reviews of their psychometric and technical properties. The study …
State v. Corbett & Martens, 839 S.E.2d 361 (2019)
Expert Stuart James’s treatise on blood spatter said that suspected bloodstains should be subject to presumptive, confirmatory, and DNA testing before analysis of the spatter is conducted. The court held that blood spatter expert’s conclusions regarding untested stains on clothing did not result from reliable application of scientific methods and evidentiary errors were prejudicial.