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.
Resources
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.
Cognitive Biases in the Peer Review of Bullet and Cartridge Case Comparison Casework: A Field Study
Jan. 28, 2020 article in Science & Justice finding that bias occurs in non-blind peer reviewed bullet and cartridge case comparisons. Higher status examiners have a large influence on the outcome of a discussion. Blind peer review may reduce the probability of bias during peer review.
NIST Tests Forensic Methods for Getting Data From Damaged Mobile Phones
This study looks at two methods for accessing data on damaged mobile phones.
NIST Tests Forensic Methods for Getting Data From Damaged Mobile PhonesRead More
Obtaining Medical Records in DWI Cases
Jan. 27, 2020 North Carolina Criminal Law blog post by Shea Denning
Defending Death by Distribution Cases
Jan. 21, 2020 NC Criminal Law blog post by Phil Dixon with links to resources for defenders litigating the new crimes of death by distribution and aggravated death by distribution in G.S. 14-18.4 cases.
State v. Hewitt, 836 S.E.2d 786 (2019)(unpub)
The court held that it was not plain error for the analyst to testify to the identity of a controlled substance without explaining what type of chemical analysis she performed. She testified she performed a color test and an instrumental analysis.
Crime Lab Proficiency Testing and Quality Management Webinar
The Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) is offering a webinar, Crime Lab Proficiency Testing and Quality Management. This event will be held Tuesday, January 21st from 11am-12pm, CST. In the wake of recent reports documenting the vulnerability of forensic science methodologies to human error (e.g., NAS, 2009; PCAST, 2016), the field has sometimes pointed to proficiency …
Crime Lab Proficiency Testing and Quality Management WebinarRead More
Mock Jurors’ Evaluation of Firearm Examiner Testimony
Garrett, B.L, Scurich, N, & Crozier, W.E. (2020)
Mock Jurors’ Evaluation of Firearm Examiner TestimonyRead More
Drug-Induced Homicide Defense Toolkit
The Health In Justice Action Lab of the Northeastern University School of Law has created a toolkit for attorneys defending death by distribution of drugs. The toolkit includes recent favorable caselaw and links to the amicus curiae briefs filed by the Action Lab and its partners that were successful in those cases; an expanded section …
OSAC’s Friction Ridge Subcommittee Develops Friction Ridge Process Map
The Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science’s Friction Ridge Subcommittee has developed a friction ridge examination process map that describes the conventional process for latent print examination. The process map identifies key decision points in the fingerprint examination process, enables laboratory managers to better understand how their protocols compare with those of other laboratories, …
OSAC’s Friction Ridge Subcommittee Develops Friction Ridge Process MapRead More
State v. Phillips, 268 N.C. App. 623 (2019)
New trial ordered where State Crime Lab forensic scientist was required to testify about DNA sample despite her insistence that the testimony was not scientifically valid. Court of Appeals found that the testimony was expert opinion testimony and did not satisfy prongs 1 or 2 of Rule 702 where the expert was asked to testify …
Communicating Conclusions in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
The Forensic Center of Excellence will present a free webinar by Jeremy Morris on how bloodstain pattern analysis is communicated through written reports and courtroom testimony. Principles of communication science will be discussed and explained to develop the audience’s ability to transfer meaning through writing and verbal testimony. Communication is the act of sending and …
Communicating Conclusions in Bloodstain Pattern AnalysisRead More