Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guide that teaches techniques for investigating child deaths, including scene investigation, interview techniques, and reporting practices for investigators.
Resources
Additional bite mark articles
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.
Cases Where DNA Revealed that Bite Mark Analysis Led to Wrongful Arrests and Convictions
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
Forensic Ontology – Bitemark Evidence
Blog created by David C. Averill, DDS, and past president of the American Board of Forensic Odontology. It includes articles and news reports on the controversial area of bite mark analysis, as well as information about cases where bite mark evidence has played a role.
Innocence Project’s amicus brief
For a copy of the Innocence Project’s amicus brief in a Frye challenge to the admissibility of bite mark evidence, email Sarah Rackley Olson.
American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) Reference Manual
As of 2016, the ABFO Standards and Guidelines no longer permit conclusions of “exact match” or that a perpetrator made a mark without a doubt. This marks a significant change in the field. The strongest conclusion permissible now is that a person is “not excluded as having made the bitemark.” See p. 94 and 102. …
American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) Reference ManualRead More
PubChem
This National Institute of Health searchable database allows users to search for a compound and learn more about its chemical structure, uses, properties, toxicity, and other information.
Drug Identification Tool
This website contains a library of GCMS data for compounds and is organized by molecular weight, base peak and second base peak. This library may be useful for limited purposes.
Weighing Marijuana Reference
This document provides the relevant statutes and summarizes the case law on the issue of how marijuana should be weighed. It addresses issues such as whether water weight and mature stalks should be included. Links to the State Crime Lab’s relevant procedures are provided, as well as contact information of experts who are available to …
Measuring the Impact of Cognitive Bias in Fire Investigation
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
Habeas Relief From Bad Science: Does Federal Habeas Corpus Provide Relief for Prisoners Possibly Convicted on Misunderstood Fire Science?
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.
Trial by Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man?
This New Yorker article by David Grann provides and in depth investigation of the flaws in the Cameron Todd Willingham case.
Spark of Truth: Can Science Bring Justice to Arson Trials?
This October 2011, Discover Magazine article by Douglas Starr explains how the science of fire investigation has evolved in recent years and discusses why certain findings that have traditionally been interpreted as evidence of arson have been debunked. This article is an excellent reference for attorneys who are seeking additional information about fire investigation or …
Spark of Truth: Can Science Bring Justice to Arson Trials?Read More
InterFire.org
Has several online training modules which give introductory information, but should not replace in-depth research of the issues.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
The federal agency responsible for administering and enforcing the criminal and regulatory provisions of Federal laws pertaining to explosives enforcement and arson.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and ExplosivesRead More