Overview of NIJ research on new approaches to acquiring and analyzing digital media.
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Resources
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS): In Scientific Evidence, Even ‘Gold Standard’ Techniques Have Limitations
by Joanna Gin and Edward Imwinkelreid. UC Davis Legal Studies Research Paper, available for free download. Like nuclear DNA testing, GC/MS analysis has important limitations. Courts should not assume it is a nearly infallible technique. When GC/MS is used in drug testing, the court must inquire as to the mode of analysis: full scan, selective …
DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST): Participant Manual
Randy Papetti, The Forensic Unreliability of The Shaken Baby Syndrome
NC DHHS Drug Evaluation & Classification Program
Contains information about requirements for DRE certification and the DRE protocol for North Carolina.
State v. McPhaul, 256 N.C. App. 303 (2017)
The Court of Appeals applied the new Daubert test for expert testimony and held that trial court abused its discretion by allowing the State’s expert witness’s testimony about fingerprint evidence. A petition for discretionary review was granted by the NC Supreme Court which subsequently found that discretionary review was improvidently granted, leaving intact the Court …
Forensic DNA Analysis: A Primer for Courts
In Nov. 2017, the Royal Society published this primer to assist the UK judiciary when handling DNA and serology evidence in the courtroom. The primer provides a good introduction to forensic DNA analysis, including a description of different types of DNA mixture interpretation software.
North Carolina Juvenile Defender Manual: Chapter 7, Capacity to Proceed
Chapter 7 of the Juvenile Defender’s Manual (Oct. 2017) focuses on juvenile defenders who may lack the capacity to proceed.
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Forensic Science Assessments: A Quality and Gap Analysis – Latent Fingerprint Examination
The 2017 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Forensic Science Assessments: A Quality and Gap Analysis – Latent Fingerprint Examination found that while latent fingerprint examiners can successfully rule out most of the population from being the source of a latent fingerprint based on observed features, insufficient data exist to determine how unique fingerprint features …
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Marijuana-Impaired Driving A Report to Congress
July 2017 NHTSA report – The report describes the absorption, distribution and elimination of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinal (THC) the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana, in the body. It contrasts this process with the absorption, distribution and elimination of alcohol in the body, as they are very different processes. The poor correlation of THC concentrations in the blood …
Machine Testimony
Yale Law Journal article by Prof. Andrea Roth
Making Sense of Forensic Genetics
This 2017 guide presents information about DNA forensics in a way that is accessible to both a general audience and legal professionals. It focuses on topics such as the context in which DNA evidence is discovered, DNA databases, statistics, and use of DNA to predict appearance or ancestry.
State v. Babich, 252 N.C. App. 165 (2017)
In this DWI case, the trial court erred by admitting retrograde extrapolation testimony by the State’s expert witness. To reach her conclusion, the expert assumed that the defendant was in a post-absorptive state at the time of the stop. The expert conceded that there were no facts to support this assumption. The expert’s testimony was …
The Relationship Between Eyewitness Confidence and Identification Accuracy: A New Synthesis
John T. Wixted and Gary L. Wells published this article in Mar. 2017 finding that eyewitness confidence and accuracy are strongly related in pristine lineup conditions. Where lineup conditions are non-pristine, accuracy of even a high confidence suspect ID is seriously compromised. Pristine line-up procedures include using only one suspect per lineup; the suspect should …
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David L. Faigman et al., Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony
Vol. 1-5 available in the IDS Forensic Library. Forensic Resource Counsel also has access to the latest edition of the eBook.