North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services
// by Sarah Olson
The National Fire Protection Association publishes this manual which is the standard of care in fire investigation. This guide can be viewed for free on the NFPA website which is an excellent way to become familiar with the standards; however, if you wish to download or print it, you must purchase a copy. Email Sarah Rackley Olson if …
NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, 2017 ed.Read More
// by Sarah Olson
2000 NIJ publication written and approved by the Technical Working Group on Fire/Arson Scene Investigation. Includes recommendations about preserving the scene, interviewing witnesses, documentation, and evidence processing.
Fire and Arson Scene Evidence: A Guide for Public Safety PersonnelRead More
// by Sarah Olson
This 2009 NIJ publication describes recommended practices for the collection and preservation of evidence at fire scenes. This guide may provide areas of cross examination in cases where the recommended policies were not followed.
// by Sarah Olson
Focuses on standards and guidelines related to the investigation, analyses and interpretation of crime scenes where arson or use of explosives is suspected. This OSAC has replaced what was the Technical Working Group for Fire and Explosions.
// by Sarah Olson
See pp. 170-173 for the National Research Counsel’s assessment of the analysis of explosives evidence and fire debris
// by Sarah Olson
The American Association for the Advancement of Science produced this July 2017 report that assesses what aspects of fire investigation are well founded and science and where gaps exist in knowledge. The full report is available for free download. A “plain language” summary is also available for download.
Forensic Science Assessments: A Quality and Gap Analysis – Fire InvestigationRead More
// by Chris Liu-Beers
754 F.Supp. 2d 89 (2010). This opinion by Judge Nancy Gertner is a must-read regarding standards of representation in arson cases. The opinion provides useful information on Daubert hearings, cause and origin testimony, burn patterns, canine evidence and laboratory analysis.
// by Chris Liu-Beers
This criminal justice research project has a mission of examining the reliability of evidence used in the investigation and prosecution of arson and identifying convictions obtained based on unreliable evidence.
// by Chris Liu-Beers
2012 DOJ publication by Richard J. Roby, Ph.D. and Jamie McAllister, Ph.D. that looks at the physical characteristics of energized and non-energized wires subjected to various types of fire exposures.
Forensic Investigation Techniques for Inspecting Electrical Conductors Involved in FireRead More
// by Sarah Olson
Jury study evaluating how potential jurors react to different language used by fingerprint examiners to express their conclusions. Available for free download.
Certainty and Uncertainty in Reporting Fingerprint EvidenceRead More
// by Sarah Olson
NIST created this document to explain why DNA mixture interpretation can be so complex and to explain how likelihood ratios and probabilistic genotyping software can assist with interpreting complex mixtures.
// by Sarah Olson
// by Sarah Olson
Addresses strict liability crime for drug sharers created by Massachusetts death by distribution statute and public health implications of drug induced homicide statutes. By MA Public Counsel Services and Health in Justice Action Lab, MA Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Filed in Jan. 2019.
// by Sarah Olson
Addresses the complexity of drug toxicity deaths and the challenging relationship between the existing diseases and the sequence in which diseases or injuries. Underscores the need for a thorough medical and death scene investigation.
// by Sarah Olson
Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1461, 2019 by Keith Findley et al. This article, coauthored by four law professors, two physicians, and a physicist, demonstrates that there is very much a live controversy about the SBS/AHT hypothesis and maintains that, under traditional principles of Evidence law, physicians should not be permitted to …