North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services
// by Matt Ruby
Five years after issuing recommendations regarding the fingerprint misidentification in the Mayfield case (March 2006), this report by the Office of the Inspector General examines the FBI’s progress implementing the recommendations. …the FBI Laboratory has adopted other measures intended to reduce the risk that an examiner’s ‘gut’ reaction might lead to an incorrect conclusion, including …
Review of the FBI’s Progress Responding to the Recommendations from the Mayfield CaseRead More
// by Sarah Olson
79th District Court for the County of Mason, Michigan – May 6, 2011 opinion holding that “calculation of an uncertainty budget or error rate and the reporting of the same is an essential element of the scientific methodology for analyzing blood alcohol content using gas chromatography” and denying the prosecution’s Motion to Admit the blood …
// by Sarah Olson
May 4, 2011 Order Suppressing Defendant’s Breath-Alcohol Measurements in the Absence of a Measurement for Uncertainty
// by Sarah Olson
Lisa Lit etal, 14:3 Anim Cogn 387(2011) – researchers evaluated eighteen drug and/or explosive detection dog/handler teams to determine how human beliefs affect detector dog outcomes.
Handler beliefs affect scent detection dog outcomesRead More
// by Sarah Olson
NCAJ Webinar on crime scene investigation and serology evidence by Marilyn Miller.
Serology Evidence (Blood, Saliva, Semen, etc.) (2011)Read More
// by Sarah Olson
by John Louis Larsen and Daniel K. Harris, The Champion (NACDL) 28-35 (October 2011). A guide for defense attorneys for assessing whether law enforcement followed standardized evidence processing and collection guidelines, as per those promulgated by the FBI and DOJ.
Crime Scene Forensic Evidence Collection Guidelines For Defense AttorneysRead More
// by Sarah Olson
PBS Frontline, ProPublica and NPR investigation from June 28, 2011 on sudden child deaths and the scientific research that has shown that investigations have been mishandled by medical examiners and coroners. This link contains a 30 minute documentary that can be watched online as well as articles and interviews on the topic
// by Sarah Olson
Law review article by Deborah Tuerkheimer that describes the trajectory of Shaken Baby Syndrome in criminal courts and critiques how criminal justice evolves in the wake of scientific change.
// by Sarah Olson
662 F.3d 897 (2011). 1983 claim where 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recognizes an interim lucid period between shaking and collapse
// by Sarah Olson
Signed into law by Governor Beverly Perdue on March 31, 2011. Sections 1-5 and 7-11 became effective when the act became law. Section 6 (Ombudsman position) becomes effective on July 1, 2011.
// by Sarah Olson
NC Court of Appeals found the trial court properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress asserting that an eyewitness’s pretrial identification was unduly suggestive and found no violation of the EIRA where the eyewitness identified the defendant by looking through the pages of The Slammer newspaper.
// by Sarah Olson
Radio program that covers challenges to the reliability of fingerprint evidence, including bias. Includes coverage of the Brandon Mayfield case (from Mar. 10, 2011).
// by Sarah Olson
by Emily Bazelon, New York Times Magazine
// by Sarah Olson
A three-judge panel in NC decided Mr. Grimes was innocent of a 1987 rape conviction for which he had served more than 24 years. Fingerprints from the crime scene did not match Grimes, but the State withheld that evidence until the trial. In 2011, the prints were uploaded into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System and …
// by Sarah Olson