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 …
Resources
City of Kent v. McDaniel
May 4, 2011 Order Suppressing Defendant’s Breath-Alcohol Measurements in the Absence of a Measurement for Uncertainty
Handler beliefs affect scent detection dog outcomes
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
Serology Evidence (Blood, Saliva, Semen, etc.) (2011)
NCAJ Webinar on crime scene investigation and serology evidence by Marilyn Miller.
Serology Evidence (Blood, Saliva, Semen, etc.) (2011)Read More
Crime Scene Forensic Evidence Collection Guidelines For Defense Attorneys
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.
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The Child Cases
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
Science-Dependent Prosecution and the Problem of Epistemic Contingency: A Study of Shaken Baby Syndrome
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.
Aleman v. Village of Hanover Park
662 F.3d 897 (2011). 1983 claim where 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recognizes an interim lucid period between shaking and collapse
Forensic Sciences Act
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.
State v. Boozer, 210 N.C. App. 371 (2011)
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.
BBC Radio investigative program
Radio program that covers challenges to the reliability of fingerprint evidence, including bias. Includes coverage of the Brandon Mayfield case (from Mar. 10, 2011).
Shaken-Baby Syndrome Faces New Questions in Court
by Emily Bazelon, New York Times Magazine
Willie Grimes case
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 …
David L. Faigman et al., Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony, Vol. 1: Statistics & Research Methods
The Need for a Research Culture in the Forensic Sciences
by Jennifer L. Mnookin, Simon A. Cole, Itiel E. Dror, Barry A. J. Fisher, Max M. Houck, Keith Inman, David H. Kaye, Jonathan J. Koehler, Glenn Langenburg, D. Michael Risinger, Norah Rudin, Jay Siegel, and David A. Stoney. Explores to what extent forensic sciences need to change to develop a well-established scientific foundation. Finds that …
The Need for a Research Culture in the Forensic SciencesRead More