by John Louis Larsen, 8 Evidence Tech. Mag. 14-17 (July-August 2010). Provides protocols for documenting a bullet-hole entry and for event reconstruction.
Resources
State v. Weimer
March 23, 2010 Memorandum Decision on Motion to Suppress, Snohomish County District Court, Washington holding that to allow the numerical value of blood alcohol tests without stating a confidence level violates Rule of Evidence 403 because the probative value of the evidence is substantially outweighed by its prejudicial value.
An Independent Review of the SBI Forensic Laboratory
Chris Swecker and Michael Wolf were retained by the NC Attorney General’s Office to conduct an independent review of the Forensic Biology Section of the SBI Crime Laboratory. The investigation began in March 2010 and focuses on policies, procedures and practices between 1987 and 2003. The Appendix to the report contains a list of affected …
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Richard Saferstein, Ed., Forensic Science Handbook: Volume I, II, III
Sworls and Whorls: Litigating Post-Conviction Claims of Fingerprint Misidentification after the NAS Report
by Jacqueline McMurtrie, , Utah Law Review, Vol 2010, No. 2. – addresses uniqueness, individualization and infallibility claims of fingerprint examination, the history of latent print individualization, recent legal challenges to latent print individualization, and the NAS report and its use in post-conviction claims based upon new developments in forensic science.
Edward F. Fitzgerald, Intoxication Test Evidence, Vol. 1-3 (2d ed.)
John M. Butler, Fundamentals of Forensic DNA Typing
Forensic Trace DNA: A Review
by Roland AH van Oorschot etal. Investigative Genetics (2010). In a very accessible way, this article describes issues associated with what is often called “touch DNA.” Topics covered include evidence collection, DNA extraction, amplification, profiling and interpretation of trace DNA samples.
State v. Rawls, 700 S.E.2d 112 (2010)
In State v. Rawls, 700 S.E.2d 112 (2010), the Court of Appeals held that “show-ups” are distinct from line-ups, and, therefore, are not subject to the guidelines set out in EIRA. Rather, the court applied the North Carolina common law test for determining if the show-up was proper which is a two-step inquiry described above: (1) …
Do Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Concentrations Indicate Recent Use in Chronic Cannabis Users?
Addiction. 2009 December: 104(12):2040-2048. This study finds that THC concentrations persist in whole blood multiple days after drug discontinuation in heavy chronic cannabis users.
Invalid Forensic Science Testimony and Wrongful Convictions
by Brandon Garrett and Peter Neufeld, Virginia Law Review, Vol. 95, No. 1 (2009) – a study of the forensic science testimony by prosecution experts in the trials persons later exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing.
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National Academy of Sciences Report
See pp. 179-182 for the National Research Counsel’s evaluation of Digital and Multimedia Analysis.
National Academy of Sciences Report
See pp. 128-133 for the National Research Counsel’s description of the forensic use of Deoxyribonucleic acid
National Academy of Sciences Report
See pp. 241-268 for the National Research Council’s assessment of the disciplines of forensic pathology and death investigation.
National Academy of Sciences Report
See pp. 173-176 for the National Research Council’s evaluation of forensic odontology. The report finds “there is continuing dispute over the value and scientific validity of comparing and identifying bite marks.” p. 173. The report lists the following concerns: “Bite marks on the skin will change over time”; Bite marks “can be distorted by the elasticity …