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Tiny Plants, Big Consequences: Moss Evidence in Courtrooms by David Kim by David Kim When a 4-­month-­old girl known to the public only as “Baby Kate” vanished from a small Michigan town in 2011, detectives eventually found themselves staring not at a crime-­scene photograph or a cell-­tower map, but at …
New Jersey Supreme Court Announces “Shaking Without Impact” Expert Testimony Inadmissible, Holding Shaken Baby Syndrome Diagnosis Lacks Required General Acceptance Within Biomechanical Engineering Community Under Frye by David Kim by David Kim he Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the exclusion of expert testimony regarding Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma …
Zombie Forensics: Discredited Science Stalking the Courtroom by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman In the American courtroom, the word “forensic” carries a veneer of infallibility. Jurors hear it and envision the sleek laboratories of television crime dramas with sterile rooms humming with sophisticated technology, where evidence is processed by advanced …
New Infrared Light Research on Blow Fly Larvae Reveals Clues to Time of by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Texas A&M AgriLife Research has developed a new forensic tool that could revolutionize how investigators estimate time of death. Researchers have devised a technique using infrared light and machine …
Maine Supreme Judicial Court Vacates Conviction Based on Confrontation Clause Where Toxicologist Testified About Toxicology Tests Performed by Others, Which SCOTUS Rejected in Smith v. Arizona by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine vacated Rochelle Gleason’s conviction for aggravated trafficking of a scheduled drug that …
NYC Murder Convictions Vacated After Withheld Evidence Reveals “Factually Impossible” Coerced Confession by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A Manhattan judge vacated the convictions of Brian Boles and Charles Collins for a 1994 Harlem murder, the Innocence Project reported. Judge Ruth Pickholz ended the nearly three-decade ordeal, which …
How to Build a Human; A Forensics Company Tells Cops It Can Use DNA to Predict a Suspect’s Face. Scientists Worry the Tool Will Deepen Racial Bias. by Jordan Smith Originally published on February 2, 2025. Republished with permission from The Intercept https://theintercept.com/2025/02/02/forensic-dna-phenotyping-parabon-nanolabs-police/, an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to …
‘Sexome’ Bacteria Offers New Path to Justice in Sexual Assault Cases Where DNA Is Not Present by Jo Ellen Nott Forensic science has traditionally relied on DNA evidence from sperm to identify suspects in sexual assault cases. However, when no sperm is present—such as when a perpetrator uses a condom—these …
AI Identifies Sex From Skulls Faster and More Accurately Than Experts by James Mills by James Mills Artificial intelligence has exceeded human capabilities in yet another area. AI has surpassed human forensic experts in determining biological sex from skeletal remains. Forensic anthropologists traditionally analyze human skeletons to estimate age, lifestyle, …
A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson In forensic technology, the term “black box” has gained prominence. It describes a system whose inner workings remain opaque—an output emerges, but how it is produced eludes the user. Such black-box algorithms underpin …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Faster Justice: Rapid DNA Set to Expand Law Enforcement Reach by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott In a significant development for forensic science, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) approved updates to the Quality Assurance Standards (“QAS”) for Forensic Laboratories in January, paving the way for DNA profiles …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
FBI Pressured Forensic Science Group to Censor Critical Workshops, Emails Reveal by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson When the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (“AAFS”) announced its lineup of workshops for a recent conference, Ted Hunt, a senior policy advisor to the FBI’s crime lab, demanded that references to …
Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025
Study: DNA Transfer in Social Settings by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson With every breath you take, you shed DNA. It is in the skin cells that flake off your body by the millions, the hair that floats off as you walk, and the oil you leave behind on …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Federal Facial Recognition Technology Fails Again by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson The federal government has again discovered that its use of facial recognition technology (“FRT”) harms Americans. The agencies using the technology are often doing so with little oversight or training, which is what the Government Accountability Office …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Desorption electrospray ionization, a type of mass spectrometry (“DESI-MS”), is being studied as a way to analyze overlapping or weak fingerprints, solving an age-old problem of evidence quality. For over a …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Filed under: Forensic Sciences
New AI Tool Harnesses Microbiomes for Forensic and Medical Breakthroughs by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A research team at Sweden’s Lund University unveiled an AI-driven system in a paper first released on October 7, 2024, titled “Microbiome Geographic Population Structure (mGPS) Detects Fine-Scale Geography.” mGPS uses microorganisms …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Habeas Relief in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Criminal Court of Appeals of Texas, the state’s highest court in criminal cases, granted a prisoner’s habeas corpus petition based on advances in science that undermined the validity of evidence …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Study Highlights Limitations in Forensic DNA Analysis Involving Lower Genetic Diversity Groups by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Not A University of Oregon study, “Decreased accuracy of forensic DNA mixture analysis for groups with lower genetic diversity” published in Volume 27, Issue 11, 111067 of iScience in November 2024 …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Colorado Bureau of Investigation Admits Over 1,000 Cases Affected by DNA Test Misconduct by James Mills by James Mills The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (“CBI”) announced that more than 1,000 cases could be affected by the systematic deletion and falsification of data by forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods. Woods was …
SCOTUS Announces Confrontation Clause Prohibits Expert Witness From Testifying About Non-­Testifying Expert’s Statements Regarding Forensic Testing Performed by Non-­Testifying Expert in Support of Testifying Expert’s Opinion Testimony at Trial by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause …
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