Our regular guest blogger here, Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, JD, PhD was featured for his courageous work in exposing invalid science with the FBI. He is a true American hero! Way to go Dr. Whtiehurst! Dr. Whitehurst will be presenting the Donald Gates case and his efforts at the American Chemical Society national meeting and the […]
Guest Blog Post From Dr. Frederic Whitehurst PhD JD: Cry Foul. Cry Foul. The Statistician Approaches
Cry Foul. Cry Foul. The Statistician Approaches-An Original Poem by Dr. Frederic Whitehurst By: Frederic Whitehurst, J.D., Ph.D. [1] Cry Foul, Cry Foul The Statistician Approaches Young maidens lift not your eyes To gaze upon the Gaussian Wizard Lest your notions of the perfections of God’s universe Be dashed upon the rocks of the Realization […]
The myth of the neutral scientist doing forensic science
One of the most ridiculous claims that I hear in court is a claim by a forensic technician or expert witness (regardless of what particular discipline he or she is from) that somehow he or she is a neutral and detached scientist doing science, and therefore he or she has no bias whatsoever. This total […]
Why not stipulate to a forensic science result?
I was recently asked a question which is basically this: “Justin, why don’t you stipulate to any forensic science result ever?” My answer is simple. I haven’t found a single analytical test or a single forensic science result that does not have some area of legitimate inquiry whether it is in the data (the test […]
Why scientists are ripping us off….
Consider this funny clip from the Daily Show about science. Is it really that far off the mark with the way most Americans think? The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
Why don’t jurors follow science?
Why don’t jurors follow empirical thought and science to the logical result? The denial of science is nothing new. It has been around for as long as science has. In fact, as a species, we have only expressed scientific thought for a very small part of our existence. From The Evolution Deniers, we get examples […]
The scientific framework of forensic science is it wrong?
The scientific method teaches us a linearized and pragmatic scheme of attempting to truly find the truth (or as near to the truth as we as humans are capable of achieving). The scientific method can be explained as follows: Define a question Gather information and resources (Make an observe) Form an explanatory and falsifiable hypothesis […]
The Learned Treatise: An Appeal to Authority… is that misleading?
Scientists and lawyers don’t see eye-to-eye. That is not much of a surprise. On the one hand, science should be about appeal to data. On the other hand, law is about an appeal to authority (stare decisis). But what is surprising is the legal framework that addresses the scientific world does not embrace the scientific […]
Ben Goldacre helps us to evaluate science and shows publication bias
Often on this blog we have exposed that which has been deemed “scientific” and revealed it to better categorized as science fiction. So, the question becomes how do we distinguish between true science based upon sound research and transparent from pseudo-science or science fiction that has somehow entered into the courtroom as both are termed […]
Born on Date– Not Just for Beer But Gas Cylinders Too
Beer Born On Date Everyone wants to eat fresh food as opposed to stale food. No one wants to drink skunked beer. So, we have born-on dates on certain foods and foodstuff. This allows us to judge whether or not we want to accept it and drink/eat it. Carrier gas purity is a big issue […]
Help wanted: External Quality Assurance Officer for Forensic Laboratories
On occasion I attend various scientific short courses such as the ones put on by the American Chemical Society, the National Fire Protection Association, The Chromatography Forum of Delaware Valley or various manufacturers such as Restek, Agilent and the like. I highly commend any lawyer to go to these conferences and seminars. In my opinion it […]
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