There is a myth among prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges that is propagated time and again all over courtrooms in the US that involves the idea of “therapeutic ranges” when it comes to DUID cases and prescribed drugs. The notion is that there is a one-size fits all chart that we can all refer to […]
The Forensic Science of IMSI/TMSI catchers: Stingray, Gossamer, FishHawk, Porpoise, and others
“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that there isn’t somebody watching you” That is a truism in this day and age. There has been much publicity about the Edward Snowden revelations and NSA’s PRISM and the Boundless Information programs. It has invited a lot of useful and needed public and private debate in the role […]
Justice, the Queen of Virtues? or Validation and Quality Assurance, the Queen of Virtues: Columbia South Carolina Police Department Crime Lab
Justice, the Queen of Virtues? or Validation and Quality Assurance, the Queen of Virtues: Columbia South Carolina Police Department Crime Lab It is perhaps ironic that Columbia, South Carolina’s police department’s patch boldly states the city’s motto: “Justitia virtutum regina” which translates to “Justice, the Queen of Virtues.” Is there justice when people are wrongly […]
More information on the Cameron Todd Willingham Case
To inspire fierce and vitriolic debate in the legal-forensic community, all one has to do is to mention the name Cameron Todd Willingham. We have blogged on the case and other arson cases before: Fire Whisperers-the Story of Bad Arson Investigation In full disclosure this office and myself personally am litigating a “bad arson science […]
NIST names OSAC Resource Committees
As many regular readers will recall, NIST is trying to end the Wild Wild West that is the modern practice of Forensic Science. Just moments ago, they released their latest appointees: An initiative to strengthen and bring uniformity to forensic science standards took another step forward today as the National Institute of Standards and Technology […]
The problems with the modern practice of forensic firearm and toolmark analysis
The problems with the modern practice of forensic firearm and toolmark analysis The field is technically called a forensic firearm and toolmark analysis whose experts use an optical comparison microscope to examine the exemplar with the unknown recovered from the crime scene by a comparison criteria that is referred to as “sufficiently consecutive matching striae” […]
More problems in crime labs: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (“OCME”) Controlled Substances Unit (“OCME-CSU” or “CSU”)
Delaware State Police (“DSP”) and the Delaware Department of Justice (“DDOJ”) initiated an investigation of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (“OCME”) Controlled Substances Unit (“OCME-CSU” or “CSU”). According to this news story, there were lots of problems found. June 19, 2014 Report shows flaws within Delaware drug lab By Shana O’Malley New details […]
NIST carries through on its promise-Appointments for FSSB released
In case you have been living under a rock, you have heard of the NIST OSAC movement to try to reform and standardize the practice of forensic science. You can read about the effort here: Why you should be impressed with the NIST OSAC structure: The taming of the Wild Wild West National Forensic Science […]
Another week, another forensic science scandal in Texas: HPD
Another week, another forensic science scandal in Texas: HPD Everything, they say, is bigger in Texas. It seems as if Texas has a new forensic science reported scandal every single week. The question is why? Why Texas? I have a theory: it’s the lawyers. Over the last 4 or so years, Texas has been on […]
Problems in Bexar County Texas Too-Integrated Forensic Laboratories LLC
Another day, another headline. Sigh. According to the below email and also the newspaper article, sadly here’s another issue with an accredited laboratory and Quality Assurance. Here is another one: Lab errors place Bexar DWI cases under scrutiny By Eva Ruth Moravec May 22, 2014 | Updated: May 23, 2014 11:38am SAN ANTONIO — Hundreds […]
The scientific and legal truth behind Stand-off detection of alcohol in car cabins
The scientific and legal truth behind Stand-off detection of alcohol in car cabins A Huffington Post Article recently caught our eyes: New Laser Device May Be A Drunk Driver’s Worst Nightmare By Jacqueline Howard Posted: 06/08/2014 7:28 am EDT Updated: 06/08/2014 7:59 am EDT. Just the title alone captured our imagination. So we looked into […]
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