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In The News

2018-04-04 | Forensics worker sues AZ DPS
"As a result of giving truthful testimony they didn't like they suspended him for a matter of months and ultimately punished him for his actions," St. Louis said. Ohlson told his attorney that D.U.I. suspects were only allowed to see around 20 percent of their blood results in court from D.P.S. which Ohlson testified saying the suspect would need to be given all of the results to prove the validity of the blood sample.

2018-03-28 | True Crime Book Investigates Bite Mark Evidence, Wrongful Convictions in Mississippi
It wasn’t until 2007, after 16 years in prison for Brooks and 13 years on death row for Brewer, that DNA testing would reveal that one man, Justin Albert Johnson, was actually responsible for the crimes. The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist, by Washington Post reporter Radley Balko and Mississippi Innocence Project director Tucker Carrington, focuses on the two men who provided the “science” used to convict both Brooks and Brewer, while painting a picture of racism and corruption in rural Mississippi throughout the state’s history.

2018-03-23 | Convicted Oregon Burglar Challenges Fingerprint Evidence
The Oregon Court of Appeals heard Cannon's appeal Friday in Salem. It's unknown when a ruling will come, but the case could change the way fingerprint evidence is presented in Oregon's courts, or whether it should be allowed at all. For decades, fingerprints have been used during trial as irrefutable evidence linking a person to a crime. But recently, science has found the way fingerprints are collected and analyzed is subject to error. Cannon's case is unique because the conviction relies heavily on the fingerprint evidence. It forces Oregon's appeals court to consider the quality of fingerprint evidence and how it's presented in court.

2018-03-22 | Oregon Appeals Court To Hear Case Challenging Fingerprint Science
According to court documents, the latent fingerprint is the only evidence that connects Cannon to the crime scene. “It’s a problem because we like to have evidence that’s reliable,” he said. On Friday in Salem, the Oregon Court of Appeals is set to hear Cannon’s appeal. The case could change the way fingerprint evidence is presented in Oregon’s courts, or whether it should be allowed at all. For decades, fingerprints have been used during trial as irrefutable evidence linking a person to a crime. But recently, science has found the way fingerprints are collected and analyzed is subject to error.

2018-03-21 | ‘Caught Red Handed’: Welsh Cops Break Up Drug Ring from Photo Fingerprint
A routine tip-off of a pot dealer’s house in Wales widened into a months-long police investigation leading to the sentence of nine members of a drug ring, authorities announced last week. The criminal case culminated with a photograph of a hand showing ecstasy drug tablets—and the ringleader’s fingerprints, the South Wales Police announced. The agency’s Joint Scientific Support Unit (JSIU) made the identification, finalizing the whole complex case, authorities said. “Despite being provided with only a very small section of the fingerprint which was visible in the photograph, the team were able to successfully identify the individual,” said Dave Thomas, the unit’s forensic operations manager.

2018-03-01 | Audit Shows N Carolina Has 15K Untested Sexual Assault Kits
North Carolina has more than 15,000 untested sexual assault kits, a backlog that national advocacy group described as “significant.” Attorney General Josh Stein released that number Wednesday at a news conference where he also proposed steps that would prevent a backlog from occurring again. “Testing sexual assault evidence collection kits is important for promoting public safety,” Stein said. “It brings offenders to justice. It secures justice for victims. It closes cases. And it prevents future crime.”

2018-03-01 | DOJ’s Fingerprint Uniform Language is Part of ‘Constant Evolution,’ Says IAI
There is no “individualization,” but there is “identification”—albeit with limits. And while an ink fingerprint on a check being cashed at an FDIC-insured bank is a relatively simple comparison, a bloody palmprint on concrete poses many more complex challenges to expert forensic examiners. The Department of Justice rolled out “uniform language” last week in how federal fingerprints experts should tell juries about what they found in the minutest details of ridge patterns, whorls, scars and even pores. The experts should explain their work, without expressing “scientific certainty” or trying to calculate the incalculable—and that includes avoiding “individualization.”

2018-02-28 | AAFS 2018: Hair Proteins Under the Microscope
Hair is made of proteins that are constructed using the blueprints from the DNA of individuals. Forensic science has been looking at the hardy structure of the hair shafts everyone sheds as being a potential game-changer at crime scenes and archaeological sites, where more-fragile DNA is not available. The forensic value of putting those proteins under the microscope could prove to help investigators of the future, according to the latest scientific findings, a poster presented at last week’s American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference showed. The University of California, Davis scientists found there were more differences between hairs of different people than the hairs of the same person from different parts of their body. But the technique needs improvement to increase its discriminatory power, they add.

2018-02-26 | DOJ Approved Uniform Language for Latent Fingerprint Comparisons
On February 21, the DOJ released this document, setting out uniform language for latent print comparisons. It sets out definitions for source identification, inconclusive and exclusion conclusions and sets out certain qualifications and limitations. Below are excerpts.

2018-02-20 | Medical Examiner Taps DNA Science to Find Missing Persons
For families who have searched years for missing loved ones, donating a sample of their DNA is often a last, desperate act to confirm their worst fears. New York City's medical examiner is leading a nationwide effort to collect genetic material and match it with unidentified human remains. It's a way to finally give family members some answers and maybe some solace. "People will not rest without answers, at least some answers," said Dr. Barbara Sampson, the city's chief medical examiner.