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In The News

2019-10-01 | Integrated Laser Sensor (ILS) for Remote SurfaceAnalysis: Application for Detecting Explosivesin Fingerprints
Here, we describe an innovative Integrated Laser Sensor (ILS) that combines four spectroscopic techniques and two vision systems into a unique, transportable device. The instrument performs Raman and Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy excited at 355 nm and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) excited at 1064 nm, and it also detects Laser Scattering(LS) from the target under illumination at 650 nm. The combination of these techniques supplies information about: material change from one scanning point to another, the presence of surface contaminants, the molecular and elemental composition of top target layers. Switching between the spectroscopic techniques and the laser wavelengths is fully automatic.

2019-09-24 | 3-D printed ‘ghost guns’ pose new challenges for crime-scene investigators
Although not perfect, ballistics evidence helps police pull suspects off the streets. NIBIN has yielded over 110,000 matches since it was launched in 1999. But a new type of gun — made of plastic using 3-D printers — may bring new challenges for forensics experts.

2019-09-18 | NEW FORENSICS METHOD WORKS ‘BACKWARD’ TO DNA
DNA evidence has revolutionized forensic science in the past few years, cracking open cold cases and bringing both convictions and exonerations. The same techniques help archaeologists and anthropologists studying remains from ancient peoples or human ancestors. But DNA is a relatively fragile molecule that breaks down easily. That’s where proteomics comes in. By reading the sequence of amino acids from fragments of protein, scientists can work backwards to infer the sequence of DNA that produced the protein.

2019-09-17 | A Safer Way for Police to Test Drug Evidence
Scientists have demonstrated a way for police to quickly and safely test whether a baggie or other package contains illegal drugs without having to handle any suspicious contents directly. The new technique can limit the risk of accidental exposure to fentanyl and other highly potent drugs that can be dangerous if a small amount is accidentally inhaled.

2019-09-15 | Cannabis use as a risk factor for causing motor vehicle crashes: a prospective study
Findings We obtained toxicology results on 3005 injured drivers and police reports on 2318. Alcohol was detected in 14.4% of drivers, THC in 8.3%, other drugs in 8.9% and sedating medications in 19.8%. There was no increased risk of crash responsibility in drivers with THC<2 ng/ml or 2?THC<5 ng/ml. In drivers with THC?5ng/ml,the adjusted OR was 1.74 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.59–6.36;P= 0.35]. There was significantly increased risk of crash responsibility in drivers with blood alcohol concentration (BAC)?0.08% (OR = 6.00;95% CI = 3.87–9.75;P<0.01), other recreational drugs detected (OR = 1.82;95% CI = 1.21–2.80;P<0.01) or sedating medications detected (OR = 1.45;95%CI = 1.11–1.91;P<0.01).Conclusions In this sample of non-fatally injured motor vehicle drivers in British Columbia, Canada, there was no evidence of increased crash risk in drivers with?-9-tetrahydrocannabinol<5ng/ml and a statistically non-significant increased risk of crash responsibility (odds ratio = 1.74) in drivers with?-9-tetrahydrocannabinol?5ng/ml.

2019-09-13 | Fingerprint Technology Helps Solve Cold Case
In the years following the crime, the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division launched the Next Generation Identification system to enhance its biometric capabilities. Now, the system’s search algorithm can pick up the most minute detail on fingerprint friction ridges. The new system leads to faster and more accurate results. So although no match could be found in 1999, the FBI’s advancements in fingerprint technology helped investigators solve the case after almost 20 years. “For months and years after this crime, people were afraid,” said Robert Allan Jones, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office. “Working these cold cases allows us to bring some closure to the victim and the community.”

2019-09-01 | Supreme Court Decisions and Upcoming Cases reflect the growing need for electronic search warrants in impaired driving cases
By 2016, as a result of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Missouri v. McNeely5 and Birchfieldv. North Dakota,6 the judicial landscape changed significantly. In these cases, the Court noted that advancements in technology made it far easier for law enforcement officers to obtain war-rants expeditiously and ruled that the natural dissipation of alcohol in one’s blood did not create a per se exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement based on exigent circumstances. The Court held that officers could compel blood samples from DUI suspects only if they have probable cause to believe the driver operated his or her vehicle while impaired and either (a) they obtain a warrant to seize one’s blood; or(b) the driver voluntarily consents to a blood draw; or(c) one of the traditional exceptions to the warrant requirement, including exigent circumstances, exists. The Court ruled that officers could continue compelling breath tests with-out a warrant because breath testing is non-invasive.

2019-08-18 | Prosecutors say St. Louis man innocent, but still in prison
In the three weeks since the St. Louis city prosecutor’s office announced in a motion for a new trial that police and prosecutorial misconduct had led to the framing of an innocent man, the case has stalled as questions remain over whether Missouri law even permits a judge to review a prosecutors’ contention of a wrongful conviction. All the while Johnson sits in prison where, he said, “It’s not something that gets better.”

2019-08-06 | How do we reconcile law and science?
There seems to be an inescapable tension between the fields of law and science. Law strives for consistency and finality, so courts tend to look to precedents for guidance. Science is always changing with new evidence and new research. But of course science is an important tool in the search for justice. We’ve also entered the era of “alternative facts,” in which the courts pick and choose between expert testimony that’s not only contradictory, but also irreconcilable.

2019-07-16 | How much should juries rely on expert testimony?
Many different fields of forensics have come under attack in recent years, including blood-spatter analysis, hair-fiber analysis, ballistics testing and fingerprint analysis. Even outside of forensics, there has long been research showing that eyewitness testimony is far less reliable than most people think, and that juries give it far too much consideration. A skeptic might wonder: What, other than single-source DNA testing, can be used in a criminal trial? Are critics of modern forensics saying that none of these fields has any value in front of a jury?