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In The News

2015-04-21 | The FBIs Flawed Hair Evidence under the Microscope
In one case, a prosecutor told the jury that there was a one in 10 million chance that the hair sample that implicated the defendant in the crime was from another individual, reports the New York Times. Subsequent DNA testing found that “none of the hair samples matched the defendant, and that one was from a dog.”

2015-04-19 | Standards needed for post-conviction review of scientific evidence
Injustices should be rectified, of course. But the Washington Post was perhaps negligent in not explaining the considerable progress that has been made in forensic science over the last 15 years. This omission left its readers with a skewed perception of the state of the art. It is time to establish standards of professional practice and conduct for those engaged in the post-conviction review of scientific evidence and the reporting of their results, either in the courtroom or in the press. This would build much needed confidence in the practice of post-conviction litigation, elevating its stature from activism to professionalism.

2015-04-19 | Advancements in technology help counties reduce crime rates
The technology only dreamed of decades ago is the norm in the way companies do business and none more so than in law enforcement. Technology is changing the way law enforcement officers conduct their work, which in turn helps reduce crime. Agencies who say they’ve been able to decrease crime in their communities say they’ve been able to do so with the help of technology and specialized investigations as well as a focus on the community policing of yesteryear.

2015-04-19 | FBI overstated forensic hair matches in nearly all trials before 2000
The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000. Of 28 examiners with the FBI Laboratory’s microscopic hair comparison unit, 26 overstated forensic matches in ways that favored prosecutors in more than 95 percent of the 268 trials reviewed so far, according to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Innocence Project, which are assisting the government with the country’s largest post-conviction review of questioned forensic evidence.

2015-04-18 | Validation and Incorporation of RapidHIT Technology into Routine Forensic DNA Casework
WHITE PARER ** The Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) acquired a RapidHIT instrument, which can produce a DNA profile in two hours, in December 2013. The lab uses this technology to generate automated sample-to-answer STR-based human identification for use in forensic DNA casework. Typical casework would include buccal swabs from suspects, in addition to evidence swabs and cuttings for lead investigation purposes. This white paper will describe the validation and incorporation of this Rapid DNA technology into their forensic casework.

2015-04-16 | Ancient Footprints Can Help to Understand Modern-Day Crime Scenes
“Once completed and made available, the software has the potential to make a significant difference to the way police forces and forensic agencies across the UK examine and interpret crime scenes,” explained Bennett, “By making the software much more cost effective and free to use, we can enable 3D imaging to become the norm rather than the exception when investigating crime scenes.”

2015-04-14 | DNA Testing Scandal Hits NY State Police
Another DNA testing scandal came to light this week after allegations surfaced that forensic analysts at a New York State Police crime lab had possibly cheated on a DNA qualification exam. Two state police supervisors were suspended in February, and 10 other scientists have been taken off casework as the investigation widens, reports The Times Union.

2015-04-10 | Why Backlogged Kits are a Public Safety Problem
The fact is that testing backlogged rape kits takes sexual predators off our streets now. Getting rape kits to laboratories is not only morally right to help bring justice and closure to victims, but an important public safety issue.

2015-04-09 | Ex-Northwest High football player found guilty of first-degree murder
The murder trial was one of the first cases to go to trial since the Douglas County Attorney’s Office disclosed in January that the Omaha police crime lab misidentified a fingerprint in a 2012 burglary case. Douglas County District Judge Leigh Ann Retelsdorf ruled in January that prosecutors took too long to notify Riley of the mistake and granted Riley a delay in the trial.

2015-04-09 | DNA Evidence: Measuring up to the Frye Standard of Acceptance
And so it was. In November of 2014, high sensitivity DNA got its day in court. In this landmark case, Judge Mark Dwyer had to rule whether high sensitivity DNA evidence met the Frye standard. Many experts both for and against the new technology were called to testify, and it quickly became obvious that there was no consensus about high sensitivity DNA testing.