Author seb4yq

“The mission of the Office of Forensic Science is to strengthen and promote the use of forensic science within the judicial system by supporting forensic science service providers, as they continually improve the validity, quality, and practice of forensic science through innovative… Continue Reading →

There will be free live webcast of the Public Status Reports & Open Discussion meetings of the Organization of Scientific Area Committee for Forensic Science (OSAC). These meetings will take place in New Orleans, LA, beginning at 8am CST on February… Continue Reading →

In September, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a report recommending that courts stop using pattern matching forensic science until there can be scientific verification of the techniques. Included in pattern matching techniques are ballistics comparison,… Continue Reading →

Karl Vinson was convicted in 1986 for breaking and entering as well as raping a nine-year-old child. The victim had positively identified Vinson as her attacker and knew Vinson prior to the attack. No evidence was presented that demonstrated any… Continue Reading →

Jules Epstein, a professor and the director of advocacy programs at the Temple University Beasley School of Law and a member of the National Commission on Forensic Science, was the keynote speaker for the conference and called on both scientists… Continue Reading →

Earlier this year, an audit was highly critical of the Austin Police Department DNA lab, alleging that researchers were not following the manufacturer’s instructions while using a certain lab chemical, were using outdated and unreliable techniques, and had contaminated a… Continue Reading →

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recently released a report calling attention to serious problems in the area of forensic science currently used in courtrooms. Jessica Cino, a law professor at Georgia State University in the… Continue Reading →

Other than DNA testing, almost all of the currently used forensic sciences have not been rigorously tested and supported by scientific principles. In spite of this, prosecutors and judges continue to allow forensic experts to testify based on sciences that… Continue Reading →

A man whose conviction was thrown out amidst the Dookhan drug lab scandal was not able to recover court costs and probation fees. Because the case was sent for retrial and  dismissed, rather than being overturned on appeal, he cannot… Continue Reading →

The Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts is grappling whether a blanket dismissal its warranted for all of the approximately 24,000 convictions in which former drug chemist Annie Dookhan was involved. Defense attorneys, joined by attorneys from the ACLU of Massachusetts,… Continue Reading →