George Perrot’s recent exoneration has prompted a review of other Massachusetts cases involving hair comparison analysis. George Perrot was recently released from prison after spending 30 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. Officials have not yet worked… Continue Reading →

Posted now on ssrn is a new essay, part of a Washington & Lee L. Rev. symposium on the Joseph Giarratano case.  Here is the abstract: The Constitution increasingly regulates the use of forensic evidence in criminal cases. This is… Continue Reading →

Coverage of the Texas Forensic Science Commission ban on the use of bite mark evidence at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal blog, Washington Post, and the Dallas Morning News.  “An influential scientific commission in Texas called Friday for a… Continue Reading →

Neal Robbins was convicted in the 1998 death of his girlfriend’s daughter. Robbins appealed after Texas passed a 2013 statute allowing for convictions to be overturned if “junk science” was used to convict the defendant. The question before the court… Continue Reading →

Peter Neufeld, who co-founded the Innocence Project, spoke this Friday on the radio show Here & Now. Neufeld discussed the dangers associated with assigning reliability to forensic procedures not scientifically supported including hair matching and bite mark evidence. Listen to the interview and… Continue Reading →

The Washington Post examines three cases to highlight the problems with unreliable bitemark evidence. The first is a murder case from Minnesota, where the judge allowed for a bitemark expert to testify, but would not allow the expert to say… Continue Reading →

The National Institute of Justice wrote in its most recent journal about research and developmental projects used to improve forensic science disciplines. These efforts include: studying drugs at electronic music festivals and using this information to understand how people are modifying… Continue Reading →

Todd M. Richardson of Lebanon, Indiana was arrested in October in connection a suspicion of stalking. His DNA was collected upon arrest and the Indiana State Police Laboratory matched it to a 1990 rape case. He was arrested yesterday in connection… Continue Reading →

State Sen. Bob Hilkemann introduced Legislative Bill 1054 that would allow for collection of a suspect’s DNA upon arrest for specific felonies. The bill lists out 17 violent felonies, as well as burglary and robbery. State Sen. Ernie Chambers expressed… Continue Reading →

Here is a pdf of the recent decision granting a new trial based on hair microscopy testimony that “exceeded scientific standards” – MTN Decision