by Casey J. Bastian
The actions and eventual trial of Derek Chauvin were at the center of multiple protests. The people had had enough of police brutality and a lack of accountability in Minneapolis; they were angry and wanted everyone to take notice. Law enforcement took notice and responded by ...
by Casey J. Bastian
Washington D.C. is not simply home to our nation’s capital or the seat of some of its most powerful institutions. What many people don’t realize is that the metropolitan area contains more officers from local, regional, and federal agencies per capita than any other city in ...
by Casey J. Bastian
In an effort to improve forensic firearm and toolmark analysis, the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (“OSAC”) has updated its Registry of Approved Standards. OSAC is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) and was launched in 2014. NIST claims ...
by Casey J. Bastian
When a crime is committed, it is vital that the actual perpetrator be identified and held accountable. However, that process is not always straightforward. Every criminal investigation begins with the analysis of a crime scene and the collection of forensic evidence. But crime is inherently complex. ...
by Casey J. Bastian
Forensic experts have been conducting ballistics comparisons and presenting their testimony in courts for more than 100 years. Experts frequently imply that accurately identifying that a specific gun fired a particular bullet is straightforward: Simply search for distinctive marks on a bullet made by the barrel ...
by Casey J. Bastian
The National Registry of Exonerations (“NRE”) recorded a total of 226 exonerations in 2021. Of these, 161 were discovered in 2021. The remaining 65 were discovered in previous years, only being recorded by the NRE in 2021. Each of the 161 persons exonerated spent an average ...
by Casey J. Bastian
In our adversarial court systems, a person impaneled on a jury is tasked with a seemingly straight-forward duty: determine the reliability and credibility of trial evidence, deliberate, and render a decision. However, studies reveal that this process is not so simple. Jurors are often irrational — ...
by Casey J. Bastian
“Not a lot of people are aware of this public-private partnership where corporations and wealthy donors are able to siphon money into police forces with little to no oversight.” — Gin Armstrong, senior research analyst at LittleSis.
Police foundations are private organizations that engage in ...
by Casey J. Bastian
The FBI has identified Charlotte, North Carolina, as a drug trafficking hub because it has “multiple interstates running directly through” it. The FBI claims that this makes the Queen City an “appealing” route to traffickers delivering product and transferring cash “up and down the East Coast.” ...
by Casey J. Bastian
Miami Police Department (“MPD”) Chief of Police Manny Morales believes in officer accountability. His statement makes that clear: “If in fact it is determined that it is our officer, he will be held accountable for his actions.” In the statement, Morales described the officer as having ...
