by Jo Ellen Nott
A bipartisan provision tucked into the recently signed National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 has opened new federal funding streams for law enforcement agencies seeking to expand their drone programs, a development hailed by police advocates but met with skepticism by civil liberties groups.
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by Jo Ellen Nott
A federal jury in New York awarded the estate of Darryl Boyd a record-breaking $80 million on November 19, 2025, for the more than 27 years he spent incarcerated following his wrongful 1977 murder conviction. Boyd, who died of pancreatic cancer in February 2025 …
by Jo Ellen Nott
Homeowners are often left financially devastated and without clear legal recourse after police raids cause extensive property damage, forcing them to bear costs that many say should be the public’s responsibility.
The case of Vicki Baker, whose Texas home was ruined by a …
A question posed by a child in a Curious Kids column in The Conversation, a nonprofit news website written by academics, led a biomedical engineer to a discovery that could aid forensic analysis at crime scenes involving water exposure.
Guy German, a biomedical engineer at Binghamton University in …
A groundbreaking adaptation of perovskite technology is poised to transform forensic analysis of gunshot residue (“GSR”), offering unprecedented speed and sensitivity. “Perovskite” refers to a class of materials with a specific crystal structure, named after the mineral calcium titanate, discovered by Russian mineralogist Lev Perovski. Traditional GSR analysis, which …
The integrity of Los Angeles County’s justice system is under fire following the news that potentially defective DNA test kits were used for months in thousands of criminal cases.
Despite being notified in August 2024 that its kits were “prone to intermittently poor performance,” the Los Angeles County …
by Jo Ellen Nott
Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed a suite of reform bills into law on April 22, 2025, marking a victory for incarcerated individuals, the formerly incarcerated, and advocates who have worked tirelessly for these changes for years.
The newly enacted legislation addresses critical issues …
Illinois maintains a digital public shaming website called the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, which is mandated under the provisions of Illinois Compiled Statutes 730 ILCS 154/85 (a) and (b). Supporters of the registry often claim that it enhances public safety, but not everybody agrees that it …
In a positive step advancing fair-chance policy for formerly incarcerated individuals, Virginia and Utah both signed policies into law in March 2025 that will help dismantle barriers faced by people with criminal records as they reenter the world of work.
The National Council of State Legislatures (“NCSL”) has …
Forensic science has traditionally relied on DNA evidence from sperm to identify suspects in sexual assault cases. However, when no sperm is present—such as when a perpetrator uses a condom—these methods are often ineffective.
New research published in iScience in February 2025 suggests a novel approach to using …
