Skip navigation

Search

442 results
Probabilistic Genotyping on Trial: Can We Trust the Secret Algorithms Deciding Guilt? by Michael Thompson DNA evidence has long been hailed as the gold standard of forensic science—unassailable, precise, and definitive. But what happens when that gold standard is processed through proprietary algorithms that operate in secrecy, shielded from scrutiny …
Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025
The Flawed Science of Cannabis Impairment Detection: The Need for Evidence-Based Reform by David Kim As state after state abandons the failed experiment of marijuana prohibition, a critical public safety challenge remains largely unaddressed: how do we accurately and fairly identify individuals whose cannabis use has rendered them dangerously impaired …
AI Honeypots: Police Are Using Chatbots to Pose as Teens and Sex Workers to Entrap Suspects by Michael Thompson The surveillance state has a new tool in its arsenal that takes advantage of advances in AI large language models. Only, this chatbot’s conversations could land people in prison. The product …
Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025
Ninth Circuit: ‘Dominion and Control’ Provision of Search Warrant for Suspect’s Computer That Lacked Temporal or Other Limitation Constitutes General Warrant by Anthony Accurso The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington’s denial of a defendant’s motion …
Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025
The Quiet Transformation of Government Data into a Mass Surveillance Tool by David Kim In recent years, the federal government has been repurposing data originally collected for public services—such as tax filing, health care enrollment, and labor oversight—into a powerful tool for mass surveillance and law enforcement. Fueled by executive …
The Algocracy Agenda: How AI and the Deep State Are Digitizing Tyranny by John & Nisha Whitehead This column was originally published on May 29, 2025, on Rutherford.org. It has been reprinted with permission   “If one company or small group of people manages to develop godlike digital superintelligence, they …
Arizona’s Secret Mass Surveillance System: An Obscure Financial Database Amasses Millions of Financial Records in the Shadows by Michael Thompson In Arizona, a secretive program has quietly amassed a staggering trove of financial data on tens of millions of Americans and individuals worldwide, all under the guise of fighting crime. …
Los Angeles Criminal Legal System Undermined by Months of Faulty DNA Testing by Jo Ellen Nott 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 …
Car Subscriptions: Another Means of Mass Surveillance by Law Enforcement by David Kim by David Kim Police records obtained by WIRED reveal that the rise of internet-connected car features, spurred by automakers’ subscription models, is increasing drivers’ vulnerability to government surveillance. These documents expose how law enforcement agencies exploit the …
Article • April 15, 2025 • from CLN May, 2025
Bodycam Footage for Sale: Ohio Joins the List of States Charging Money for Bodycam Footage, While Others Restrict It Entirely by James Mills by James Mills Footage from police body cameras could soon become a pricey commodity in Ohio. Ohio has joined Arizona and Indiana on the short list of …
Article • April 15, 2025 • from CLN May, 2025
The FBI’s Encrypted Phone Sting by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson A San Diego-based company called ANOM, often stylized as “ANØM,” distributed encrypted phones worldwide. These devices were stripped down, hardened against intrusion, and designed to allow messaging only between phones on the same closed network. Unbeknownst to users, …
A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson In forensic technology, the term “black box” has gained prominence. It describes a system whose inner workings remain opaque—an output emerges, but how it is produced eludes the user. Such black-box algorithms underpin …
Article • April 15, 2025 • from CLN May, 2025
NYPD Responds to 911 Calls with Drones by James Mills by James Mills The NYPD now has Drone First Responders (“DFRs”) and has begun deploying them in response to 911 calls. On Nov. 13, 2024, the Mayor’s office announced the new program: 10 drones, deployed across three boroughs—Brooklyn, the Bronx, …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples
‘Jack the Ripper’ Meets DNA Analysis by James Mills by James Mills More than 135 years after a series of gruesome murders terrorized London, new DNA evidence has emerged that may lend credence to long-held suspicions about one of the original suspects. The infamous “Jack the Ripper” killings, a string …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Government Hacks Computers to Thwart Hackers by James Mills by James Mills Did you know the federal government has the ability to access a virtually unlimited range of computers—including laptops, workstations, and library terminals—if it so desires? This revelation comes after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) announced in a …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Faster Justice: Rapid DNA Set to Expand Law Enforcement Reach by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott In a significant development for forensic science, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) approved updates to the Quality Assurance Standards (“QAS”) for Forensic Laboratories in January, paving the way for DNA profiles …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples
Can Comics Help Juries Understand Complex DNA Evidence? by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson Few people possess the scientific and mathematical background needed to fully grasp the complexities of DNA evidence after just ten minutes of expert testimony. Yet jurors are routinely tasked with making life-altering decisions for defendants …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces State Wiretap Statute Requires Suppression of Both Audio and Video Components of Audiovisual Footage of Unlawfully Intercepted Oral Communication Showing Defendant as Party to Communication by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that when police secretly make a warrantless …
Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025
Study Reveals Best DNA Recovery Spots on Drug Baggies by James Mills by James Mills In a world of theoretical experiments, it’s rare to find one that’s directly applicable for law enforcement in the real world. This may just be one of those rarities. A recent study from Flinders University …
Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025
Study: DNA Transfer in Social Settings by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson With every breath you take, you shed DNA. It is in the skin cells that flake off your body by the millions, the hair that floats off as you walk, and the oil you leave behind on …
Page 1 of 23. | 1 2 3 4 5 ... 19 20 21 22 23 | Next »