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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 …
Shelby County DA Oversees Retesting After Forensic Analyst’s Dismissal for ‘Unethical Conduct’ by Sam Rutherford Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is overseeing the retesting of forensic evidence in multiple sexual assault cases after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (“TBI”) terminated a forensic analyst at its Jackson laboratory for “unethical …
Federal Government Circumventing Fourth Amendment by Buying Data From Data Brokers by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Federal law enforcement agencies have been paying private companies for the information they collect on users—information for which agents would need a warrant to collect themselves. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in …
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
California Police Misused State Databases Over 7,000 Times in 2023 by James Mills by James Mills C alifornia law enforcement agencies violated rules governing access to criminal justice databases 7,275 times in 2023, according to records obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”). These violations highlight systemic issues in the …
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
Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian Legal scholars and practitioners have begun raising concerns that there is a lack of judicial diversity on court benches in America and abroad. While there have been serious efforts to increase …
‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Are federal courts participating in a legal fiction during sentencing proceedings to maintain a peculiar but potentially necessary mechanism to resolve criminal cases without a jury? That …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Vermont Supreme Court Eliminates Year-and-a-Day Rule in Murder Prosecutions by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Vermont abrogated the common-law year-and-a-day rule, under which the victim must die within one year and a day of the defendant’s criminal conduct to support a murder charge, thus reinstating a …
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
You’d Better Watch Out: The Surveillance State Is Making a List, and You’re On It by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead by John & Nisha Whitehead "He sees you when you’re sleeping He knows when you’re awake He knows when you’ve been bad or good So be good for goodness’ …
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Know Leaving Residential Facility Without Permission Is ‘Unlawful’ for Escape Conviction Under 28 U.S.C. § 4082(a) by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a federal criminal defendant’s escape conviction for leaving a residential reentry facility without …
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: Databases, DNA Evidence
Forensic Genetic Genealogy: Police Are Searching Genetic Genealogy Companies’ Databases Regardless of Whether They Have Permission by Matthew Clarke, Ann Foster by Matt Clarke with research assistance by Ann Foster Millions of people have submitted oral cheek (buccal) swab samples to companies like 23andMe and Ancestry hoping to use their …
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Ninth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to California Prisoner on Napue Claim Because Prosecution Failed to Correct Informant’s False Testimony That He Did Not Receive Any Benefit In Exchange for His Testimony by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the U.S. District …
Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024
U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Data Report on Compassionate Release in FY 2023 by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Thomas Clarke In June 2024, the U.S. Sentencing Commission released a data report on release for “extraordinary and compelling reasons” under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), also known as compassionate release (“CR”). The courts have …
Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024
Tenth Circuit: Mere Presence in Vehicle Used to Transport Large Quantity of Drugs Insufficient to Establish Necessary Intent for Conspiracy Conviction by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed the convictions of the unwitting passenger of a drug mule on the …
Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024
Law Review Article Reports Metadata on Victims of Coercive Plea Bargaining by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke An article published in the American University Law Review examines victims of coercive plea bargaining using extensive data from psychological studies and surveys. In doing so, it goes beyond the obvious victims—innocent defendants …
The Prosecutor and the Snitch Ring by Liliana Segura, Jordan Smith by Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith “Cold Justice” star Kelly Siegler relied on jailhouse informants to win convictions despite reasons to doubt their credibility. Secrets and Liars What Happened When a Star Prosecutor Was Accused of Running a Jailhouse …
Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024
The 153 Exonerations in 2023 Include 19 Resulting From Threats or Sentences of Death by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian   The Death Penalty Policy Project (“DP3”) analyzed exoneration data compiled by the National Registry of Exonerations (“NRE”) for 2023. The results are disturbing. Another 153 convicted people were …
Article • June 15, 2024 • from CLN June, 2024
Landmark Drug Possession Reform Based on Unproven Allegations Reversed in Oregon by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Knott   Oregon legislators passed H.B. 4002 on March 1, 2024, with support from both Democrats and Republicans on a 21-8 vote. Gov. Tina Kotek’s office indicated on March 7 that she …
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