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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 …
Article • January 15, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Seeking Justice for Two: The DNA Scandal That Shook a Community by by Justyna Madenska This article explores the wrongful conviction of David Hehn and the unresolved murder of Gay Lynn Dixon, revealing systemic failures in forensic evidence handling and the justice system’s pursuit of true justice. In 1982, the …
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Touch-Transfer DNA Remains Misunderstood and Still Poses High Risk of Wrongful Conviction by J.D. Schmidt by J.D. Schmidt Modern criminal investigations, especially cold homicide cases, often rely on what is known as “touch-transfer” DNA to identify the perpetrator. But in recent years, developments in DNA research have shown that there …
Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024
Forensic Microbiology and Criminal Investigations by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney According to microbiologists, every individual has a “unique community of microorganisms on and within their body.” These communities, known as “microbiomes,” consist of microbes “specific to different parts of the body, can persist over long periods of time and …
Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024
Dozens of Prisoners in Colorado Notified About Potential Compromised DNA Evidence by In early July, dozens of incarcerated individuals in Colorado counties Arapahoe and Douglas, received a promising letter from the District Attorney’s office. DA John Kellner was notifying defendants in cases that could have been affected by allegations of …
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Three’s a Crowd: Issues of DNA Mixture Analysis and Interpretation by Eike Blohm, MD by Eike Blohm M.D. A study funded by the National Institute of Justice recently found that the vast majority of forensic laboratories had difficulty correctly interpreting DNA samples derived from three donors. Over 99.9% of our …
Article • May 29, 2023
Secondary DNA Transfer: Little Known Phenomenon That Puts You at a Crime Scene You’ve Never Visited and Places a Murder Weapon You’ve Never Touched in Your Hand by Miles Dyson by Miles Dyson In 2008, European authorities were hot on the trail of a highly prolific serial killer and burglar. …
Study Finds DNA Similarities Among Look-alikes by Eike Blohm, MD by Eike Blohm, MD A recently published study shows that “doppelgängers” — unrelated strangers who look eerily similar — don’t just share looks; they have similar DNA. The advent of social media and ubiquitous cellphone cameras has resulted in some …
Article • July 15, 2022 • from CLN August, 2022
Maryland Court of Appeals: Kazadi Applies to Cases Where Issue Was Preserved at Trial but Appeal Not Yet Noted at Time Kazadi Decided by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeals of Maryland (“MCOA”) held that its holding in Kazadi v. State, 223 A.3d 554 (Md. 2020) applies …
Article • June 15, 2022 • from CLN July, 2022
Cops in Virginia Beach Used Fake DNA Reports During Interrogations by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Apparently, cops in Virginia Beach are not troubled by a lack of DNA evidence when investigating crimes. Their remedy is to simply create fake certificates of analysis (“COA”) purported to be from the Virginia …
Article • March 15, 2021 • from CLN April, 2021
Faulty Forensics and Wrongful Convictions by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Faulty forensics play a major role in causing known wrongful convictions in the United States. Just how big of a role the application of science to justice plays in sending the innocent to prison depends upon your definition of …
Article • November 15, 2020 • from CLN December, 2020
Cincinnati Police Department Agrees to Audit of Its DNA Database by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Innocence Project of New York, along with the Cincinnati, Ohio, law firm of Gerhardstein & Branch (collectively “Plaintiff’s Counsel”), negotiated a settlement on September 14, 2020, wherein the Cincinnati Police Department (“CPD”) agreed …
Article • July 15, 2020 • from CLN August, 2020
South Carolina Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction Where State Presented Improper Testimony Regarding Trace DNA Evidence by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of South Carolina reversed Billy Phillips’ murder conviction because the State presented improper testimony regarding DNA evidence and provided information to the jury that was …
Article • April 15, 2020 • from CLN May, 2020
DNA Contamination Threatened Conviction of Innocent Man by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The NYC Medical Examiner’s office (“ME”) reviewed the DNA analysis procedure in a burglary case that was the only evidence used to charge Darrell Harris with the crime. They found that the DNA sample could have been …
Article • April 15, 2020 • from CLN May, 2020
Advanced DNA Technology Helps Free Innocent Georgia Man After Nearly 18 Years in Prison by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon On January 8, 2020, Kerry Robinson began the New Year and a new life as he left Georgia’s Coffee Correctional Facility a free man. He had spent nearly 18 years …
The Problem of False Confessions in the Post-DNA World, Steven Drizin and Richard Leo, North Carolina Law Review, 2004 HeinOnline -- 82 N.C. L. Rev. 891 2003-2004 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1134094 HeinOnline -- 82 N.C. L. Rev. 892 2003-2004 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1134094 HeinOnline -- 82 N.C. L. …