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News in Brief by Alabama: Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith faces six misdemeanor counts after a grand jury indicted him on May 30, 2025, for knowingly employing uncertified personnel. WBRC in Birmingham reported that Smith’s second-in-command, Chief Deputy Ralph Williams, was also indicted on one count of providing false or …
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 …
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 …
‘Sexome’ Bacteria Offers New Path to Justice in Sexual Assault Cases Where DNA Is Not Present by Jo Ellen Nott 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 …
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
A Guilty Voice: Is Voice Analysis Junk Science or Reliable Evidence? by Clarence Walker Jr. by Clarence Walker Jr. Law enforcement officials believe our vocal cords betray us with every syllable we speak. Welcome to a world of technology capable of listening to a human voice and then determining whether …
Massachusetts State Police Facing Possible Class Action Lawsuit for Illegal Recordings by The Massachusetts State Police (“MSP”) is the defendant in a potential class action lawsuit alleging that troopers secretly recorded nearly 200 individuals during criminal investigations, many of them drug cases. These recordings made by a phone app called …
The ACLU Calls for a Moratorium on Blanket Recording of ALPR Footage by Kevin Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) has published an appeal to the general public asking for organized opposition to the encroaching blanket surveillance company, Flock Safety. Concerns continue to be expressed …
Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023
The Inevitability of Central Bank Digital Currencies and Their Threat to Human Rights by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso Bitcoin is rapidly changing the way we function as individuals in a global and interconnected economy. Even though any individual person may not own or use it directly, it is reshaping …
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Rejects Federal Central Bank Digital Currency, Signs Groundbreaking Bill Safeguarding Personal Finances from Government Control and Surveillance by Miles Dyson by Miles Dyson In a historic, first-of-its kind law in the nation, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida signed into law on May 12, 2023, a landmark …
Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022
When Your Criminal Case Is Dropped, But Your Mugshot Lives Forever by Julie Levitch by Julie Levitch, The Crime Report Just as protests spread across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd, I was arrested—a white, middle-class, suburban mom with no criminal record. While the appalling circumstances …
Article • August 15, 2021 • from CLN September, 2021
Delaware Supreme Court: Substitution Not Allowed for Chain of Custody Witness by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Delaware vacated a defendant’s convictions for substance possession after the trial court allowed the State to substitute a different officer for testimony instead of the one who conducted …
Third Circuit: No Categorical Ban on Reliability of Recantations as New Evidence by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a district court’s “categorical” ban on using a witness’ recantation (and confession to the crime) as new evidence to show actual …
Publication • October 6, 2008
Addressing the Evidentiary Sources of Wrongful Convictions, Southwestern University Law Review, 2008 LITTLE M ACRO.DOC 10/6/08 11:23 PM ADDRESSING THE EVIDENTIARY SOURCES OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION OF EVIDENCE IN CAPITAL STATUTES Rory K. Little∗ In an effort to provoke realistic remedial thinking,1 this essay presents and discusses a proposed …