New Jersey Supreme Court Announces “Shaking Without Impact” Expert Testimony Inadmissible, Holding Shaken Baby Syndrome Diagnosis Lacks Required General Acceptance Within Biomechanical Engineering Community Under Frye by David Kim by David Kim he Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the exclusion of expert testimony regarding Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma …

When AI Invents the Pixels: Challenging AI-Enhanced Video Evidence in Criminal Cases by Richard Resch by Richard Resch When prosecutors offer “enhanced” surveillance footage or body-camera video, defense counsel must understand what enhancement actually means. Traditional forensic methods such as adjusting brightness, applying contrast filters, or using established interpolation algorithms …

Ninth Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Plea Agreement’s Factual Basis, Holding Unaccepted “Type A” Plea Agreement Unenforceable to Trigger Waiver of Rule 410 Protections by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the exclusion of the factual basis from the defendant’s …

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 …

New York Court of Appeals Overturns Harvey Weinstein’s Convictions Based on Trial Court Rulings That Admitted Prejudicial ‘Prior Bad Acts’ Into Evidence and Violated His Right to Testify in His Own Defense by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Court of Appeals of New York reversed Harvey Weinstein’s convictions for …

West Virginia University Forensic Scientists Provide a Benchmark for Analyzing Duct Tape Fracture Edges by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A common household item is being analyzed by forensic scientists as the newest tool in crime scene investigations. Researchers at West Virginia University are establishing the standard for …

Sixth Circuit: State Court Committed Constitutional Error in Applying Ohio Rules of Evidence 606(B) to Deny Right to Fair Trial by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the state courts’ application of Ohio Rules of Evidence 606(B) constituted constitutional error, …