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How to Build a Human; A Forensics Company Tells Cops It Can Use DNA to Predict a Suspect’s Face. Scientists Worry the Tool Will Deepen Racial Bias. by Jordan Smith Originally published on February 2, 2025. Republished with permission from The Intercept https://theintercept.com/2025/02/02/forensic-dna-phenotyping-parabon-nanolabs-police/, an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to …
‘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 …
AI Identifies Sex From Skulls Faster and More Accurately Than Experts by James Mills by James Mills Artificial intelligence has exceeded human capabilities in yet another area. AI has surpassed human forensic experts in determining biological sex from skeletal remains. Forensic anthropologists traditionally analyze human skeletons to estimate age, lifestyle, …
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 • 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
FBI Pressured Forensic Science Group to Censor Critical Workshops, Emails Reveal by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson When the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (“AAFS”) announced its lineup of workshops for a recent conference, Ted Hunt, a senior policy advisor to the FBI’s crime lab, demanded that references to …
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 • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Federal Facial Recognition Technology Fails Again by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson The federal government has again discovered that its use of facial recognition technology (“FRT”) harms Americans. The agencies using the technology are often doing so with little oversight or training, which is what the Government Accountability Office …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Desorption electrospray ionization, a type of mass spectrometry (“DESI-MS”), is being studied as a way to analyze overlapping or weak fingerprints, solving an age-old problem of evidence quality. For over a …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Filed under: Forensic Sciences
New AI Tool Harnesses Microbiomes for Forensic and Medical Breakthroughs by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A research team at Sweden’s Lund University unveiled an AI-driven system in a paper first released on October 7, 2024, titled “Microbiome Geographic Population Structure (mGPS) Detects Fine-Scale Geography.” mGPS uses microorganisms …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Habeas Relief in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Criminal Court of Appeals of Texas, the state’s highest court in criminal cases, granted a prisoner’s habeas corpus petition based on advances in science that undermined the validity of evidence …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Study Highlights Limitations in Forensic DNA Analysis Involving Lower Genetic Diversity Groups by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Not A University of Oregon study, “Decreased accuracy of forensic DNA mixture analysis for groups with lower genetic diversity” published in Volume 27, Issue 11, 111067 of iScience in November 2024 …
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Colorado Bureau of Investigation Admits Over 1,000 Cases Affected by DNA Test Misconduct by James Mills by James Mills The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (“CBI”) announced that more than 1,000 cases could be affected by the systematic deletion and falsification of data by forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods. Woods was …
SCOTUS Announces Confrontation Clause Prohibits Expert Witness From Testifying About Non-­Testifying Expert’s Statements Regarding Forensic Testing Performed by Non-­Testifying Expert in Support of Testifying Expert’s Opinion Testimony at Trial by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause …
Article • January 15, 2025 • from CLN November, 2024
NIJ Partners With Doctor to Develop Better Screening Method to Detect and Identify Drugs Postmortem by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The illicit drug market is ever evolving, with new drugs (called “novel psychoactive substances” or “NPS”) steadily appearing to avoid detection and legal consequences. Between January 2018 and December …
Article • January 15, 2025 • from CLN January, 2025
Understanding Timestamps in Digital Forensics by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson Modern computing systems constantly record when a specific event occurs. A common example of this is the timestamp applied to a document file that indicates when the file was last updated. But the timestamps can be more pernicious. …
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Scent of Death Evidence Admitted at Indiana Murder Trial by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford In May 2024, John Hallett, 54, of Michigan City was found guilty of murdering his roommate and then dismembering the body. Prosecutors obtained the conviction by relying on novel “scent of death” evidence to prove …
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Recovering Deleted Messages by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson It should come as no surprise that anything you delete on your device is not necessarily gone. Cops using forensic software can often look into a device’s primary storage (as well as cloud storage) and pull up information that the …
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Arkansas Supreme Court Announces Petition for Testing Forensic Evidence Based on Advances in Technology Under Act 1780 of 2001 May Be Filed by Anyone Convicted of a Crime, Not Just Those Still in State Custody by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Arkansas held that courts …
Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024
University of Maryland Carey Law Pioneers Forensic Defense Clinic by The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in Baltimore has launched the nation’s first Forensic Defense Clinic designed to equip law students with specialized knowledge in forensic evidence and its role in criminal law. This clinic, led …
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