Forensic & Medical Evidence

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 Updated:
Tuesday, 6/22/2010

 

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Current Developments_________________________________

Current Developments Outside New York__________________

Special Reports_______________________________________

COMPUTER MANIPULATION OF FORENSIC EVIDENCE
Problems created by computer manipulation of fingerprint evidence and other forensic measurements are brought to light in articles written by Michael Cherry, imaging expert and principal at GMC7 Inc., Edward Imwinkelried, distinguished professor of law at the University of California, Davis School of Law, and Larry Meyer, imaging expert.

PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW
A collection of tutorials, literature, research and links, sponsored by the Criminal Justice & Behaviour Research Centre in the School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington New Zealand.

Reports______________________________________________

Science in Court (Nature Magazine, March 2010)
n this special, Nature examines the gap between academia and the forensic lab, and explores ways in which the two areas can come together to put science in court on a stronger footing.

Report Of Investigation Of The Trace Evidence Section F The New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center (NY Inspector General 2009)
This report presents the findings of an investigation by the New York State Inspector General of misconduct in the trace evidence section of the Forensic Investigation Center operated by the State Police. Scientists in the trace evidence section examine fibers, arson residue, footwear impressions, glass, hair, and other evidence to assist law enforcement in criminal investigations.

Inspector General Finds Crime Lab Misconduct in Monroe & Erie CountiesMonroe County Public Safety Laboratory ReportErie County Department of Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory ReportErie County Department of Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory Report (NY Inspector General 2009)
The New York State Inspector General found that between April 2008 and August 2008, a Forensic Chemist II of the Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory (MCPSL) failed to properly perform a required test when using the Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometry Instrument (GC/MS) to analyze a substance for the presence of a controlled substance, reports of which are submitted to prosecutorial offices. The Inspector General also confirmed that the Chemist manipulated computer data to create the false impression that she had received results on these tests indicating the machine was working properly when in fact her results should have compelled her to seek lab intervention to ensure accuracy of the instrument and rule out contamination.

Investigating Forensic Problems in the United States (Innocence Project 2009). Innocence Project report finds that the US Department of Justice is failing to ensure that forensic negligence and misconduct are properly investigated. Nearly five years ago, Congress passed legislation to improve forensic oversight, but today’s report shows that the federal government’s poor management of the program has kept serious problems in crime labs across the country from being addressed.

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (NAS 2009). It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community.

Investigation of Drug Test Irregularities at the NYPD Forensic Laboratory in 2002 (SIG 2007). The Inspector General finds that officials at the New York Police Department’s Forensic Investigations Division committed serious errors in 2002 in their responses to both suspected and confirmed misconduct committed by analysts in the Controlled Substance Analysis Section.

Report on the New York City Police Department Crime Laboratory Latent Print Development Unit Incident (NYS Commission of Investigation 2007). The commission conducted an investigation into the failure by a latent print development analyst to find and report latent prints on evidence at the New York City Police Department Laboratory in Queens. Through its investigation, the commissions sought to identify the cause of the analyst’s failure and to examine and assess the NYPD’s response to this problem.

Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories 2002 (BJS 2005). This report describes the organization, functions, budget and expenditures, staffing, workload, and forensic backlog in more than 350 publicly funded crime labs nationwide. Other areas reviewed included outsourcing and quality control. The report was prepared by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

50 Largest Crime Labs 2002 (BJS 2004). This report describes and analyzes the workload, backlog, and estimated resources in the 50 largest publicly funded crime laboratories in the US. This report was prepared by the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

PubMed Central (NLM). This is a database of free digital journals from the medical and life sciences. Archived copies of individual journals vary from a few months to decades. Full-text content can be search by keyword, or publications may be browsed individually. The collection is maintained by the National Library of Medicine.

Medical News & Weblog Aggregator. This is a collection of medical blogs from a variety of sources. It aggregates blog entries into user related areas, e.g., physicians, nurses, patients, and medical news. All entries are keyword searchable. The site is maintained by Jacob Reider, MD, Assistant Dean for Medical Informatics atAlbanyMedicalCollege.

Forensic Examination of Digital Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement (NIJ 2004). This guide was designed to aid law enforcement in developing, revising or implementing polices concerning the handling of digital evidence. Its chapters include: Policy and Procedure Development; Evidence Assessment; Evidence Acquisition; Evidence Examination; and Documenting and Reporting. It also has sections on case scenarios, a glossary, sample forms, and resource lists. This is the second guide in a series published by the National Institute of Justice. The first guide was Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders (NIJ 2001).

Forensic Center Newsletter . This is the home page of a newsletter that provides updates on current developments in forensic science, evidence, expert witnesses, identification, behavioral science, biological evidence and police procedures. It includes links to current articles and research resources in forensics. The publication is edited by Andre A. Moenssens, Professor of Law at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of Law.

Hand-Held Metal Detectors for Use in Concealed Weapon and Contraband Detection (NIJ 2003). This guide describes the use of hand-held metal detectors and establishes performance and field testing requirements. These standards were prepared by the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Researching Medical Literature on the Internet, LLRX (US), October 27, 2003. This article is a review and analysis of resources for researching medical and physician related data on the web. It includes annotated descriptions of databases and services in the following areas: Commercial Web Sites, Journals and Textbooks, Libraries and Nonprofit Organizations, Medical Search Engines and Visual Information, National Library of Medicine Databases, and Physician Information.

Finding Licensing and Other Information About Doctors, Virtual Chase, October 2003. This article describes different free and commercial sources for researching and verifying credentials of medical practitioners.

Daubert: The Most Influential Supreme Court Ruling You've Never Heard Of (SKAPP 2003). This report was prepared by the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP). It analyzes the effect of Daubert on the recognition and admission of scientific theories and evidence in civil and criminal cases.

American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, produces articles concerning new developments in forensic science of interest to medical and legal professionals. Current issues and an archive with many free full-text articles are available.

Poisons, Potions and Toxins' Toxicology Sources on the Web , Free Print, February 2003. This article describes Internet resources for researching toxicology. It includes references to national governmental agencies, databases, professional organizations, and chemical identification web sites. The list was prepared by Teresa Loughbrough, Information Scientist within the Knowledge and Information Science Unit at Unilever R&D Colworth in England.

Polygraph and Lie Detection (NAS 2003). This work was published by the Committee to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph of the National Research Council. It examines the efficacy of the polygraph in criminal investigations and in other settings. The authors raised concerns about the accuracy of polygraph results, and discussed alternative methods such as voice stress analysis and brain measurement techniques.

Breath Analysis Recertification Study Materials (DCJS 2003). This manual provides legal and technical information concerning Chemical Breath Analysis Applications used to train Breath Analysis Operators in New York State Law Enforcement. It was prepared by the Office of Public Safety Traffic Unit of the Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Forensic Analysis: Weighing Bullet Lead Evidence (NRC 2004). This report describes Compositional Analysis of Bullet Lead (CABL), which is used to compare bullets found without guns or evidence of striations. It points out its limitations as a means for identifying bullet sources. The report was prepared by the National Research Council.

Resurrecting the Smoking Gun: How to Find and Recover Evidence (ABA 2003). This is a discussion concerning computer discovery. It describes how deleted draft documents and emails can be recovered using various techniques and looking in the right sources. This document was presented at the ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference in 2003 by Joan E. Feldman, Computer Forensics, Inc. of Seattle, Washington.

Handbook of Forensic Services (FBI 2003). This Handbook provides information on the best methods for collecting, preserving, packaging, and shipping evidence to the FBI's Laboratory and Investigative Technology Divisions. It also includes descriptions of forensic examinations performed by the lab.

Presenting Medical Evidence in an Adult Rape Trial (NJEP). This is a collection of web sites that concern the analysis and presentation of sex crimes evidence at trial. It includes links to: Anatomical Charts, Medical Glossary and Acronyms; SAFE and SANE Programs; Cross-Examination of Defense's Medical Witness; Websites With Valuable Information for Sex Crimes Prosecutors; Sex Offenders, Treatment and Sentencing; and Voir Dire and Jury Instructions. The site is maintained by the National Judicial Education Program of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Depravity Scale (Forensic Panel). This is a research web site published by Michael Welner, M.D. and the Forensic Panel . The Panel is a group of scientists and clinicians advocating scientific integrity in the courts. They publish the Forensic Echo. The site contains articles and research about the depravity scale and the efforts of the Forensic Panel to develop a standardized measure of depravity in criminal cases. There is a survey on the site to further their research.
 

Research Links_______________________________________

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