Forensics roundup

  • “It should not be ‘customary’ for police investigators to attend autopsies, hover over a medical examiner as he works, and point out things they believe fit their theory of the crime. It shouldn’t happen at all.” [Radley Balko on Fifth Circuit ruling in Dean v. Phatak]
  • Dubious forensics were central to the federal government’s litigation onslaught seeking to pin blame on forestry company for Moonlight Fire damage in California [Robert Nelson, Law and Liberty, earlier]
  • “Memory experts … were significantly more skeptical about repressed memory compared to practitioners, students and the public.” [Lawrence Patihis et al., Memory]
  • Child abuse panic 20 years later: “San Antonio Four” women finally exonerated after wrongful conviction [Elizabeth Zavala, San Antonio Express-News]
  • Yes, police body cams can make a difference in exonerating the officer [Ashley May, USA Today, Scott Greenfield] Or not [Joe Setyon, Reason on Detroit home invasion]
  • Re-examining the Tennessee conviction of Claude Garrett for arson murder [Liliana Segura, The Intercept, earlier on arson forensics]

Forensics roundup curated from Overlawyered

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