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Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions

Loaded on Oct. 15, 2010 by Matthew Clarke published in Prison Legal News October, 2010, page 1
Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Evidence, DNA Testing/Samples, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Crime, Statistics/Trends, Databases, Conspiracy, Staffing, Jury Instructions, Expert Witnesses, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Failure to Train/Supervise. Locations: United Kingdom, India, United States of America.

To millions of people whose knowledge of crime labs comes from television shows such as CSI, Bones, Crossing Jordan and the venerable Quincy M.E., the forensic experts who work at such labs seem to be infallible scientists who use validated scientific techniques to follow the evidence to the truth, regardless ...

 

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More from this issue:

  1. Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
  2. Prisoners of the Census in New York: Democracy on the March!, by Eric Lotke
  3. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  4. New York Prisons Avoid Budget Axe, by David Reutter
  5. Are Doctors Complicit in Prison Torture? The Maine Medical Community Looks at Solitary Confinement, by Lance Tapley
  6. State Auditor Issues Report on Washington Department of Corrections
  7. $13 Million Settlement in DC Mass Arrest of Protestors, by David Reutter
  8. Settlement Allows North Carolina Prisoners to Receive Compensation for Writings, by David Reutter
  9. Expanded Eligibility for New York Medical Parole Has Little Effect, by Matthew Clarke
  10. Ex-Cons Face Tougher Job Market in Great Recession, by David Reutter
  11. Governing Through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear, by Jonathan Simon (Oxford University Press 2007), 344 pages, by Ian Head
  12. New York Prison Chaplain Accused of Smuggling Weapons
  13. Prisoners’ Self-Help Litigation Manual, 4th Edition, by John Boston and Daniel Manville, Oxford University Press, 960 Pages, $39.95, by Paul Wright
  14. Former President of Florida Sheriff’s Association Enters Plea in Kickback Scheme, by David Reutter
  15. $3.125 Million in Settlements in Oregon Prisoner’s Beating Death
  16. Tennessee Judge Facing Misconduct Charges Tries to Depose Disciplinary Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
  17. Pennsylvania Prisoner Awarded $185,000 in Civil Rights Claim; Harassment Continues, by David Reutter
  18. Ninth Circuit Says Qualified Immunity Warranted for Comb-Binding Denial, by Mark Wilson
  19. Washington Prisoners Need Not Show Prima Facie Case Upon Challenging Prison Discipline, by David Reutter
  20. Virginia Issues Report on Monitoring of Sex Offenders Subject to Registration
  21. Georgia Ends Contact Visits for Death Row Prisoners, by David Reutter
  22. Texas Controversy: Governor Guts Forensic Science Commission, by Matthew Clarke
  23. For Lease: Never-Used 525-Bed Oregon Jail, $45 Million or Best Offer, by Mark Wilson
  24. Seventh Circuit Upholds Ban on Dungeons & Dragons, by Brandon Sample
  25. New York Prison Superintendents Live in Lap of Luxury on Taxpayer Subsidy
  26. Third Circuit Reverses $642,398.57 Attorney Fee Award for RFRA Claim by Immigration Prisoner
  27. U.S. Supreme Court: No Bivens Remedy Available Against PHS Staff, by Brandon Sample
  28. Fraudsters Sentenced in Cornell Prison Construction Scheme, by Brandon Sample
  29. Successful Appellate Ruling Invalidating Statute Creates Prevailing Party for Attorney Fee Award, by David Reutter
  30. Exhaustion Excused Where Warden Misled Prisoner During Grievance Process, by Brandon Sample
  31. Ninth Circuit: Los Angeles County Not Liable for Occasional Over-Detentions, by Michael Brodheim
  32. Female Assistant Attorney General Pleads Guilty in Wife-Beating Case, by Mark Wilson
  33. Sexual Abuse of Youths at Tennessee Juvenile Facility Widespread, by David Reutter
  34. Fake Rape Claim Puts Woman in Prison, by Brandon Sample
  35. News in Brief:
  36. Limitations Period in Suit Over Delay in Providing Surgery Begins When Prisoner is Recommended for Surgery, by Brandon Sample

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