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Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Evidence
What Do Snowmobiles, Mercury Emissions, Greenhouse Gases, And Runoff Have In Common?: The Controversy Over "Junk Science", Linda A. Malone
What Do Snowmobiles, Mercury Emissions, Greenhouse Gases, And Runoff Have In Common?: The Controversy Over "Junk Science", Linda A. Malone
Linda A. Malone
No abstract provided.
Resolving The Frye Dilemma: A Reliability Approach, Fredric I. Lederer
Resolving The Frye Dilemma: A Reliability Approach, Fredric I. Lederer
Fredric I. Lederer
No abstract provided.
The New Pcast Report To The President Of The United States On Forensic Science, Robert M. Sanger
The New Pcast Report To The President Of The United States On Forensic Science, Robert M. Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
The Hallmark Of A Champion—Or Not, Robert Sanger
The Hallmark Of A Champion—Or Not, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
Two decisions that just came down, one from the United States Supreme Court and the other from the California Supreme Court. The former is Hall v. Florida and the latter is In re Champion on Habeas Corpus. The Hall and Champion cases, although they do not cite each other, both discuss significant issues with regard to who is eligible for execution under the Atkins decision.
Hall and Champion perpetuate the myth that capital punishment can be imposed accurately and consistently. Additionally, both cases contain serious errors in interpreting science while suggesting that life and death decisions can be based on …
Rapid Dna Testing, Robert M. Sanger
Rapid Dna Testing, Robert M. Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
In 2010, the FBI began the process of encouraging the development of Rapid DNA testing. Rapid DNA testing involves a fully automated process of developing a “short tandem repeat” (STR) profile from a reference sample. The process consists of automated extraction, amplification, separation, detection and allele calling without human intervention. In other words, it is a quick, hands free method of obtaining a DNA profile.
In this article we will look at this new and expanding area of scientific technology. We will also look at the efforts to regulate it and maintain appropriate scientific standards as well as the issues …
Science Is Not Waiting For The Courts, Robert Sanger
Science Is Not Waiting For The Courts, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
The Forensic Science Community and the federal government are moving far beyond the courts in an effort to improve the quality of scientific evidence and expert testimony in the courts. Major events in forensics have caused a top to bottom reconsideration of what should count as expert testimony. Last month, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) convened the first set of meetings of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC). This is a forward-looking approach to forensic science.
The first OSAC meetings were held on February 16 and 17, 2015, at …
Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient Test Scores And The Impropriety Of “Ethnic (Or Socio-Economic) Adjustment” In Atkins Cases, Robert Sanger
Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient Test Scores And The Impropriety Of “Ethnic (Or Socio-Economic) Adjustment” In Atkins Cases, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
After attending this presentation, attendees will gain new information regarding developments in epigenetics which relate to the validity of Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) scores in determining intellectual disability for the purpose of eligibility of a criminal defendant to be executed if otherwise subject to the death penalty. (Complete Abstract at page 727 of the proceedings: http://www.aafs.org/sites/default/files/2015/2015Proceedings.pdf )
Empiricism In Daubert And The California Supreme Court In Sargon, Robert Sanger
Empiricism In Daubert And The California Supreme Court In Sargon, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
California has become a Daubert state. In Sargon v. The University of Southern California, the California Supreme Court held that judges are the “gatekeepers” with regard to expert or scientific evidence in this state, just as has been the case in the federal system (and many other states) since the decision in Daubert. Now that California is avowedly a Daubert state, it is important to understand why courtroom evidence – scientific, expert or, for that matter, otherwise – is properly grounded in empiricism. Empiricism is the theory that knowledge is derived from experience. Understanding this empirical basis for both Daubert …
A Scientific Approach To Scientific Evidence: A Four-Stage Rule For Admissibility And Scope, Robert Sanger
A Scientific Approach To Scientific Evidence: A Four-Stage Rule For Admissibility And Scope, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
Scientific or expert testimony is often critical in criminal cases. The Supreme Court has established that the trial judge is the "gatekeeper" who is to determine what evidence is allowed before the jury. The current rules of evidence are not organized in a way that makes this task readily intelligible. This chapter proposes a more direct our-step process to accomplish the gatekeeping function.
The New Rules For Admissibility Of Expert Testimony: Part Ii, Robert Sanger
The New Rules For Admissibility Of Expert Testimony: Part Ii, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
As described in the last Criminal Justice column for the Santa Barbara Lawyer magazine, the California Supreme Court’s opinion in Sargon Enterprises v. University of Southern California, 55 Cal. 4th 747, 149 Cal. Rptr. 3d 614 (2012) made it clear that California is now, (and perhaps unsuspectingly has been for some time), a Daubert jurisdiction. This requires the trial court be the “gatekeeper” and make a determination as to the admissibility of scientific or expert testimony and to determine the limits of any testimony, if it is introduced. The Court held that there are essentially three criteria: The first criterion …
The New Rules For Admissibility Of Expert Testimony: Part I, Robert Sanger
The New Rules For Admissibility Of Expert Testimony: Part I, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
In a previous series of articles for this magazine, I took the position that California really was a Daubert jurisdiction in the sense that Kelly and Frye and thenexisting case law required that the court be the “gatekeeper” and make a determination as to: 1) whether a science (or area of expertise) was a science (or area of expertise); 2) whether the witness was a scientist (or expert); 3) whether the data was reliable; and then, and only then, 4) what a true scientist (or expert) could say based on the science and based on the reliable data. In the …
The Admissibility Of Bayesian Likelihood Ratios, Robert Sanger
The Admissibility Of Bayesian Likelihood Ratios, Robert Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
As someone once said, “there are lies, damned lies and statistics.” Anyone who has tried a case where statistics are presented to the jury knows how powerful statistics can be. Jurors are generally not versed in statistics and are vulnerable to being misled. Ironically, judges may not be much better at identifying valid statistical analyses as opposed to bogus ones.
In this Criminal Justice column we will look at statistical analysis and its place in the courtroom. We will look at a recent decision of the British Courts and the implications for that type of thinking on American jurisprudence. To …
Lawyers Judging Experts: Oversimplifying Science And Undervaluing Advocacy To Construct An Ethical Duty?, David S. Caudill
Lawyers Judging Experts: Oversimplifying Science And Undervaluing Advocacy To Construct An Ethical Duty?, David S. Caudill
David S Caudill
My focus is on an apparent trend at the intersection of the fields of evidentiary standards for expert admissibility and professional responsibility, namely the eagerness to place more ethical responsibilities on lawyers to vet their proffered expertise to ensure its reliability. My reservations about this trend are not only based on its troubling implications for the lawyer’s duty as a zealous advocate, which already has obvious limitations (because of lawyers’ conflicting duties to the court), but are also based on the problematic aspects of many reliability determinations. To expect attorneys - and this is what the proponents of a duty …
Toward A Neuroscience Model Of Tort Law: How Functional Neuroimaging Will Transform Tort Doctrine, Jean Eggen, Eric Laury
Toward A Neuroscience Model Of Tort Law: How Functional Neuroimaging Will Transform Tort Doctrine, Jean Eggen, Eric Laury
Jean M. Eggen
The “neuroscience revolution” has now gained the attention of legal thinkers and is poised to be the catalyst for significant changes in the law. Over the past several decades, research in functional neuroimaging has sought to explain a vast array of human thought processes and behaviors, and the law has taken notice. Although functional neuroimaging is not yet close to being a staple in the courtroom, the information acquired from these studies has been featured in a handful of cases, including a few before the United States Supreme Court. Our assertion involves the incorporation of functional neuroscience evidence in tort …
Close Test Scores And Epigenetics In Atkins Cases, Robert M. Sanger
Close Test Scores And Epigenetics In Atkins Cases, Robert M. Sanger
Robert M. Sanger
In the Atkins case, the United States Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional to execute a person who was intellectually disabled (mentally retarded). An IQ score is evidence that can be considered in making the determination of whether a particular individual is intellectually disabled. Certain prosecution experts seek to add points to the scores of African Americans as a form of "ethnic adjustment" making those individuals more susceptible to being put to death. This article examines the molecular biology issues that may have an effect on whether such points should properly be added.