Legal Studies Commons^™

Internal Validation Of Mastr™ Probabilistic Genotyping Software For The Interpretation Of 2–5 Person Mixed Dna Profiles, Michael S. Adamowicz, Taylor N. Rambo, Jennifer L. Clarke

Forensic Science: Faculty and Staff Publications

Mixed human deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples present one of the most challenging pieces of evidence that a forensic analyst can encounter. When multiple contributors, stochastic amplification, and allele drop-out further complicate the mixture profile, interpretation by hand becomes unreliable and statistical analysis problematic. Probabilistic genotyping software has provided a tool to address complex mixture interpretation and provide likelihood ratios for defined sets of propositions. The MaSTR™ software is a fully continuous probabilistic system that considers a wide range of STR profile data to provide likelihood ratios on DNA mixtures. Mixtures with two to five contributors and a range of component …

Death Scene Insect Succession In Nebraska: A Guidebook, Erin Bauer, Larry Barksdale, Emma Sidel, Justine Laviolette

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Insect behavior can be helpful to law enforcement in determining time of death, manner of death, location, and environment related to human or other animal victims found at a death scene. They may also provide clues about other aspects associated with an investigation (i.e., fly specks, suspect DNA). The study of how insects and related arthropods can aid in legal investigations is known as forensic entomology. Although this includes both civil applications, such as urban (i.e., maggots in mortuaries or insect structural damage) or stored product (i.e., illness from food contamination) entomology, this manual focuses on criminal applications, such as …

The Risk Protection Order: Protection From Mass Homicide?, Brooke Elvington

Theses and Dissertations

Gun control measures, referred to as “risk protection orders” or “Red Flag” laws, are expanding with widespread public support. Currently, 19 states have similar legislation, varying in procedural approaches and enforcement to reduce firearm-related homicide, emphasizing mass homicide. However, little is known about whether the legislation is effective. The following questions are presented: (1) Is there a difference between rates of firearm related homicide incidences prior to and after the creation of Florida’s “Red Flag” law? (2) Do risk protection orders target individuals demonstrating known mass homicide offender typology characteristics? The study used data derived from open-source resources. An interrupted …

Assessment Of Quechers Extraction Protocol For The Lc-Ms/Ms Detection Of Emerging Fentanyl Analogs In Biological Specimens For Clinical And Forensic Purposes, Kylea M. Morris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Drug abuse within the United States is a dynamic and pervasive issue that affects the quality and life expectancy of our society. One of the major drug classes that are constantly utilized is opioids. Opioids are prescribed for pain management in patients suffering from cancer and other medical illnesses. Long-term use of opioids could lead to tolerance in humans, which poses a risk of reaching fatal overdose levels. Unfortunately, opioids are abused recreationally, and in some instances, individuals are unaware of the presence of dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl, hidden in materials such as heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and methamphetamine. Recent …

Identification Of The New Synthetic Opioid Bucinnazine And Its Metabolites Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (Lc-Ms/Ms), Karissa N. Resnik

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

In the past 20 years, the rate of opioid use increased drastically in the United States. The country has experienced an enormous number of deaths caused by opioid overdose, opioid use disorder (OUD), as well as other harms as a consequence of the high numbers of opioid prescriptions. Fentanyl, a well-known synthetic opioid, has been a contributor to the opioid crisis since 2013 due to its popularity in clinical and illicit use. It has a high potency, which makes it an effective analgesic but a dangerous illicit substance. A new synthetic opioid, bucinnazine, has recently become a new black-market opioid …

A Comparison Of Cyanoacrylate Fuming Followed By Mbd Dye Staining And Gun Bluing For Development Of Latent Fingerprints On Cartridge Cases, Jamie Zaleta

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

The development of latent fingerprints on cartridge cases is a desirable ability for the forensic laboratory, offering the potential to provide probative evidence as to the handler of whole ammunition or fired cartridge cases discovered at the crime scene. Previous studies have focused primarily on intentionally-laid fingerprints on cartridge case surfaces, which do not represent samples likely to come across the desk of a forensic analyst. This study focuses on naturally-handled ammunition and the success rates associated with latent fingerprints produced in a more realistic set of circumstances. A comparison was performed of two fingerprint development methods—gun bluing and MBD …

Optimization And Comparison Of Methods For Separation Of Spermatozoa From Superabsorbent Polymer-Containing Forensic Evidence, Hannah Wells

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Sexual assault is currently one of the most prevalent crimes that affects victims of all ages. Forensic DNA analysts often confirm proof of contact in sexual assault cases through the identification of spermatozoa and subsequent STR profiling. Diapers and other feminine hygiene products, such as maxi pads and ultrathin pads, are types of superabsorbent polymer-containing evidence that complicate the process of DNA analysis due to the trapping of the spermatozoa in the gel-like matrix. In this study, a comparison of methods was performed to determine which extraction technique produces the highest sperm cell and DNA yield and generates a usable …

Y-Chromosome Dna Extraction From Post-Cranial Skeletal Elements, Mykala D. Ward

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The use of DNA in forensic science has become an integral tool for victim and perpetrator identifications, missing person’s cases, paternity testing, etc. A major use of DNA is in the identification of unknown deceased individuals. With a reported number of individuals well over 8,000 in the United States, improved methods to accurately collect and analyze DNA from modern human bone are needed.

This project took the preliminary steps to improve DNA sampling and extraction methods by analyzing the Y-chromosome DNA yield from the two bone types. While both types are composed of the same materials, cortical bone is the …

Individualizing Criminal Law’S Justice Judgments: Shortcomings In The Doctrines Of Culpability, Mitigation, And Excuse, Paul H. Robinson, Lindsay Holcomb

All Faculty Scholarship

In judging an offender’s culpability, mitigation, or excuse, there seems to be general agreement that it is appropriate for the criminal law to take into account such things as the offender’s youthfulness or her significantly low IQ. There is even support for taking account of their distorted perceptions and reasoning induced by traumatic experiences, as in battered spouse syndrome. On the other hand, there seems to be equally strong opposition to taking account of things such as racism or homophobia that played a role in bringing about the offense. In between these two clear points, however, exists a large collection …

But What Is Personalized Law?, Sandra G. Mayson

All Faculty Scholarship

In Personalized Law: Different Rules for Different People, Omri Ben-Shahar and Ariel Porat undertake to ground a burgeoning field of legal thought. The book imagines and thoughtfully assesses an array of personalized legal rules, including individualized speed limits, fines calibrated to income, and medical disclosure requirements responsive to individual health profiles. Throughout, though, the conceptual parameters of “personalized law” remain elusive. It is clear that personalized law involves more data, more machine-learning, and more direct communication to individuals. But it is not clear how deep these changes go. Are they incremental—just today’s law with better tech—or do they represent …

Virtually Incredible: Rethinking Deference To Demeanor When Assessing Credibility In Asylum Cases Conducted By Video Teleconference, Liz Bradley, Hillary Farber

All Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic forced courthouses around the country to shutter their doors to in-person hearings and embrace video teleconferencing (VTC), launching a technology proliferation within the U.S. legal system. Immigration courts have long been authorized to use VTC, but the pandemic prompted the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to expand video capabilities and encourage the use of video “to the maximum extent practicable.” In this technology pivot, we must consider how VTC affects cases for international humanitarian protections, where an immigration judge’s ability to accurately gauge an applicant’s demeanor can have life-or-death consequences.

This Article takes a deep dive …

Decarceration's Inside Partners, Seema Saifee

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines a hidden phenomenon in criminal punishment. People in prison, during their incarceration, have made important—and sometimes extraordinary—strides toward reducing prison populations. In fact, stakeholders in many corners, from policy makers to researchers to abolitionists, have harnessed legal and conceptual strategies generated inside the walls to pursue decarceral strategies outside the walls. Despite this outside use of inside moves, legal scholarship has directed little attention to theorizing the potential of looking to people on the inside as partners in the long-term project of meaningfully reducing prison populations, or “decarceration.”

Building on the change-making agency and revolutionary ideation inside …

The Effects Of Incarceration On Depression And Anxiety In Juveniles, Melanie Alfonso

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Adolescents within the juvenile system suffer from a multitude of physical and mental health issues. Previous studies have linked incarceration to poor health in juveniles, but very few have been able to claim incarceration is the cause for the mental health issues found in incarcerated juveniles. Whether juveniles go into the system with pre-existing mental health disorders or not, still many factors are associated with the development of mental disorders while incarcerated. Based on what the field knows and does not know about the link between juvenile incarceration and mental health, the goal of this study was to determine if …

Limited Court Access V. Poor And Indigent, Chinyere Anunobi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In criminal cases, poor individuals must qualify as legally indigent to receive legal representation. In civil cases, poor and indigent individuals must find their own resources to support themselves since the government does not guarantee counsel. Without counsel, poor and indigent individuals are forced to find legal representation for these cases on their own, which can be difficult considering the expenses of fees and fines. Cognitive processes, including bias and stereotypes, create a barrier in advocacy because they cloud judgement of decision-makers, which can diminish the voice of this vulnerable community. Barriers like these create an invisible wall where limited …

Conceptual Complexity And Terrorist Rhetoric: Examining Conceptual Complexity’S Role In Political Violence, Westley S. Hunter

Honors Undergraduate Theses

It is well-documented that leaders' conceptual complexity can affect their decision-making, but what about its broader effects on political violence? While Hermann & Sakiev (2011) and Conway & Conway (2011) have examined terrorists' conceptual complexity before attacks, this study generates a more extensive analysis by examining weapon types and target types. This research explored the connection between a terrorist leader's level of conceptual complexity and the violent attacks their organizations commit, arguing that complexity lowers before an attack and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It employed a content analysis of Osama bin Laden's rhetoric from 1999 to 2003 to discern …

News Treatment Of The Supreme Court: Language Selection, Ideological Directions, And Public Support, Alexander Denison

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

In an increasingly diverse media landscape, how much of the ideological trends seen in current news reporting affect coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court? This work examines two different aspects of the Court's activities, their decisions and the confirmation hearings of Court nominees, analyzing what factors, if any, lead to differences in coverage language. Finally, through the use of a survey experiment, I analyze whether these differences in language, in combination with positive symbolic imagery, affect attitudes toward the institution. This work provides a novel consideration of whether the Court is subject to the same ideological slant found in coverage …

The Analysis Of Commercially Available Kratom Products In Richmond, Virginia, James H. Fleming Jr

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Kratom is a novel psychoactive substance that has gained popularity within the past ten years. Originating from Southeast Asia, the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree contain two principal alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, that play a key role in opioid-like effects. Twenty-nine kratom products were obtained from tobacco shops in the Richmond, Virginia area, including powders, teas, capsules, extracts, and a carbonated beverage. Samples were analyzed using Direct Analysis in Real Time-Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) for kratom alkaloids, labeled ingredients, and other possible organic compounds. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used to quantitate aluminum, arsenic, copper, iron, magnesium, nickel, …

Development Of A Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (Lamp) Assay For Detection Of Mirnas, Alisha B. Whelan

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Body fluid identification serves a vital role in contextualizing biological evidence received in forensic laboratories. While several fluids can be presumptively detected using immunological or catalytic tests, these tests are susceptible to false results and have limited sensitivity. True confirmatory testing is still somewhat limited in forensic laboratories. With the advancement of DNA typing technologies, laboratories can develop DNA profiles from trace amounts of sample, increasing the demand for sensitive and accurate body fluid detection. This project proposes using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) as a method to rapidly detect microRNAs (miRNAs) that are differentially expressed in various body fluids with …

Stability And Variation Within Donors Of Mirna Markers For Body Fluid Identification, Kelsey R. Price

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Traditional enzymatic tests for body fluid identification are prone to false negatives, false positives, and several body fluids do not have confirmatory or reliable presumptive tests. Therefore, molecular-based tests may be more reliable, such as messenger RNA (mRNA), microbial DNA, or microRNA (miRNA) assays.

miRNAs are small, noncoding RNAs whose main function in-vivo is the regulation of protein expression by selectively suppressing the translation of their corresponding mRNAs. They also lack a poly-A tail, and because of this, their small size, and their association with other molecules such as the RISC protein complex, they are more robust than other RNAs, …

Optimization Of A Microfluidic Device For Cell Capture Using Optical Trapping, Samantha C. Pagel

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Biological mixtures which result from evidence produced in sexual assault cases are one of the most common types of mixtures observed in forensic biology casework and have contributed to evidence backlogs across the country. In the forensic community, this has highlighted the need for a more efficient cell separation method at the beginning of the DNA analysis workflow than the currently accepted method. One promising novel front-end cell separation technique is optical trapping. In heterogeneous mixtures, optical tweezers have been demonstrated to manipulate and isolate cells of interest from other cell types.

For this research, a range of 5 to …