|
DOJ Failed to Review 7,250 Cases on Phony Forensics
Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, one of the brightest legal minds in the country and fearless in his willingness to hold the government accountable, has issued another challenge to our justice system writ large and the Department of Justice in particular. In today’s Wall Street Journal, Judge Kozinski explains the importance of a report the White House is releasing today from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology [PCAST].This report calls into question or flat out condemns “the scientific validity of forensic evidence techniques” on which rest countless criminal convictions in federal and state courts across the country. This includes DNA, fingerprint, bitemark, firearm, footwear and hair analysis. As Judge Kozinski notes, television shows like CSI have instilled a belief that these methods can be trusted, and many juries have convicted based on them. But in truth, both the methods and those who apply them are quite fallible. Indeed, Judge Kozinski writes, “Bitemark analysis is about as reliable as astrology.” There are many examples of false identifications—even with fingerprints, which we have long thought were so accurate. One need only look to the FBI’s declaration that the 2004 Madrid bombing fingerprint matched that of an American lawyer. Fortunately for that American, Spanish authorities identified the real bomber. More at the link Posted by: badanov 2016-09-21 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=468159 |