The New Phonebooks are Here!!! The New Phonebooks are Here!!!

O.K., not the new phonebooks, but a book I have been awaiting, with the same anticipation that Navin R. Johnson, born a poor black boy in Mississippi, had for the book that would make him "Somebody".

The National Academy of Science has finally published their findings from a Congressional request to assess the value of forensic science in the U.S.. It's 254 pages long, and I have not yet had a chance to read it... but the reviews are in... with the exception of DNA analysis, Forensics is pretty much BS.

The report is available in various formats from 33 bucks to 50. But, it can be perused online for free.

For summaries from people I steal from better at this blawg thing than I... go to Simple Justice and Grits for Breakfast.

I expect an increase in Daubert hearings in the coming months!

In the mean time, stay away from cans!

Really need to do an update...

My power is back, so is internet, so reason for not posting is pure lazy...

First, and really interesting, are Breathalyzers racist?

Second, all Defense Attorneys are subject to 11.42's, malpractice suits and bar complaints... I haven't researched it yet (I should) but I doubt PDs can even claim Soverign Immunity. Prosecutors have it a LOT better.

And, for a bit of fun, The Texas Criminal Law Generator... usually when state rankings come out, my Commonwealth's motto is "Kentucky... Thank God for Mississippi!", but when it comes to overcriminalizing, it should be "Kentucky... Thank God for Texas!". (Texas has no less than 11 Oyster related felonies!)

I really wish I could tell my clients to avoid or ignore subpoenas!!!

Montana is about to eviscerate Rule 404(b)

The Modern-day Scarlet Letter

One reason to oppose the Death Penalty.

Megan's Law doesn't work.

The other reason to oppose the death penalty.



*whew*... that clears most of my buffer... I'm out!

Back part II

My wife and I have finally ended our time as "Internally Displaced Persons" as the modern parlance goes. I expect to do a few updates over the next few days to clear out a few articles I bookmarked during the last couple of weeks.

• First things first, my best wishes for a speedy recovery to Justice Ginsburg.

• Later this month, the National Academy of Science is releasing a report that may set forensic evidence on its ear. From the New York Times Report, we can expect:

"a sweeping critique of many forensic methods that the police and prosecutors rely on, including fingerprinting, firearms identification and analysis of bite marks, blood spatter, hair and handwriting."

The report uses terms such as "outmoded" and "junk science" and could put much of the prosecutions "go-to" forensic methods in doubt.

• A report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that the ADHD medication Ritalin (all too familiar to Juvie practitioners) causes the brain to change in a manner similar to cocaine use.
  

• Should Michael Phelps be martyr for drug law reform?

• Two tangential topics, on my mind due to pending family changes... Maternity wear for the expecting attorney... and an analysis of a Social Science Quarterly article that suggests that naming your child the wrong thing may condemn him/her to a life of crime.

And last for today... should I mistype, misspell, misgrammar or what-have-you... gimmie a break, it could happen to anyone.