Bulletin: Xiaoxing Xi: Did 'confirmation bias' play role in espionage case? (Philly.com): "The report that all espionage charges against Temple University physicist Xiaoxing Xi have been withdrawn raises the obvious question: How could things have gone so wrong?"..."Confirmation bias is no stranger to criminal and forensic investigations. It played a part in the misidentification of a suspect in a 2004 terrorist train bombing in Madrid, and its effect has been shown repeatedly in research. Whether it is a DNA analyst or a fingerprint examiner, erroneous information or our expectations can cause the person to see what is not actually there or miss what is present. The concern about cognitive biases is neither illusory nor academic. It is now a subject of discussion at the National Commission on Forensic Science, and forensic labs and police agencies around the country are offering training on cognitive bias and potential systems responses to reduce its effect."

Countdown to Wrongful Conviction Day:  Friday, October 2,  2105; 6 days. For information: http://www.aidwyc.org/wcd-2015/

"The report that all espionage charges against Temple University physicist Xiaoxing Xi have been withdrawn raises the obvious question: How could things have gone so wrong? Reading the story raises a concern about cognitive biases at work. The term biases does not refer to a prejudice or dislike, but rather a process in which the brain biases the observer to favor a particular conclusion. One particular type, "confirmation bias," is common and particularly human: What a person expects to see colors the perception of what is then examined. Confirmation bias is no stranger to criminal and forensic investigations. It played a part in the misidentification of a suspect in a 2004 terrorist train bombing in Madrid, and its effect has been shown repeatedly in research. Whether it is a DNA analyst or a fingerprint examiner, erroneous information or our expectations can cause the person to see what is not actually there or miss what is present. The concern about cognitive biases is neither illusory nor academic. It is now a subject of discussion at the National Commission on Forensic Science, and forensic labs and police agencies around the country are offering training on cognitive bias and potential systems responses to reduce its effect. There is no easy antidote. But depending on the type of investigation, different tools may be used to reduce its effect. ........In the case of the Temple physicist, there is no way yet to know whether cognitive bias - the fear that Chinese-born scientists were engaged in espionage - "made" the investigators see what wasn't there: the "pocket heater" used in superconductor research that was supposed to be kept secret. But the question should be asked - internally at the FBI and in the Justice Department, and more generally in police or prosecutors' offices. The more we know about the risk of seeing what isn't there, the better we can reduce the risk of another Xiaoxing Xi being wrongfully charged." Jules Epstein is director of advocacy programs at Temple University's Beasley School of Law and a member of the National Commission on Forensic Science.
 http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20150923_Did__confirmation_bias__play_role_in_espionage_case_.html
Wikipedia account: "Xiaoxing Xi (Chinese: 郗小星; pinyin: Xī Xiǎoxīng; born 1958) is a Chinese-born American physicist. He is Laura H. Carnell Professor of Physics at Temple University in Philadelphia, and was chairman of Temple's physics department.^[1] In May 2015, the United States Department of Justice arrested him for allegedly sending restricted American technology to China, but dropped all charges in September after independent scientists discovered that the prosecutors had misconstrued the evidence against him...Xi was born in China and received his Ph.D. from Peking University in 1987. He was a researcher at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center in Germany, Bell Communication Research at Rutgers University, and University of Maryland, before becoming a faculty member of Pennsylvania State University in 1995. He was named chairman of Temple University's physics department in 2014.^[1] He moved to the United States in 1989 and has become a naturalized US citizen.^[2][3]...In May 2015, the United States Department of Justice accused him of sending restricted American technology to China, specifically, the design of a pocket heater used in superconductor research. Xi was arrested by about a dozen FBI agents at his home, and faced charges carrying a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison and a $1 million fine. He was put on administrative leave by Temple University, and resigned as chairman of the physics department.^[2][3 In September 2015, however, the DOJ dropped all charges against him after leading scientists, including a co-inventor of the pocket heater, provided affidavits that the schematics that Xi shared with Chinese scientists were not restricted technology, and not for a pocket heater.^[2][3] According to Xi's lawyer Peter Zeidenberg, the government did not understand the complicated science and failed to consult with experts before arresting him.^[2] He said that the information Xi shared, as part of "typical academic collaboration", was about a different device, which Xi co-invented and is not restricted technology.^[4]"
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaoxing_Xi