My 'forensic science' wish list for President-Elect Bidan: Overturn ASAP the anti-science, anti-truth policies put in place during the Trump regime by then Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

                                                  

Check out this week's ''Selfless Warriors Blog'  post  - released earlier today - at the link below: 

'Selfless Warrior" Laureena Hill/William Mullins-Johnson:..."His (William Mullins-Johnson) story was almost biblical: two brothers turned against each other, each convinced the other had committed an unspeakable crime, only to realize years later that the crime had never happened." John Chipman. Death in the family..."The 'biblical' aspect was intensified by the prophet-like role  played by the brother's mother 'Laureena,  the grieving mother caught in this hellish conflict between her sons, but unwavering in her belief that neither son had harmed her beloved grand-daughter."  (Harold Levy).

selflesswarriors.blogspot.com

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  (Back to The Charles Smith Blog):  In November 2017, I ran a post on this Blog, in which defence lawyer Ray Dall'Osto decried the Trump Regime's assault on the 'science' in 'forensic science' with an article on  Trump's then new Attorney General Jeff Sessions announcement in April 2017, that he would not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science - and his decision to suspend review of past FBI testimony on several questionable forensic science techniques. This was a  regressive move which could well lead to miscarriages of justice. I am re-running this post in the hope that others will join me in encouraging President-Elect Biden to restore the status quo that existed before Trump's intervention - as part of his overall proposals to reform America's criminal justice system.

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Until the Trump Administration, progress was being made towards improving the accuracy and reliability of forensic evidence. In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences evaluated the state of forensic science and, shockingly, concluded that many of the forensic evidence techniques commonly used in court in criminal cases actually have no scientific validity, including hair and fiber comparison analysis, and the resulting expert opinions rendered about such. An independent commission was established by President Obama in 2013, the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS), bringing together scientists, judges, crime lab experts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to analyze and improve the field of forensic science, which encompasses the many ways science is deployed in criminal justice. The NCFS was established partially in response to the National Academy of Sciences reports that highlighted the lack of standards for crime labs nationwide.  The NCFS was in the process of addressing the NAS concerns, attempting to review and improve testing standards and methods, and other forensic science shortcomings. That is, until President Trump’s new Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in April 2017, that he would not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science and suspended review of past FBI testimony on several questionable forensic science techniques. Never mind that innocent people wrongfully convicted, based on junk science and invalid expert opinions, are still in prison. Accurate, science-based forensic analysis, like other science that the Trump Administration disagrees with or chooses to ignore, be damned.  Had AG Sessions’ new policy been in effect over the past several years, the invalid hair and fiber comparison expert opinions rendered by FBI experts in many cases around the country, including Wisconsin, would have remained hidden."

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COMMENTARY:  "Reliable and Accurate Forensic Testing at Risk Under Attorney General Sessions," by defence lawyer Ray Dall'Osto, published by Criminal Defence on November 03, 2017.

GIST: "Several of my law firm colleagues and I, as well as others in the criminal defense bar in Wisconsin, regularly deal with DNA and other trace forensic evidence. The need for accurate and reliable forensic testing by law enforcement and state crime labs is critical, as our criminal clients’ lives and freedom is at stake. Testing methods, procedures and test results should be subject to independent peer review, common standards and certification. Just as important, forensic evidence testing and expert opinions about the results and what it means should be based on valid scientific and statistical principles, not outmoded theories, junk science or subjective statistics.

Until the Trump Administration, progress was being made towards improving the accuracy and reliability of forensic evidence. In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences evaluated the state of forensic science and, shockingly, concluded that many of the forensic evidence techniques commonly used in court in criminal cases actually have no scientific validity, including hair and fiber comparison analysis, and the resulting expert opinions rendered about such.

An independent commission was established by President Obama in 2013, the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS), bringing together scientists, judges, crime lab experts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to analyze and improve the field of forensic science, which encompasses the many ways science is deployed in criminal justice. The NCFS was established partially in response to the National Academy of Sciences reports that highlighted the lack of standards for crime labs nationwide. 

The NCFS was in the process of addressing the NAS concerns, attempting to review and improve testing standards and methods, and other forensic science shortcomings. That is, until President Trump’s new Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in April 2017, that he would not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science and suspended review of past FBI testimony on several questionable forensic science techniques.

Never mind that innocent people wrongfully convicted, based on junk science and invalid expert opinions, are still in prison. Accurate, science-based forensic analysis, like other science that the Trump Administration disagrees with or chooses to ignore, be damned. 

Had AG Sessions’ new policy been in effect over the past several years, the invalid hair and fiber comparison expert opinions rendered by FBI experts in many cases around the country, including Wisconsin, would have remained hidden.

Instead, in 2015, letters were issued by the U.S. Department of Justice to the state prosecutor and later copied to me, advising that FBI expert opinions rendered in my client Larry Fandrich’s case” exceeded the limits of science” and were therefore invalid.

I recommend the October 2017 articles by Katherine Proctor of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, for an in-depth review of what happened to Larry Fandrich and other persons who were convicted and imprisoned based on erroneous or invalid scientific tests and expert opinions..........

The Inquisition persecutors of Galileo are smiling at the new Trump/Sessions policy of ignoring and denying scientific fact and method. Americans should be very, very scared about how these anti-science, anti-truth policies threaten the fairness and reliability of our criminal justice system."

The entire commentary can be found at:
http://www.grgblaw.com/wisconsin-trial-lawyers/accurate-forensic-testing-at-risk-under-attorney-general-sessions

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD (FOR NOW!): "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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