Today’s New York Time’s has an op-ed article by Professor Jennifer Mnookin of UCLA, “Can a Jury Believe What It Sees? Videotaped Confessions Can Be Misleading” Prof. Mnookin was a member of the group that helped produced the National
Failed Evidence
The Failed Evidence blog, published by Failed Evidence, focuses on issues related to wrongful convictions and the reliability of evidence in the criminal justice system. It covers topics such as the recording of police interrogations, the scientific evaluation of eyewitness testimony and confessions, and the impact of forensic science reforms. The blog discusses legal developments, court decisions, and policy changes affecting interrogation practices and expert testimony. It also addresses the role of law enforcement procedures and public safety leadership in ensuring fair and accurate criminal investigations. The blog emphasizes the importance of scientific research and procedural safeguards to prevent false confessions and wrongful convictions.
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One Court, One Day, One Issue, Two Cases: Opposite Conclusions on Experts Testimony on Eyewitnesses and Confessions
On May 28, 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court published two opinions about whether juries could hear from experts. In Commonwealth v. Walker, the Court said an expert could tell the jury about the traps and weaknesses involved in eyewitness witness…
Picking a New Police Chief: At Last, the Process Begins in Pittsburgh
Over a year ago, the chief of police in Pittsburgh resigned during a corruption scandal. (He subsequently pled guilty and has been sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison.) Very shortly after that, the incumbent mayor announced he would not…
Part II — US DOJ: FBI, DEA, ATF Will Record Questioning: Record The Whole Session
In my last post, I discussed the significance of the new US DOJ policy, effective July 11, that creates a presumption that all federal law enforcement agencies — the FBI, the DEA, ATF, and all the rest, will record…
US DOJ: FBI, DEA, ATF Will Record Questioning of Individuals in Custody
According to reports this morning by the Arizona Republic, National Public Radio, and other outlets, the U.S. Department of Justice has decided that federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, will electronically record interrogations of people in…
Assuring Conviction Integrity with a Systems Error Reduction Approach
Exoneration Report for 2013: Behind the Headlines, Two Significant Findings
On February 4, the National Registry of Exonerations published its yearly report for 2013. The Registry, a joint project of the University of Michigan Law School and the Center for Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Law School, collects…
National Commission on Forensic Science: A Step Toward National Standards
Following up on my last post, in which I asked why there were still no national standards for forensic science five years after the National Academy of Sciences’2009 report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States, and with scandal…
Is It Time for National Standards for Forensic Labs?
Here we are, more than a month after chemist Annie Dookhan, formerly of the Massachusetts State Drug Laboratory, entered a guilty plea to producing fraudulent forensic testing results, and went to prison. The scandal, potentially involving tens of thousands of…
Ten Steps Bill de Blasio and Bill Bratton Should Take to Fix Stop-and-Frisk
New York City will have a new mayor in 2014. In my article “Ten Steps Bill de Blasio and Bill Bratton Should Take to Fix Stop-and-Frisk,” published in The Nation, I offer a way forward for Mr. de Blasio…