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Flawed bite-mark evidence: Bulletin: Radley Balko lays out developments related to this much maligned - and rightly so - forensic discipline, for lack of a better word, in his Washington Post account of the "most-read posts, series, favorite posts and reactions to headlines from the world of criminal justice and civil liberties in 2016, in his worthy column "The Watch."

Next: Predictive policing: Oakland, California police department bucks the national (US) trend and turns down predictive policing. Emily Thomas explains why in Motherboard. (VICE)..."That’s when Figueroa put the note on his wall. “Maybe we could reduce crime more by using predictive policing, but the unintended consequences [are] even more damaging… and it’s just not worth it,” Birch said. He said it could lead to even more disproportionate stops of African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities. The Oakland police’s decision runs counter to a broader nationwide trend. Departments in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago are turning to predictive policing software like PredPol as a way to reduce crime by deploying officers and resources more effectively. A 2013 PredPol pilot in Atlanta was one of the first key tests of the software. According to a 2014 national survey conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based think tank made up of police executives, 70 percent of police department representatives surveyed said they expected to implement the technology in the next two to five years."
Previous: Steven Avery: 'Making a Murderer.' Wisconsin; False Confessions (5); Avery says "science" will save him - and Brendan Dassey - as he wishes supporters Merry Christmas..."Dassey's lawyer has landed a procedural victory in federal court which opens the way for a slew of new evidence to be introduced, according to the Mail Online. If they get what they want, the state's attempt at a retrial would lack its central plank - the confession. The lawyers reportedly believe this would lead to the case being abandoned before the trial and that even if it went ahead, they'd secure a guilty verdict. They want to introduce evidence from experts, including Wicklander-Zulawski and Associates, a company that trains federal agencies and law enforcement officers to carry out interviews and interrogations. That refers to Dassey's taped confession which saw two officers interview him at school without a lawyer present. There was also suggestion in the documentary that they had led him in his answers. The experts have apparently been using the footage as an example of what not to do during an interrogation. Mail Online say that in the amicus brief (legal documents) filed to the appeal court the firm states: "Due in large part to notoriety garnered by the Making a Murder documentary on Netflix, Brendan's interrogation has been under much public scrutiny. "Certified interrogation specialists have used the video footage of Brendan's interrogation as the proverbial 'what not to do' in training courses and pointed to the officers' practices to demonstrate the impropriety of Brendan's interrogation. "Experts point to key errors in the handling of the interrogation: (1) a failure to adequately account for Brendan's juvenile status and intellectual disability; (2) the use of coercion in the form of promises of leniency and threats of harm; (3) the use of false evidence ploys; and 4) the divulging of investigative information through leading questions or other tactics." The Juvenile Law Center (JLC), which specialises in youth crime and wrongful convictions is also expected to submit an amicus brief."
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POST: "It’s the last week of the year. So in keeping with Internet tradition, here’s a look back at 2016 here at The Watch, including most-read posts, series, favorite posts and reactions to headlines from the world of criminal justice and civil liberties..."Lots of news from the world of bite marks: Disgraced bite-mark expert Michael West lost his mind during a deposition for a death penalty case (and afterward, Mississippi officials not only defended West, they also bizarrely attacked the defendant’s attorneys). The Texas Forensic Science Commission recommended a moratorium on bite mark evidence. Manhattan prosecutor (and defender of bite mark matching) Melissa Mourges conceded defeat (sort of). Meanwhile, there were more exonerations and, somehow, still more cases in which bite mark evidence was upheld by the court."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2016/12/28/the-watch-year-in-review/?utm_term=.f0af9492b150

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