Evidence

Data on man’s pacemaker led to his arrest on arson charges

Police charged a Middletown, Ohio, man with aggravated arson and insurance fraud after data on his pacemaker was inconsistent with his claims about his physical activity when his house burned down. Police said they charged Ross Compton, 59, after obtaining a warrant to search the pacemaker, report WLWT and the…

Feb 6, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Caught on Tape: Is slow-motion video biasing jurors?

The use of slow-motion video has become common in criminal cases. But a new study has found that watching crimes at slower speeds leads viewers to falsely believe perps have more time to think about their actions and act with intent, potentially skewing verdicts against defendants.

Feb 1, 2017 3:10 AM CST

Software helps assemble social media posts from a specific event or point in time

Before he became a trial lawyer (and an advocate on behalf of the wrongfully convicted), Sean MacDonald in Toronto worked as a private investigator. His experiences on both sides of the coin taught him all too well how time-consuming and expensive it could be to locate eyewitnesses months or years…

Feb 1, 2017 1:40 AM CST

Man who was a teen when he pleaded guilty to 1977 rape gets hearing on actual innocence claim

The Virginia Supreme Court on Monday ordered an evidentiary hearing into an actual innocence claim by a man who pleaded guilty to a 1977 rape when he was 18 years old. The inmate, Roy Watford, says DNA evidence shows he did not rape the victim, a 12-year-old girl, the Richmond…

Jan 30, 2017 4:54 PM CST

7th Circuit strikes down ban on minors at gun ranges; SCOTUS shortlister wrote the opinion

A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down restrictions on gun ranges in Chicago, including a categorical ban on minors at gun ranges. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned three regulations enacted after the city’s complete ban on city gun ranges was struck down in 2011. Judge…

Jan 19, 2017 10:26 AM CST

Aldermen urge federal review of Chicago law department, sanctioned eight times in police suits

Eleven Chicago aldermen are asking the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the city’s law department amid questions about discovery violations in police misconduct suits. The letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch says the department’s civil rights litigation division has been sanctioned eight times for withholding possible evidence in the suits,…

Jan 17, 2017 11:33 AM CST

Video surveillance is increasingly used in legal disputes over rent-controlled apartments

Sentencing is scheduled later this month for a New York City police officer and his brother who pleaded guilty to perjury for their statements in a legal battle with their landlord. The landlord had contended that the officer’s brother, Victor Cruz, didn’t actually live in the $151-a-month, rent-controlled apartment and…

Jan 11, 2017 11:30 AM CST

FBI pays Geek Squad members who find child porn, California case reveals

The relationship between the FBI and some members of Best Buy’s Geek Squad—who were paid for their tips about child pornography—will be examined at a federal court hearing in California this week. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney granted a motion for discovery in December filed on behalf of Mark Rettenmaier,…

Jan 11, 2017 7:45 AM CST

New Justice Department guidelines aim to ensure reliability of photo arrays to ID suspects

The U.S. Justice Department has released guidelines for federal law enforcement on how to conduct photo arrays to ensure reliable eyewitness identifications. The Justice Department says federal agents should use “blind” or “blinded” procedures when conducting the arrays, in which an eyewitness is asked to identify a crime suspect from…

Jan 6, 2017 2:36 PM CST

Can Amazon’s Alexa provide murder clues? Digital assistants could aid prosecutions

Police in Bentonville, Arkansas, hope that Amazon’s Echo—which answers to the name Alexa—can help them solve a possible murder. Police served a search warrant on Amazon.com seeking information that may have been recorded by the device on the November night that Victor Collins was found dead in a hot tub…

Jan 4, 2017 7:30 AM CST

Does prosecution’s failure to disclose evidence of another suspect demand reversal? SCOTUS to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether prosecutors’ failure to disclose evidence, including information another possible suspect, requires vacating the convictions of a group of men convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a woman in 1984. The U.S. Supreme Court granted review on Wednesday in two cases stemming…

Dec 16, 2016 7:00 AM CST

Hit by budget cuts, state crime lab can’t always process evidence in time for trial

The State Crime Lab in Wyoming has cut employees and stopped processing certain types of evidence as it copes with an increased workload and a reduced budget. The workload has led to a slowdown in evidence processing that has the potential to compromise justice, according to Laramie County District Attorney…

Dec 14, 2016 4:12 PM CST

Is forensic video analysis reliable? Commission’s report raises questions

In June 2008, a man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap entered a 7-Eleven store in Killeen, Texas, pointed a gun at the clerk, and demanded money. A string of similar robberies had taken place at stores in the area, which is near Fort Hood, and police suspected they were…

Dec 14, 2016 2:00 PM CST

Judge in Cosby case tells shouting lawyers that deputies will be called if they can’t be civil

A Pennsylvania judge issued a warning on Tuesday to the prosecutor and defense lawyer in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case: If you can’t be civil, sheriff’s deputies will be called in. The lawyers’ outbursts occurred during a hearing on whether prosecutors can introduce testimony from 13 other accusers in Cosby’s…

Dec 14, 2016 9:39 AM CST

Man sues after DNA sample mix-up put him in jail for 61 days

A Denver man has filed a federal suit against Denver crime lab investigators for allegedly mislabeling or mishandling DNA samples in a rape investigation, leading to false accusations against him and a 61-day pretrial stint in jail. The suit filed by Shawnnon Hale on Dec. 5 claims the misidentification occurred…

Dec 7, 2016 2:32 PM CST