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Bite mark evidence as a forensic science technique used at crime scenes has been under fire for some time. Now a new paper has urged law enforcement agencies to discontinue its use. The paper in Journal of Law and the Biosciences outlines the legal basis for the rise of the bite-mark identification technique and its…
The U.S. Supreme Court is to look at whether Texas should put to death a convicted killer with an intellectual disability. Attorneys for 57-year-old Bobby James Moore argue the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court in the state, disregarded existing medical standards in favor of outdated ones when it decided Moore wasn’t mentally…
Sexual assaults on children are understandably abhorrent to society and juries and taint a defendant’s reputation for years afterwards. However, there are many factors that can lead young witnesses to make false statements. Children are susceptible to a wide range of factors and can be manipulated by prosecutors. A case in point is that of…
The FCC’s decision is a potential blow to broadband companies. Few people can get through the day without using the internet. Whether you’re checking your email or sending documents to a work colleague, you probably need the web to get things done. In fact, a staggering 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created online every…
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has reiterated his determination to make violence against police officers a hate crime after a law enforcement officer was shot dead in San Antonio. Detective Benjamin Marconi, a 50-year-old police officer, was shot in the head on Sunday after he pulled over a vehicle near San Antonio police headquarters building in…
If you have been charged with a high-profile crime, defamation could play a role in your case. The media has taken something of a beating from both political parties this campaign season. The debate over what constitutes “fair” or “accurate” reporting has highlighted why it’s so important for the public to be able to trust…
Certain types of speech can be classified as “hate speech,” and they often fall into a gray area between protected speech and unlawful speech. Hate speech is often a poorly understood area of law. In many cases, hate crimes are prosecuted under federal law. If you have been charged with this type of crime, you…
Around 50 percent of Americans’ faces are on file in police databases around the country—regardless of whether they have ever been suspected of a crime. If you have never been arrested or charged with a crime, there is no way your face is in a police database, right? Think again. According to a new report…
FBI Errors Cause Courts to Take a Second Look at Convictions You don’t have to look far to get concrete evidence that the FBI is far from perfect. In fact, the agency flat-out admits it. In a 2015 press release, the nation’s top criminal investigation agency stated that “at least 90 percent of the trial…
Are Armed Police Drones Coming to a Sky Near You? Asks Dallas Criminal Lawyer Mick Mickelsen Online retail giant Amazon has famously unveiled plans to begin delivering packages by way of drone. Now, the eponymous company behind the Taser stun gun says it is considering developing drones equipped with the ability to fire from the…