Accident Reconstruction
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) NHTSA has a wealth of information on traffic safety issues. It includes easy access to research on accident reconstruction, car and road safety issues, alcohol and drug- impaired driving, the fatigued driver, and much more. http://www.nhtsa.gov/ NLADA Accident Reconstruction Library Motions and Research. Slow to load but worth it. http://www.nlada.org/Defender/forensics/for_lib/Index/Accident%20Reconstruction
Research Start http://www.accidentreconstruction.com/ Skid Mark Calculator http://www.harristechnical.com/skid2.htm This site also has a library of all the articles and tools mentioned on the web site at http://www.harristechnical.com/library.htm TARO: The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin Reference Library- maintained by TARO: TARO is a Technical Journal that contains articles of a technical nature that report on the evolving state of traffic accident reconstruction. http://www.tarorigin.com/lib.html
National Academy of Forensic Engineers statement re: police accident reconstructionists as experts. It may be helpful to some seeking to keep accident reconstruction evidence out using Daubert hearings. http://www.nafe.org/NafeMenuPPAccRecon.htm
Arson Investigation
NLADA Arson Library Motions and Research. Slow to load but worth it. http://www.nlada.org/Defender/forensics/for_lib/Index/Arson
Accidental Fire Or Arson This web page deals with a method for the analysis of volatile organic compounds in solid or liquid materials. It comprises techniques for screening for such substances, as well as their identification and quantification: What agent caused the intoxication death? Was it an accidental fire or arson that killed him? http://www.tcforensic.com.au/docs/article3.html Basic Arson Investigation primer. http://www.tcforensic.com.au/docs/index.html Boston Fire buff Web Site: Go figure - but it seems to have a lot of information about fires in the New England area. http://go.firebuff.com/ Dead or Alive? The key questions to be resolved are: Was the victim alive or dead at the time the fire started? Is the cause of death fire related? If so, is the cause of death smoke inhalation, burns, or heat shock? If not, what is the cause o: f death? See this for a discussion of these issues. http://www.dundee.ac.uk/forensicmedicine/llb/fires.htm Fire and Arson Scene Evidence DOJ Guide : A Guide for Public Safety Personnel: Adobe Acrobat edition June 2000 which discusses "Outlines basic procedures for fire scene documentation and evidence collection. Specific areas discussed include establishing the role of first responders, evaluating the scene, documenting the scene, processing evidence at the scene, and completing the scene investigation. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/181584.htm
Fire Codes Want to know what fire codes stand for? The telephone number and address of each station house? A list of all the multiple-alarm calls, listing the address, responding units and other details? A fire buff has all this and more up on the web at http://www.geocities.com/~emba/fire.html Fire Logs: Boston and the 'burbs which seems to have some info on both (although not as much info as the other sites). http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/emba/index.html Fire Logs: Massport and 35 Communities around Boston other info: http://www.massmetrofire.org/ How can you tell if a fire was caused by arson? This article talks about how innocent fires can be mistaken for arson and more. http://www.atslab.com/fire/index.html
NFPA: The leading source of fire prevention: National Fire Protection Agency: White Paper begins: Problem: There is a lack of scientific foundation for many methods used to identify the area of origin and the cause of fires. http://www.nfpa.org/index.asp
Online Training. Includes videos on: Module 1: Evidence Collection• How do electrical wiring faults lead to structure ignitions? • The Preliminary Scene Assessment: A Checklist • NFPA's - White paper on post-fire analysis • NIST- Simulation of the Dynamics of a Fire in a Two-Story Duplex http://www.interfire.org/
Bar Associations and Bar Advocate Groups
Boston Bar Association http://www.bostonbar.org/ Mass. Bar Association http://www.massbar.org/ Board of Bar Overseers http://www.state.ma.us/obcbbo/obvious In addition to answering ethical questions at http://www.mass.gov/obcbbo/faq.htm, this also has names, addresses and phone numbers of Massachusetts lawyers at http://massbbo.org/bbolookup.php
Battered Person (See Domestic Violence)
Battered Women and the Criminal Justice System http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/hart/justice/justice.pdf
Battered Women: The National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, a nonprofit organization founded in 1987, is an excellent resource and advocacy center for battered women charged with crimes related to their battering. http://www.ncdbw.org/index.htm
Battered Women: What is Battered Woman's Syndrome? http://www.divorcenet.com/states/oregon/or_art02
Battered Women: The Battered Women’s Justice Project is a national resource center on the most promising practices of the civil and criminal justice systems in response to domestic violence. http://www.bwjp.org/
Battered Women: Power and Control Wheel Excellent Illustrations of the cycle of violence. Good demonstrative aids. http://www.duluth-model.org/
Battered Women: Critique of the "Battered Woman Syndrome" Model Explores the inadequacy of the term “battered woman syndrome” for describing battered women’s experiences. http://www.aaets.org/article138.htm
Battered Women: Shelters in Massachusetts contacts listed statewide for the client that needs it or for trying to find a complainant. http://www.massresources.org/pages.cfm?contentID=23&pageID=2&subpages=yes&SecondLeveldynamicID=761&DynamicID=469
Battered Women: The Battered Women's Legal Assistance Project (BWLAP) is a legal aid program that helps economically disadvantaged victims and survivors of domestic violence build long term safety and security for themselves and their children. http://www.masslegalhelp.org/domestic-violence/the-battered-womens-legal-assistance-project2
Bite Marks
NLADA Bite Mark Library Motions and Research. Slow to load but worth it.. http://www.nlada.org/Defender/forensics/for_lib/Index/Bitemarks
Forensic Dentistry Includes information on identifications, bite marks, journals and books on this fascinating subject. http://www.forensicdentistryonline.org/forensichomepage.htm American Board of Forensic Odontology References useful to the forensic dental community http://www.abfo.org/ includes guidelines and finding an expert. Testimony regarding a "possible" bite mark was excluded as was the testimony regarding the victim as being the "possible" biter. The opinion has a wonderful discussion of Daubert/Kumho as it relates to "novel applications" of established scientific techniques. The opinion is posted in PDF format on this website. http://www.state.ok.us/~oids/coca/CriderBH.pdf
Blogs
Confrontation Blog devoted to reporting and commenting on developments related to Crawford v. Washington http://confrontationright.blogspot.com/
Criminal Law Professor’s Blog about criminal law, violent crime and the judiciary http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/blog_watch/
DUI Blog http://www.duiblog.com/about/ Run by a Lawyer from California Lawrence Taylor author of over thirty articles and 14 books, including the standard textbooks on DUI litigation, Drunk Driving Defense, 6th ed.
Forensics Talk Blog: “I'm a registered nurse with over 30 years of clinical nursing experience combined with paralegal, forensics, fraud and medicolegal death investigation training. I Practice as a certified Forensic Nurse Examiner and am an independent forensic nurse consultant.” http://harfordmedlegal.typepad.com/forensics_talk/transfer_of_evidence.html
Massachusetts Correctional Officer’s Walpole CO's bulletin board is at http://www.voy.com/12304/ , & that page has links to the boards for other institutions. At least one board has been taken down since I last visited, though it might be available in google.com's cache or via http://www.archive.org/index.php . I once had a client whose alleged disciplinary issue was openly discussed on the Walpole board, though I don't know whether the COs are routinely that careless.
Newspaper Blogs and Message Boards Many newspapers are posting online. If you have a case that hits the media check out to see if there are blogs or online responses. Can be a source of witnesses and support for voir dire and/or change of venue. For examples see: Boston Globe News http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/ Boston Herald http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/city_desk_wired/ Worcester http://www.topix.net/forum/city/worcester-ma Springfield: http://www.masslive.com/blogs/
Blood Spatter
Basic Tutorial with diagrams http://www.brazoria-county.com/sheriff/id/blood/bloodspatter_general.htm BloodSpatter.com Follow the links http://www.bloodspatter.com/ Blood Spatter Slide Show Tutorial http://nfstc.org/links/animations/images/blood%20spatters.swf and http://bloodspatter.com/BPATutorial.htm
Daubert Hearing: Topics to consider in preparation for admissibility hearing on bloodstain pattern analysis SWGSTAIN http://www.swgstain.org/Documents/SWGSTAIN%20Legal%20Hearing%20Final%20Draft.pdf Dexter Showtime’s great show about a forensic criminalist who is a serial killer This is a great video series about blood spatter http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/popup.do?content=blood_spatter
General Rules of Physics This site is run by the oldest law enforcement agency in Texas. Basic Info at http://www.brazoria-county.com/sheriff/id/blood/bloodspatter_general_info.htm with terminology http://www.brazoria-county.com/sheriff/id/blood/terminology.htm
NLADA Blood Spatter Library Motions and Research. Slow to load but worth it. http://www.nlada.org/Defender/forensics/for_lib/Index/Blood%20Spatter
Photographs of spatter http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/forensic/arson/evidence/bloodspatter.htm Research Site with tutorials and links to other blood spatter sites. http://bloodspatter.com/links.htm
Bombs and Explosions
Explosion and Bombing Scene Investigation Guide, DOJ June 2000. This takes you to an Adobe Acrobat edition. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/181869.htm
Bomb Sniffing Dogs http://www.dssbombdogs.com/html/about.html
NLADA Explosives Library Motions and Research. Slow to load but worth it. http://www.nlada.org/Defender/forensics/for_lib/Index/Arson/Explosives/index_html#Explosives
Child Abuse/Sexual
AAP Guidelines for the Evaluation of Sexual Abuse of Children: This clinical report serves to update the statement titled "Guidelines for the Evaluation of Sexual Abuse of Children," which was first published in 1991 and revised in 1999. The medical assessment of suspected sexual abuse is outlined with respect to obtaining a history, physical examination, and appropriate laboratory data. The role of the physician may include determining the need to report sexual abuse; assessment of the physical, emotional, and behavioral consequences of sexual abuse; and coordination with other professionals to provide comprehensive treatment and follow-up of victims. http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/clinical_report/index.dtl http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;116/2/506
SANE Protocols Massachusetts. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)Program provides direct patient care to victims of sexual assault who present to SANE designated emergency departments and urgent care centers. The SANEs deliver coordinated, expert forensic and medical care necessary to increase successful prosecution of sex offenders and to assure essential medical intervention to victims of assault age 12 and over. http://www.mass.gov/dph/fch/sane/2003_sane_protocol.pdf
American Academy of Pediatrics: Potential source for impeachment of experts and of course education of us. Just type in word search for list of articles. http://www.aap.org/ Anatomical Dolls Research summary with cites to articles on the unreliability and suggestibility of anatomical dolls used in interviewing children. http://www.ipt-forensics.com/library/images2.htm
Use of anatomical dolls by Boston-area professionals. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1617476&dopt=AbstractPlus Anatomical Dolls Good summary re: anatomically correct dolls and suggestiveness. http://www.allencowling.com/false15.htm APA Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations in Child Protection Matters 1998 http://www.apa.org/practice/childprotection.html
Purpose and Utility of Child Custody Evaluations: The Attorney's Perspective http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/full/33/2/199
Disclosure of child sexual abuse: What does the research tell us about the ways that children tell? Bruck, Ceci 2005 http://www.apa.org/journals/features/law111194.pdf
DCF offices http://www.mass.gov/dss
Forensic Evidence Findings in Prepubertal Victims of Sexual Assault http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/106/1/100?ck=nck
NLADA Child Sex Allegations Library Motions and Research. Slow to load but worth it. http://www.nlada.org/Defender/forensics/for_lib/Index/Child%20Sex%20Allegations#Child%20Sex%20Allegations
False Accusations and recovered memory http://www.allencowling.com/falseacc.htm False Accusations PBS Documentary Suggested readings from the Frontline Special about The Little Rascals, Kelly Michaels and McMartin cases. There are articles by Stephen Ceci with counter responses by pro Commonwealth expert John Myers. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/innocence/readings/ False Accusations Child Suggestibility Affidavit of Maggie Bruck with general overview of suggestibility, review of cases, recent reseach, etc. She, along with Stephen Ceci, is one of the leading experts in thois area and has testified for the PD office in Massachusetts. She has a doctorate in experimental psychology and am a Professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada (on leave) and as associate professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical Institution in Baltimore, Maryland. http://www.oranous.com/innocence/FrankFuster/MaggieBruck.htm Falsely Accused Resource Center with sample motions, video lectures covering: • False Allegations of Sexual Molestation; • Research on Child Suggestibility • Research on Coerced Confessions and Investigations • Syndrome Evidence and Junk Science • Trial Preparation and Use of Technology and resources from California http://www.accused.com/index.html
False Memory Syndrome Foundation http://www.fmsfonline.org/
Interviewing Children Why judges must insist on electronically preserved recordings of interviews with children. Court Review, vol. 37, issue #2. pp. 10-121997Ceci, S. J. & Bruck, M. (2000, Summer). http://aja.ncsc.dni.us/courtrv/cr37/cr37-2/CR37-2CeciBruck.pdf Journal American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology: Searchable index. Great resource for those expert challenges. http://www.jaacap.com/ Journal American Medical Association. Click search, enter something like ‘sexual abuse’ and you’re off to the races. http://jama.ama-assn.org Journal Child Abuse Quarterly MSPCC. This is the Robert Reece publication which contains reviews of recent peer-reviewed articles on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Medical, legal, mental health and social work professionals known for their expertise and experience summarize the articles, chosen from over 1,000 medical journals. The Reviewers offer opinions about the validity and significance of the research findings. The university libraries should carry this. It is an excellent resource. Many local professionals contribute to this. http://www.quarterlyupdate.org/pages/1/index.htm
Journals Online Access to 307 journals involving child abuse http://journalseek.net/cgi-bin/journalseek/journalsearch.cgi?query=child+abuse&field=allFields&editorID=
Journal The Institute for Psychological Therapies is a private practice of clinical psychology. IPT's primary work is related to allegations of child sexual abuse, but also deals with cases of sexual harassment, claims of recovered memories of childhood abuse, accusations of rape, allegations of improper sexual contact by professionals, forced and coerced confessions, false confessions, personal injury claims, insanity and diminished capacity, murder, mitigating factors in sentencing, custody, and medical and psychological malpractice. Issues go through 2007 and articles are all available online. http://www.ipt-forensics.com/publications.htm
Journal Pediatrics Journal Searchable index. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/
Child Welfare Information Gateway Formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. It is a national resource for professionals seeking information on the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect. http://www.childwelfare.gov/
Portable Guides for Investigating Child Abuse The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Portable Guides series provides practical information on investigating child abuse and neglect. Police officers and detectives will find the user-friendly format of the guides invaluable for quick on-the-job reference. The guides are also useful for social workers, physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, psychologists, attorneys, judges. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/lt000527.pdf For a list of all of the publications go to http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/publications/PubResults.asp
PTSD Child Reactions to Trauma Fact Sheet http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/ptsd70.htm and http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Posttraumatic+Stress+Disorder+(PTSD)§ion=Facts+for+Families
Sexually Transmitted Disease and Child Abuse DOJ Portable Guide http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/stdandab.pdf
Suggestibility: Fells Acres Decision: This is the defendant’s brief re: Judge Bornstein’s Fells Acres decision online. Even though it was not adopted by the SJC it is still a good primer re: suggestibility issues in interviewing and reliability issues. http://users.rcn.com/kyp/Brief499.html
The Suggestibility of Children: Evaluation by Social Scientists (From the Amicus Brief for the Case of State of New Jersey v. Michaels, Presented by Committee of Concerned Social Scientists) http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mcmartin/suggestibility.html
Suggestibility: Journal of Credibility Assessment and Witness Psychology: from polygraph to child suggestibility to false confessions to eyewitness memory. http://truth.boisestate.edu/jcaawp/default.html
Suggestibility: Stephen Ceci’s home page with a list of his publications in child suggestibility. http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/sjc9/index.html Suggestibility: The Taint Hearing: Discussion of the issues for defense counsel. http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume10/j10_7.htm
Symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse http://againstsexualabuse.org/Symptoms.html
Syndrome Testimony, Base Rates, and What the Expert Can Ethically Tell the Trier of Fact in Alleged Child Abuse Cases [in light of Daubert] http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume11/j11_1_1.htm Syndrome Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation: Issues of Admissibility in light of Daubert in Criminal Trials http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume10/j10_2.htm
Maggie Bruck Deposition in the Francisco Fuster-Escalona V. Harry K. Singletary Maryland case. This gives you an overview of suggestibility issues. http://www.oranous.com/innocence/FrankFuster/MaggieBruck.htm