MD Supreme Court - Cartridge Tool Marks Analysis Unreliable

[ImminentDanger]

Maryland Supreme Court limits gun ballistics evidence in criminal proceedings
by Kaelan Deese - June 21, 2023
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...al-proceedings

The Maryland Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to end the long-standing practice of calling in firearms experts during criminal proceedings to testify that a particular gun fired a specific bullet.

In a 4-3 opinion, the majority of justices found the scientific methodology, known as firearm "tool mark" analysis, is not reliable enough to allow experts to draw links between a gun fired and a particular bullet.

However, the ruling written by Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader will still allow examiners to testify in instances in which "patterns and markings on bullets are consistent or inconsistent with those on bullets fired from a particular known firearm," according to the 59-page opinion.

The ruling comes in response to an appeal of a murder case in Prince George's County, but all decisions in the state's top court are binding to lower courts.

Until the Tuesday decision, it was fairly common for firearms examiners to testify that a gun apprehended by law enforcement fired bullets or casings discovered at a crime scene so long as they believed that to be true based on their findings from forensic analysis.

When a shooting occurs, police typically section off the crime scene with yellow tape before crime lab technicians arrive to take photos, mark evidence, and collect it for lab analysis. A primary point of evidence is typically fired cartridge casings.

The casings surround the outside of the bullet. Once a trigger is pulled, a firing pin hits the back of the casing, igniting a small explosion that sends the bullet down the barrel, which has a twisted metal within known as the "rifling" that helps spin the projectile for accuracy.

Supporters of the practice argue that firearms examiners rarely find an incorrect match after performing an extensive analysis. Meanwhile, critics say that numerous firearm analysis studies count the inconclusive results as correct, thereby artificially inflating the error rate.

Attorneys on both sides of the appeal cited studies that show an error rate on such examinations between 0% and 50%.

Justice Steven B. Gould, one of three who dissented from the majority, argued that the evidence at the core of the majority's analysis was sufficient to support an expert witness's "unqualified opinion that bullets recovered from the murder scene were fired from" a revolver used by a defendant in the case.

"Our concern is this: When the examiner does declare an identification or elimination, we want to know how reliable that determination is," Gould wrote. "The record shows that conclusive determinations of either kind (identification or elimination) are highly reliable."

Assistant Maryland Attorney General Andrew J. DiMiceli argued in favor of using tool mark analysis in courtroom trials, saying that while experts cannot testify with complete certainty, they should still be allowed to tell the jury that based on their tests and opinion that a specific gun fired a specific bullet.

The Washington Examiner contacted the office of Attorney General Anthony Brown for a response.

Wasn't this EXPERT ANALYSIS promoted as the reason gun manufacturers had to provide sample cartridges fired from every particular firearm?

...

[bogey1]

Maryland Supreme Court limits gun ballistics evidence in criminal proceedings
by Kaelan Deese - June 21, 2023
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...al-proceedings



Wasn't this EXPERT ANALYSIS promoted as the reason gun manufacturers had to provide sample cartridges fired from every particular firearm?

...

firearms examiners rarely find an incorrect match after performing an extensive analysis.

When I had trouble with my 50cal, my dealer said, my friend at the atf said take the barrel off and put another one on,
because if we get your gun we'll say it's a match.Even if it isn't.

[GeneCC]

Maryland Supreme Court limits gun ballistics evidence in criminal proceedings
by Kaelan Deese - June 21, 2023
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...al-proceedings



Wasn't this EXPERT ANALYSIS promoted as the reason gun manufacturers had to provide sample cartridges fired from every particular firearm?

...

Was a keen sounding idea which does not agree with reality.

Since then it's been a great way to harass gun owners.

[GeneCC]

firearms examiners rarely find an incorrect match after performing an extensive analysis.

When I had trouble with my 50cal, my dealer said, my friend at the atf said take the barrel off and put another one on,
because if we get your gun we'll say it's a match.Even if it isn't.

Odds are that Police rely upon circumstantial evidence and informants to build a case. Police monitor social media accounts. Kids today put everything on blast especially their "gangsta" nonsense.

Also possible that Police are monitoring things on a deeper level. NSA's Prism is supposed to be used by the DEA. Who can say if large Police agencies are using it for murder too?


The belief in "ballistic fingerprints" can convince a killer that they must confess for a lighter sentence or take a plea bargain when in fact the case is based upon all sort of other evidence. Once a killer confesses, who really looks at the supporting evidence?

[JenniferG]

FBI Agents Gave Erroneous Testimony in at least 90% of Microscopic Hair Analysis Cases

After an in-depth investigation into criminal cases in which the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted microscopic hair analysis of crime scene evidence, the agency has concluded that 26 out of 28 FBI agent/analysts provided either testimony with erroneous statements or submitted laboratory reports with erroneous statements. The news was released today in a joint press release with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).


In 2013, the DOJ and the FBI, in collaboration with the Innocence Project and the NACDL, announced that they would conduct a comprehensive review of cases in which FBI Laboratory reports and testimony included statements that were scientifically invalid. The agencies agreed to undertake the review after three men who had served lengthy prison sentences were exonerated by DNA testing in cases in which three different FBI hair examiners provided testimony which exceeded the limits of science and contributed to their wrongful convictions.

https://innocenceproject.org/news/fb...nalysis-cases/


If they don't have the evidence they need they'll make some. Standard procedure.

Dr. Whitehurst and the FBI Lab Scandal


When Dr. Frederic Whitehurst initially blew the whistle on the systemic forensic fraud in the FBI crime lab, he could never have known it was the start of a lifelong fight for government accountability.



In 1994, he reported his concerns with FBI lab practices internally. It was *alterations of reports, alterations of evidence, folks testifying outside their areas of expertise in courts of law*, said Whitehurst, but *really what was going on was human rights violations. We have a right to fair trials in this country* And that*s not what was going on at the FBI lab.*


After his superiors failed to take any action, he took his concerns to the Department of Justice. Whitehurst faced significant and ongoing retaliation from the FBI, who highly criticized his claims, attacked his credibility, and fired him from his position at the FBI crime lab as chemist and lab supervisor.


Bad Science and Forensic Fraud


Eventually, investigations were launched into Whitehurst*s allegations but failed to lead to any justice. It wasn*t until ten years later that Whitehurst was finally vindicated, when a scathing 500+ page study of the lab by the Justice Department Inspector General, Michael Bromwich, concluded major reforms were required in the lab. This included the use of forensic hair analyses, which had been used for decades in state and federal criminal cases, and was proven flawed and inaccurate more than ninety percent of the time. Some of the cases Whitehurst had reported included the 1993 World Trade Center attack, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the O.J. Simpson murder case.

https://whistleblowersblog.org/gover...i-lab-scandal/