Clothing damage analysis and the phenomenon of the false sexual assault

This paper describes three recent false sexual assaults examined at the Victoria Forensic Science Centre laboratory where clothing damage analysis assisted in the resolution of the case. Suspected false reports of sexual assaults are often sensitive cases with little other forensic evidence. Any evidential value that can be obtained is thus valuable in order to minimize any ordeal to the complainant and any suspect and to conserve valuable resources. The findings illustrate the application of clothing damage analysis in a cross section of confirmed false sexual assault reports and the fact that the forensic examiner should be aware of the potential evidential value of this kind of analysis. Furthermore, the corroboration of a victim's scenario when the investigator has doubts may be no less valuable as it may minimize the adversarial ordeal that is often faced by a rape victim.     

Forensic hair morphology comparison--a dying art or junk science?

There has been debate in both the judicial and forensic fields concerning the admissibility and reliability of the so-called forensic comparison sciences such as handwriting, tool mark analyses, and hair analysis. In particular, there has been increasing controversy over the use and interpretation of hair comparison evidence and it has been held partly responsible for miscarriages of justice. There has also been a perceived devaluation of the worth of microscopic human hair analysis particularly since the advent of DNA profiling. This article will attempt to initiate discussion on the past, current and future role of forensic human hair analysis and comparison.     

Congress and the political expansion of the U.S. districts courts

Expanding the number of U.S. district judgeships is often justifiedas a response to expanding caseloads. Increasing judgeshipsduring unified government, however, allows Congress and thePresident to engage in political (patronage and ideological)control of the federal district courts. This paper examinesempirically the relative importance of caseload pressure andpolitical motives for Congress to expand the number of federaldistrict judgeships. We demonstrate that politics dominatesthe timing of judgeship expansion in the U.S. District Courts.We also show that both politics and caseload affect the actualsize of those timed expansions. In particular, we find thatbefore 1970, Congress seemed to have strong political motivationsfor the size of an expansion. After 1970, Congress became muchmore attentive to caseload considerations.