Volume Determination of Fresh and Dried Bloodstains by Means of Optical Coherence Tomography

The volume of bloodstains found on crime scenes may help forensic investigators reconstruct the location and kinematics of bloodletting events, as stain size, volume, and impact velocity are related. Optical coherence tomography was used as a method to determine the volume and volume ratio of dried and fresh bloodstains on both glass and irregular surfaces or deposited with an impact velocity. The volume of blood drops deposited on smooth glass surfaces was measured within a deviation of 2%. This deviation increased for droplets on irregular surfaces or deposited with an impact velocity. The volume ratio of dried and fresh bloodstains was equal to 19–28% depending on the individual donor and on the use of an anticoagulant. Optical coherence tomography is a good method to determine the volume of fresh and dried bloodstains in laboratory conditions and allows accurate determination of the dry/fresh ratio.     

Safe Haven Questioned: Proof of Identity Over Persecution of SOGIE Asylum Seekers and Refugee Claimants in Canada

Abstract

Canada, being a country that recognizes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression (SOGIE) as grounds for asylum or refugee status, can appear initially to be a safe haven for those persecuted based on such characteristics. Yet, claimants are required to prove the SOGIE upon which the persecution of the person is reported to have been based. Given that essentialist and binary notions of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression are the criteria utilized, such policy imposes traditional Westernized notions of identity with homonational and recolonizing effects on individuals who are attempting to resettle in Canada.     

Disability Rights Commission: From Civil Rights to Social Rights

This paper argues that, although originally conceived as part of the ‘civil rights’ agenda, the development of disability rights in Britain by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is better seen as a movement towards the realization of social, economic, and cultural rights, and so as reaffirmation of the indissolubility of human rights in the round. As such, that process of development represents a concrete exercise in the implementation of social rights by a statutory equality body and a significant step towards the conception of disability rights as universal participation, not just individual or minority group entitlement. The paper considers the distinctive features of that regulatory activity. It asks what sort of equality the DRC set out to achieve for disabled people and where, as a result, its work positioned it on the regulatory spectrum. From the particular experience of the DRC, the paper looks forward to considerations of general relevance to other such bodies, including the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.     

Is it a foundation?

Jersey is the most recent jurisdiction to have prepared a comprehensivedraft of foundation legislation and, subject to completion ofthe legislative process, the law may well be approved this year.This article deals with the legal challenges faced when a commonlaw jurisdiction attempts to incorporate a traditional civillaw entity into a suitable common law format.     

Applicability of the ParaDNA® Screening System to Seminal Samples

Seminal fluid represents a common biological material recovered from sexual assault crime scenes. Such samples can be prescreened using different techniques to determine cell type and relative amount before submitting for full STR profiling. The ParaDNA^® Screening System is a novel forensic test which identifies the presence of DNA through amplification and detection of two common STR loci (D16S539 and TH01) and the Amelogenin marker. The detection of the Y allele in samples could provide a useful tool in the triage and submission of sexual assault samples by enforcement authorities. Male template material was detected on a range of common sexual assault evidence items including cotton pillow cases, condoms, swab heads and glass surfaces and shows a detection limit of 1 in 1000 dilution of neat semen. These data indicate this technology has the potential to be a useful tool for the detection of male donor DNA in sexual assault casework.