How Alternative Light Sources Are Used In Forensics
Alternative Light Sources and Their Effectiveness in Enhancing the Visibility of Injuries History of ALS A fairly new science has emerged within the past 70 years regarding the use of alternative light sources (ALS) to enhance the visibility of injuries, being used in forensics starting around 1990. There has been research done on this topic, […]
Effect of Brain Damage on Personality
How can brain damage be used to create reasonable doubt? In 1990, a 40-year-old schoolteacher suddenly began using prostitutes and making inappropriate advances to his stepdaughter. The courts ordered him to go to Sexaholics Anonymous or go to prison. He failed the program because he kept asking people for sex. The hospital found a large […]
Traumatic Brain Injury or Mental Illness?
TBI and Mental Illness What if a defendant commits a crime because of being affected by either an acute brain injury or an acquired or inherited brain disease? This is called the “brain defense.” In criminal cases, defense attorneys are increasingly using clinical evidence of brain injury to either establish their client’s innocence or mitigate […]
Did COVID-19 Bring a Higher Risk of Abuse?
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic people have been told to stay at home for their own safety and the safety of others. Could there be a higher risk of abuse? What about those people who are victims of domestic violence? How are they faring at home? Is home a safe place for victims […]
One Deadly Punch Leads To Prison
Our faithful readers may remember that I wrote a newsletter back in 2011 called “Can One Punch Kill” but it has been many years since then and I asked one of my nurses to write up a newsletter. Ironically, she dug through some of my ideas and came across the same article. Her take […]
Are alcoholics really at fault for their crimes?
In April, I covered delirium and noted that there are many underlying etiologies that can cause it. One such etiology is Wernicke encephalopathy. What is encephalopathy? Encephalopathy is a general term describing any disease of the brain that alters the function or structure of the brain. There are many types of encephalopathy and causes. The […]
Shock in Criminal Cases
In April, I covered delirium and noted that there are many underlying etiologies that can cause it. One such etiology is hypoperfusion. When the blood flow is cut off to the vital organs, the body will compensate in an effort to restore the blood flow. The body’s reaction to hypoperfusion is known as shock: What […]
What role does Hypoxia play in Criminal Cases? {Assault/Trauma}
For both prosecutors and defense attorneys, it’s often important to know the defendant’s state of mind to litigate the case. If a defendant has a medical condition or traumatic injury that could result in hypoxia it warrants further review by a medical expert to determine if the hypoxia was severe enough to change their mental […]
Delirium: What role does it play in criminal cases? {DUI/Gen Med}
In many of our cases we come across symptoms of delirium and are asked to determine if they are due to the assumed etiology, like alcohol or drug intoxication; or from something else, like seizures, or traumatic brain injury. So, this month I’d like to do an overview of delirium and its potential causes, and […]
5 Things Criminal Attorneys Should Know About…Diabetes
This is the 5th out of 6 in this series of “5 things criminal attorneys should know about…” which I first posted a few years ago. Each month I highlight some areas of medicine that often cross into the criminal fields. This is not meant to be an in-depth review, but rather just bullet pointed […]
