New Article; Evidence and Tragedy

The article shown below has just been published. It makes arguments that touch directly on controversies about racial and ethnic profiling. To view both the abstract and the paper itself go to:

P. Tillers, If wishes were horses: discursive comments on attempts to prevent individuals from being unfairly burdened by their reference classes, 4 Law, Probability and Risk 33 (2005)

Wigmore Charts Made Easier

See the nifty inference networks in the form of Wigmore charts built by a couple of law teachers with a draw program.

Constructing Wigmore charts probably will never be easy -- it will probably always be a tedious and time-consuming task -- but using (software) draw programs to construct such diagrams does make the task a bit less tedious -- and such a program makes it immensely easier to modify an existing chart, or network.

The authors of the above diagrams are Lori Olds and Terry Cordell.

Authentication by Laser

Mark Henderson, Document "DNA" can outfox forgers, Times Newspapers Limited (July 28, 2005):

British scientists have found that a laser scanner can read microscopic imperfections on paper or plastic surfaces that are almost impossible to modify or forge. These provide a signature when exposed to the laser, say researchers at Imperial College London, Durham University and the University of Sheffield. It remains recognisable even when scrubbed in water, scorched or scribbled on, making it a suitable way to confirm that documentation, from passports to credit cards, is genuine.

...

Details are published in the journal Nature today.