"Getting it Right" Videos from The Innocence Project

The Innocence Project today launched a new multimedia resource on the central causes of wrongful convictions and proven reforms to prevent injustice.  "Getting it Right"  features videos, case studies and in-depth research on forensics, false confessions, eyewitness identification, informant testimony, defense representation and conduct by police and prosecutors.

New Resource on Fingerprints from the Scientific Working Group

"The dynamic and active nature of human information processing enables us to become experts but also makes us distort incoming data and make erroneous decisions. These vulnerabilities are not limited to fingerprint experts and apply equally to other domains. However, the importance of fingerprint evidence being reliable and unbiasable requires that these potential weaknesses be addressed." 

- Chapter 15, page 20

The Fingerprint Sourcebook

by Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST), et al. August 2011

SWGFAST, established in 1995, is one of several Scientific Working Groups (SWG). The overall intent of Scientific Working Groups is to improve forensic science practices and build consensus amongst federal, state, and local forensic laboratories and practitioners. The SWGs are a focal point for discussion on key issues confronting various forensic science disciplines which will lead to the establishment of guidelines and standards through consensus and general acceptance. The guidelines and standards published by them are widely recognized by the forensic community, the courts, and the forensic laboratory accrediting bodies.

The membership of SWGFAST is comprised of a diverse group of dedicated and professionally recognized individuals. This includes not only friction ridge examination experts from law enforcement agencies, but also defense experts, researchers, instructors, academicians, laboratory managers, and others

The Fingerprint Sourcebook aims to be the definitive resource on the science of fingerprint identification. The Sourcebook was prepared by the International Association for Identification and topics covered include the anatomy and physiology of friction ridge skin (the uniquely ridged skin found on the palms and soles); techniques for recording exemplars from both living and deceased subjects; the FBI's Automated Fingerprint Identifications Systems (AFIS); latent print development, preservation and documentation; equipment and laboratory quality assurance; perceptual, cognitive and psychological factors in expert identifications; and legal issues.

Download:  

"Putting the Science in Forensic Science" - American Statistical Association

From The Innocence Project Blog

More than two years have passed since the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a groundbreaking report calling for national oversight and research to ensure reliability in solving crimes. One challenge to addressing the recommendations of the NAS report is the federal government’s reluctance to support new spending.

A column this week in AMSTAT News, the membership magazine of the American Statistical Association, recommends clear steps for the federal government to address this issue at minimal cost to taxpayers. Written by two professors and an independent consultant, the column calls on Congress to:

• Require crime labs to make reports and protocols on forensic science readily available on the web;
• Appoint independent scientific committees to evaluate forensic research, identify needs for further study;
• Redirect existing funds to support long-term research;
• Sponsor seminars and courses to educate judges, lawyers and others on forensic disciplines.

The three authors write:

In recognition of budgetary difficulties and political realities, these proposals keep costs to taxpayers to a minimum. Although their enactment would not solve all problems, we believe the proposed reforms are a doable first step toward ensuring that only first-rate science—beholden only to truth and not to law enforcement or any other partisan interest—is used in the courtroom. The integrity of the American judicial system demands that Congress and the administration speedily enact these reforms.


Read the full column.

Read more about the National Academy of Sciences and the need for a National Forensic Science Agency

For more background on the NAS report and weekly forensic news, visit the Just Science Coalition website.

Preliminary Draft of Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Reform Act

The office of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has released the preliminary draft Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Reform Act (CJFSRA) (full text).

From Senator Leahy's office

Senator Leahy plans to introduce forensic science reform legislation early next year.  Please find attached a PDF of draft forensic science reform legislation.  We suspect that there will be minor modifications to this draft prior to introduction, but the core of the bill will likely remain the same.  We do want to make clear, though, that this will be an ongoing and collaborative process, and there will be significant additional opportunities for discussion and improvement after the bill is introduced.

Law Review examines judiciary's role after NAS report on forensic evidence

Jane Campbell Moriarty University of Akron School of Law

from Abstract:     

This Article discusses the findings of the NAS Report, relevant cases that predate the report, and some cases decided since the report. It posits that the judiciary, which has created a standard of reliability, has failed to hold prosecutorial expert evidence to that standard. Using examples from history and modern cognitive science explanations, the Article tries to explain why the judiciary has been so unwilling to rigorously examine forensic science evidence and urges the judiciary to rethink its perspective going forward.

While the NAS Report suggests an overhaul of the current system, that overhaul is a contentious idea that may well not occur in the near (or even longer) future. Thus, a current crisis exists that the judiciary must address in its day-to-day decision making. The Article suggests how the judiciary can become a more effective crucible for testing the strength and limitations of forensic science.