REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of Feature-Comparison Methods
September 2016
(p.1) “When President Obama asked the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in 2015 to consider whether there are additional steps that could usefully be taken on the scientific side to strengthen the forensic-science disciplines and ensure the validity of forensic evidence used in the Nation’s legal system, PCAST concluded that there are two important gaps: (1) the need for clarity about the scientific standards for the validity and reliability of forensic methods and (2) the need to evaluate specific forensic methods to determine whether they have been scientifically established to be valid and reliable.
This report aims to help close these gaps for the case of forensic “feature-comparison” methods—that is, methods that attempt to determine whether an evidentiary sample (e.g., from a crime scene) is or is not associated with a potential “source” sample (e.g., from a suspect), based on the presence of similar patterns, impressions, or other features in the sample and the source. Examples of such methods include the analysis of DNA, hair, latent fingerprints, firearms and spent ammunition, toolmarks and bitemarks, shoeprints and tire tracks, and handwriting.”
NEW–Discovery from the Amherst Lab RE:Farak, June 2015
NEW–Discovery from the Commonwealth’s Breathalyzer Issues, May 2015
The CPCS Forensic Resources Unit assists and supports criminal defense attorneys in the public counsel and private counsel divisions of CPCS in the litigation of forensics issues in their cases. We keep attorneys updated on developments in the various forensics disciplines and provide education and training on forensics issues in criminal cases.
Professional Resources: This is a set of links for evaluating forensic evidence. Some of the resources are maintained by CPCS, most are not.
For a comprehensive list of professional resources maintained by CPCS Training, check out their Professional Resources page.
Expert Witness Resources: This page contains a collection of links and materials to assist CPCS attorneys with the task of contacting and retaining expert witness.
Forensics in the News – A collection of recent news and updates in the world of forensics, from new technologies to tales of malfeasance and exoneration, to inform and inspire defense attorneys.