Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States A Path Forward (2009) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 35-54
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From page 35... ...
Crime scene investigators, with varying levels of training and experience, search for and collect evidence at the scene, preserve and secure it in tamper-evident packaging, label it, and send it to an appropriate agency -- normally a crime laboratory, where it may be analyzed by forensic examiners. If a death was sudden, unexpected, or resulted from violence, a medicolegal investigator (e.g., coroner, medical examiner, forensic pathologist, physician's assistant)
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From page 36... ...
Not all forensic services are performed in traditional crime laboratories by trained forensic scientists. Some forensic tests might be conducted by a sworn law enforcement officer with no scientific training or credentials, other than experience.
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From page 37... ...
Recent years have seen a number of concerted efforts by forensic science organizations to strengthen the foundations of many areas of testimony. However, substantial improvement is necessary in the forensic science disciplines to enhance law enforcement's ability to identify those who have or have not committed a crime and to prevent the criminal justice system from erroneously convicting or exonerating the persons who come before it.
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From page 38... ...
; other activities are conducted by scientists as well as by individuals trained in law enforcement (e.g., crime scene investigators, blood spatter analysts, crime reconstruction specialists) , medicine (e.g., forensic pathologists)
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From page 39... ...
The backlog is exacerbated further by increased requests for quick laboratory results by law enforcement and prosecutors. Witnesses before the committee testified that prosecutors increasingly rely on laboratories to provide results prior to approving charges and have increased requests for additional work on the back end of a case, just before trial. Backlogs are compounded by rising police agency requests for testing (e.g., for DNA evidence found on guns and from nonviolent crime scenes)
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From page 40... ...
established guidelines for DNA analysis and proficiency testing and four years later created the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) , which allows federal, state, and local crime laboratories to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking crimes to each other and to convicted offenders.
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From page 41... ...
Since then, the past two decades have seen tremendous growth in the use of DNA evidence in crime scene investigations. Currently more than 175 publicly funded forensic laboratories and approximately 30 private laboratories conduct hundreds of thousands of DNA analyses annually in the United States.
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From page 42... ...
Although the Innocence Project figures are disputed by forensic scientists who have reexamined the data, even those who are critical of the conclusions of The Innocence Project acknowledge that faulty forensic science has, on occasion, contributed to the wrongful conviction of innocent persons.16 The fact is that many forensic tests -- such as those used to infer the source of toolmarks or bite marks -- have never been exposed to stringent scientific scrutiny. Most of these techniques were developed in crime laboratories to aid in the investigation of evidence from a particular crime scene, and researching their limitations and foundations was never a top priority.
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From page 43... ...
For nearly a century, fingerprint examiners have been comparing partial latent fingerprints found at crime scenes to inked fingerprints taken directly from suspects. Fingerprint identifications have been viewed as exact means of associating a suspect with a crime scene print and rarely were questioned.17 Recently, however, the scientific foundation of the fingerprint field has been questioned, and the suggestion has been made that latent fingerprint identifications may not be as reliable as previously assumed.18 The question is less a matter of whether each person's fingerprints are permanent and unique -- uniqueness is commonly assumed -- and more a matter of whether one can determine with adequate reliability that the finger that left an imperfect impression at a crime scene is the same finger that left an impression (with different imperfections)
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From page 44... ...
In one notorious case, a state-mandated review of analyses conducted by West Virginia State Police laboratory employee Fred Zain revealed that the convictions of more than 100 people were in doubt because Zain had repeatedly falsified evidence in criminal prosecutions. At least 10 men had their convictions overturned as a result.25 Subsequent reviews questioned whether Zain was ever qualified to perform scientific examinations.26 Other scandals, such as one involving the Houston Crime Laboratory 20 M.J.
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From page 45... ...
The FBI conducted its 27 Quality Assurance Audit for Forensic DNA and Convicted Offender DNA Databasing Lab oratories. An Audit of the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory-DNA/Serology Section, December 12-13, 2002.
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From page 46... ...
The reviews concluded that the problem was not the quality of the digital images reviewed, but rather the bias and "circular reasoning" of the FBI examiners.31 Parts of the forensic science community have resisted the implications of the mounting criticism of the reliability of forensic analyses by investigative units such as Inspector General reports, The Innocence Project, 31 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General.
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From page 47... ...
The insistence by some forensic practitioners that their disciplines employ methodologies that have perfect accuracy and produce no errors has hampered efforts to evaluate the usefulness of the forensic science disciplines. And, although DNA analysis is considered the most reliable forensic tool available today, laboratories nonetheless can make errors working with either nuclear DNA or mtDNA -- errors such as mislabeling samples, losing samples, or misinterpreting the data.
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From page 48... ...
that are focused on police forensic evidence investigation.37 The fictional characters in these dramas often present an unrealistic portrayal of the daily operations of crime scene investigators and crime laboratories (including their instrumentation, analytical technologies, and capabilities)
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From page 49... ...
deaths in 2004, and accept about one half of those (500,000, or 1 in 5 deaths) for further investigation and certification.41 In carrying out this role, medical examiners and coroners are required to decide the scope and course of a death investigation, which may include assessing the scene of death, examining the body, determining whether to perform an autopsy, and ordering other medical tests, forensic analyses, and procedures as needed.
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From page 50... ...
Most of the country is served by offices lacking accreditation.46 Similarly, requirements for training are not mandatory. About 36 percent of the population lives where minimal or no special training is required to conduct death investigations.47 Recently, an 18-year-old high school student was elected a deputy coroner in Indiana after completing a short training course.48 Additionally, funding for programs supporting death investigations vary across the country, with the cost of county systems ranging from $0.62 to $5.54 per capita, and statewide systems from $0.32 to $3.20.49 Most funding comes from tax revenues, and with such limited funds available, the salaries of medical examiners and skilled personnel are much lower than those of other physicians and medical personnel.
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From page 51... ...
AFIS was an enormous improvement in the way local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies managed fingerprints and identified people. AFIS searches are much faster than manual searches and often allow examiners to search across a larger pool of candidates and produce a shorter list of possible associations of crime scene prints and unidentified persons, living or dead.
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From page 52... ...
In addition, demands will be increasing on the forensic science community to develop real-time plans and protocols for mass disaster responses by the network of crime laboratories and death investigation systems across the country -- and internationally. The development and application of the forensic science disciplines to support intelligence, investigations, and operations aimed at the prevention, interdiction, disruption, attribution, and prosecution of terrorism has been an important component of both public health and what is now termed "homeland security" for at least two decades.
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From page 53... ...
For a variety of reasons -- including the rules governing the admissibility of forensic evidence, the applicable standards governing appellate review of trial court decisions, the limitations of the adversary process, and the common lack of scientific expertise among judges and lawyers who must try to comprehend and evaluate forensic evidence -- the legal system is ill-equipped to correct the problems of the forensic science community. In short, judicial review, by itself, is not the answer.
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