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The Forensic Science Scandal?

Started by The Minsky Moment, January 15, 2010, 04:34:47 PM

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The Minsky Moment

There was some discussion here about the guy in Texas who was executed in 2004, primarily on the basis of "expert" arson testimony that turned out to be inaccurate folk wisdom.  The arson investigator in that case testified in hundreds of cases (always concluding arson).  Earlier this week, a commission set up to investigate forensic practices in Texas crime labs published a dozen allegations and complaints currently under investigation alleging improper procedures at large and highly regarded labs within the state.  The allegations are not proven and are still under investigation, but the raise serious question about the quality of the forensic science used in the state criminal courts.

It is tempting to view this as just a Texas problem, but similar issues were raised in NY when a prominent New York state forensic scientist committed suicide a little over a year ago, leaving notes confessing to failures to follow protocols.  The state agency investigating the incident published its report last month, indicating that over the course of many years, the forensic scientist in question had simply failed to perform required tests, and fraudulently reported results in at least hundreds of cases.

Beyond the issue of outright fraud (which can be difficult to detect), the National Academy of Sciences published a report last year that detailed serious weaknesses in forensic practices and procedures nationwide - highlighting the lack of standards in the field, lack of mandatory accreditation, and the strong incentives towards bias.   The NAS report also noted serious problems in the scientific accuracy and reliability of commonly used forensic techniques (familiar to TV viewers everywhere) such as latent fingerprint examinations, handwriting analysis, and ballistics identifications.

There are already signs that the NAS report is being taking seriously by the courts - in a Supreme Court decision last term holding that forensic evidence had to be admitted through live witness testimony, Justice Scalia - not usually known as a champion of criminal defendants - quoted extensively from some of the more eyebrow-raising portions of the report:

QuoteNor is it evident that what respondent calls "neutral scientific testing" is as neutral or as reliable as respondent suggests. Forensic evidence is not uniquely immune fromthe risk of manipulation. According to a recent study conducted under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, "[t]he majority of [laboratories producing foren-sic evidence] are administered by law enforcement agen-cies, such as police departments, where the laboratoryadministrator reports to the head of the agency." National Research Council of the National Academies, Strengthen-ing Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward 6–1 (Prepublication Copy Feb. 2009) (hereinafter NationalAcademy Report). And "because forensic scientists often are driven in their work by a need to answer a particularquestion related to the issues of a particular case, theysometimes face pressure to sacrifice appropriate method-ology for the sake of expediency." Id., at S–17. A forensic analyst responding to a request from a law enforcementofficial may feel pressure—or have an incentive—to alter the evidence in a manner favorable to the prosecution.
. . . .
Serious deficiencies have been found in the forensic evi-dence used in criminal trials. One commentator asserts that "[t]he legal community now concedes, with varyingdegrees of urgency, that our system produces erroneousconvictions based on discredited forensics." Metzger,Cheating the Constitution, 59 Vand. L. Rev. 475, 491(2006). One study of cases in which exonerating evidence resulted in the overturning of criminal convictions con-cluded that invalid forensic testimony contributed to the convictions in 60% of the cases. Garrett & Neufeld, Inva-lid Forensic Science Testimony and Wrongful Convictions,95 Va. L. Rev. 1, 14 (2009). And the National Academy Report concluded:
"The forensic science system, encompassing both re-search and practice, has serious problems that can only be addressed by a national commitment to over-haul the current structure that supports the forensic science community in this country." National Acad-emy Report P–1 (emphasis in original).

With gadfly organizations like the Innocence Project taking an increasing public role, it can be expected that more revelations about deficiencies in state crime labs will be forthcoming, to the consternation of strixes everywhere.
The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
--Joan Robinson

Razgovory

The plural of Strix is Stirges I think.
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Malthus

There was a major case of this in Ontario, leading to a huge official inquiry:

http://www.goudgeinquiry.ca/

BB is the expert on this. In a nutshell, Dr. Smith was a pathologist extensively relied on as an expert witness in cases of child fatality, and he had a tendancy to find evidence of murder ... leading, allegedly, to numerous wrongful convictions. 

I'd like to say he just pulled the evidence out of his ass, but I'm sure if I do, BB will correct me.  ;)

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

Barrister

Malthus beat me to the link by seconds.
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Barrister

But yeah, when I saw the thread title I assumed it was about Dr. Smith.  It's a shame Americans can be so parochial at times.

And yes, Dr. Smith didn't invent evidence out of whole cloth, however it now appears he drew conclusions from the available evidence that were not warranted or supported by the scientific consensus.
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

The Minsky Moment

They have murders  . . . in Canada?!?!?!  That occur outside hockey rinks?

I refuse to believe it.
The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
--Joan Robinson

Barrister

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 15, 2010, 04:53:04 PM
They have murders  . . . in Canada?!?!?!  That occur outside hockey rinks?

I refuse to believe it.

Well to be fair, after the Goudge Inquiry we have a few less murders than we thought we had. -_-
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Malthus

Quote from: Barrister on January 15, 2010, 04:56:23 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 15, 2010, 04:53:04 PM
They have murders  . . . in Canada?!?!?!  That occur outside hockey rinks?

I refuse to believe it.

Well to be fair, after the Goudge Inquiry we have a few less murders than we thought we had. -_-

Only because babies typically do not play hockey ...
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

Savonarola

In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace—and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock

Ed Anger

Stay Alive...Let the Man Drive

Savonarola

In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace—and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock

Josephus

Quote from: Barrister on January 15, 2010, 04:56:23 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 15, 2010, 04:53:04 PM
They have murders  . . . in Canada?!?!?!  That occur outside hockey rinks?

I refuse to believe it.

Well to be fair, after the Goudge Inquiry we have a few less murders than we thought we had. -_-

And we still keep our igloos unlocked at night.  ;)
Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

Ed Anger

Quote from: Savonarola on January 15, 2010, 05:09:53 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 15, 2010, 05:04:31 PM


Gil Grissom wouldn't tolerate that.

There's no CSI: Detroit   :(

A multi-part series would be needed for Kwame's receipts and kickbacks.
Stay Alive...Let the Man Drive

Barrister

Quote from: Josephus on January 15, 2010, 05:14:06 PM
Quote from: Barrister on January 15, 2010, 04:56:23 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 15, 2010, 04:53:04 PM
They have murders  . . . in Canada?!?!?!  That occur outside hockey rinks?

I refuse to believe it.

Well to be fair, after the Goudge Inquiry we have a few less murders than we thought we had. -_-

And we still keep our igloos unlocked at night.  ;)

Speak for yourself.   :ph34r:
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Sheilbh

I read about the Texas case.  Some newspaper or magazine did a big article on it - which I recommend, it's a story worth reading.
Let's bomb Russia!