" removing all obstacles to the release of a new National Academy of Sciences report"

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http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/02/usdoj-should-embrace-not-fight-science.html


USDOJ should embrace, not fight science-based forensics

Now that Eric Holder, President Obama's appointee to lead the Department of Justice, has been confirmed as US Attorney General, one of his first orders of business should be removing all obstacles to the release of a new National Academy of Sciences report analyzing the scientific basis (or lack thereof) for techniques used by forensic crime lab analysts. The FBI has been fighting the report's release, the New York Times reported this week, but Holder should insist they embrace it.

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One of the most telling instances of real science debunking "junk" forensics used to send thousands of people to prison arises in arson cases, where more than a decade after old investigative techniques were overturned by actual scientific experimentation, some arson investigators (who are typically cops or firefighters, not scientists) are still using flawed analyses and courts are still using that testimony to convict people.

-snip-

I'd expect a similar reaction from crime lab analysts to the National Academy of Sciences report as we saw among arson investigators to scientific advancements in their field - defensiveness, anger, and denial. But AG Eric Holder could move forward the process a lot faster by embracing the NAS report and insisting that FBI analysts change the way they do business to accord with science-based methods instead of subjective judgments. New best practices would be implemented much more rapidly by state and local crime labs if DOJ would lead the way instead of attempting to thwart actual, science-based forensics.
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lawyers should perk their ears over this