Description

Forensic evidence plays a key role in many investigations of serious crimes such as murder, sexual assault, vehicle crimes, and drug crimes. While the vast majority of forensic investigations are completed competently, that is not true in all cases. AS of June 12th 2024, over a thousand of the 3500 persons exonerated for crimes in the National Registration of Exonerations (NRE) with 58 persons erroneously sentenced to death with flawed forensics cited as a partial, or even full, cause of the flawed conviction. The Innocence Project lists False or Misleading Forensic Evidence (FMFE) as the second leading cause of false convictions, second only to mistaken eyewitness evidence identifications. In this presentation we will explore the two leading government sponsored investigations into the issue of forensic errors (known as the NAS Report and the PCAST Report). We will also look at the strengths and weaknesses of specific disciplines such as DNA, fingerprints, facial recognition and biometrics, firearms analysis, drug testing, and the controversial fields of hair analysis, bite mark testimony, and other problematic fields. A major portion of the presentation will deal with assessing the reliability of the crime scene investigation and handling of evidence.