Forensic Fact Checking

Posted Friday, February 27, 2009

Bite marks, hair samples, blood splatters and fingerprints make identifying criminals easy - on TV. A new report to Congress by the National Academy of Science says many forensic techniques are, in fact, questionable tools at best. The report calls for sweeping changes in how crime evidence is collected, analyzed and used in court. It says crime labs are grossly under-funded and lack scientific foundation. The impact of the report on the criminal justice system may be huge. A look at the future of forensics with guests from the NAS and the FBI, Friday morning at 9 on 90.3.

Guests

Dr. Karen Kafadar, Rudy Professor of Statistics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Indiana University & Committee Member of National Research Council of the National Academies
Chris Garnett, Evidence Response Team Leader, FBI, Cleveland Field Office
Scott Wilson, Special Agent, FBI, Cleveland Field Office
Jane Moriarty, Professor of Law, University Akron School of Law & Visiting Professor at Case Western Reserve University

Additional Information

National Academy of Sciences
Jennifer Mnookin, Vice Dean and Professor of Law at UCLA, OP-Ed article, Clueless 'science' from The Los Angeles Times
Read The American Society of Crime Lab Directors Comments on the Release of the NAS Report on Forensic Science here
The Future of the Forensic Sciences: a Symposium, Cleveland Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University

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