Crime Labs / Forensics Reform - Federal Initiatives The 2009 report of the National Academy of Sciences, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward  (“NAS Report”) identifies deficiencies with forensic evidence and sets forth a roadmap for reform.  The federal government should impleme

Forensic science evidence presented in court is often based on speculative research, subjective interpretations and inadequate quality control procedures, according to this report. Police need to be taken out of the laboratory, and the "crime labs" need to be taken out of the police station, with the goal of ensuring the scientific integrity of forensic science evidence. Neutrality and objectivity are as essential to preventing wrongful convictions and exonerating the innocent as they are to solving crimes and convicting the guilty. [Released February 2010]

NACDL urges the National Institute of Standards and Technology to form Guidance Groups dominated by scientists who are independent of law enforcement and inclusive of statisticians, researchers, and quality control experts. Since the National Research Council issued its clarion call for reform of forensic science, NACDL has consistently advocated for implementation of the NRC’s overarching recommendation – that the validity of forensic disciplines be examined and standards be set by an entity independent of law enforcement and dominated by a culture of science.

NACDL welcomes the establishment of the National Commission of Forensic Science and is hopeful that this commission will provide leadership in enacting the reforms recommended by the National Research Council in 2009. … In submitting this letter, NACDL encourages the Commission to prioritize the assessment of the existing research in the forensic disciplines, to clarify where further research is needed, and to determine what limitations should be placed on the conclusions that may be reliably drawn by practitioners because of gaps in a discipline’s foundational research.

NACDL strongly supports S. 2022, the "Forensic Science and Standards Act of 2014." … While not a solution for every problem identified in the NAS Report, providing a sound structure for identifying and prioritizing research needs and a mechanism for funding such research is a vital first step.

... NACDL proposes that each subcommittee include a balanced, multidisciplinary combination of experts reflecting the fact that each subcommittee will be tasked with developing a wide range of standards that require input from different fields of expertise. As part and parcel of its functional analysis of subcommittee composition, NACDL also addresses the related issues of the systematic review of scientific literature that must precede development of scientifically-supported standards, and the leadership of the subcommittees and their governing Scientific Area Committees.

President Lisa Wayne's written statement to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee regarding advancing the science and use of forensics in criminal cases and investigations.

This page contains materials and information related to crime labs in forensic science.

President Gerald B. Lefcourt's written statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts regarding misconduct in FBI labs that interferes with criminal cases, revealed in a Department of Justice Inspector General's report.

FBI's Forensic Test Full of Holes, Washington Post, April 15, 2007.

NACDL past president Barry Scheck's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding using DNA testing to identify people wrongfully convicted or sentenced.

Testimony on behalf of NACDL to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime, regarding oversight of FBI forensic labs.

Criminal Bar Urges Va. to Notify Convicts Of Existence of DNA Evidence in 1973 to 1988 Case Files -- Washington, DC­ (August 5, 2008) – Virginia’s forensic laboratory system should notify people convicted during the years 1973 to 1988 that biological evidence in their cases has been found in the laboratory’s files that could be suitable for DNA analysis, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) said at its Annual Meeting Aug. 2.