tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post7221056359584253552..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Funding for research needed as much as oversight to validate forensic sciencesGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-14795467848991891482010-03-12T09:43:17.357-06:002010-03-12T09:43:17.357-06:00Edwin~
Regrettably, my son's autopsy was inco...Edwin~<br /> Regrettably, my son's autopsy was incomplete or incorrect, as there is no 'etiological specific disease or injury' listed to attribute to the death, such as "Asphyxia by Strangulation." In fact, when I spoke with the ME, he told me that there was no evidence of strangulation!<br /> Of course, being on a fixed income, and unable to locate a pro bono/contingent attorney, I am stuck!<br /> www.americaiswatching.org (Joshua Robinson) attached documents, click on the underlined phrases. <br /> Contacte me: welovejoshua@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-87144005002580423222010-03-02T20:24:21.127-06:002010-03-02T20:24:21.127-06:00Edwin,
Regrettably, I think the most likely scena...Edwin,<br /><br />Regrettably, I think the most likely scenario for such regulatory agencies in most states is what we've seen in Texas, where the Forensic Science Commission was created with no teeth and then the Governor installed John Bradley to shut down what little it was empowered to do the moment it began to perform its duties. Such political-bureaucratic solutions often simply fail. Not always, but often. I'm not saying don't try, but don't count on it.<br /><br />Financing university-level primary research sidesteps all that politics and gets more directly to the core of the problem. I agree additional oversight is important, but it will have less long-term benefit than actually applying the scientific method to forensic techniques and rooting out junk science.<br /><br />After all, on what basis are these oversight agencies to "approve and/or ban forensic methodologies" if there's no scientific baseline established on which to base their conclusions about what is and isn't "junk"? On arson, bullet-lead analysis and one or two others that work's been done, but for most of the others I'm not sure what they're supposed to be overseeing or how they can measure quality - there's no "science" to evaluate in a great deal of modern forensics, no matter how many people are looking over the lab worker's shoulder. :)Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-39326755481541096892010-03-02T16:08:56.387-06:002010-03-02T16:08:56.387-06:00Grits,
I agree with you on the urgent need for r...Grits, <br /><br />I agree with you on the urgent need for research on the scientific validity of many forensic methodologies, which was one of the main findings of in last year’s report of the National Academies of Science. The exposure of bullet lead analysis as scientifically unsubstantiated, for example, was a red flag that must be heeded.<br /><br />As for the relative importance of structural oversight mechanisms, I think we have to put these in place now, and that by doing so we develop additional levers to increase pressure for validation research. One of the tasks of forensic oversight agencies ought to be identifying “junk science” methodologies such as dog scent lineups. At a minimum forensic oversight agencies could provide guidance to judges and legislators on suspect methods, and perhaps such agencies could be designed to have the power to approve and/or ban forensic methodologies in conjunction with courts. <br /><br />As it stands today, however, most states are without any agency tasked with scrutinizing forensic science at all. Putting those structures in place now could help advance progress on research as well as reduce the risk of sloppiness or bias subverting justice. Of course, the benefits of forensic oversight agencies can only be fully realized if they are fully independent and include scientists from outside the forensic establishment. We need agencies with a broad mandate to look at big picture questions about the reliability of forensic evidence. So far, most models out there have narrow mandate that ignores the bigger picture.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05448709814839457184noreply@blogger.com