Leading Scientists

The American Judicature Society’s Center for Forensic Science and Public Policy, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, convened a meeting of national eyewitness identification experts at Elon University’s School of Law in Greensboro on Friday, September 8, 2006.   At the meeting, the scientists contributed their expertise to the development of field studies to test the effectiveness of procedures that have improved the accuracy of eyewitness identification in controlled lab studies conducted by social scientist.  

According to the Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardoza School of Law at Yeshiva University, mistaken identification was the leading cause of wrongful conviction in more than seventy-five percent of the 200 DNA exonerations in the United States to date.  (http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/165.php)  Through laboratory studies, scientists have identified procedural controls which may increase the reliability of eyewitness identifications, but there have been few scientifically sound field studies that evaluate the procedures in actual police practice.  The AJS Center for Forensic Science and Public Policy hopes this meeting will help to design controlled field studies that can test the procedures in practice.  

The field study protocols, as well as their results, will be reviewed by the AJS Commission on Forensic Science and Public Policy, a commission of leading scientists, judges, lawyers, and law enforcement professionals.  The American Judicature Society established the Center and appointed the Commission to address critical issues at the intersection of science and the law.  The Commission is co-chaired by former Attorney General Janet Reno, former FBI director William Webster, and leading scientist Steve Feinberg of Carnegie Mellon University. 

Other organizations interested in furthering progress in reforms to increase the accuracy of eyewitness identification, including the John Jay Center for Modern Forensic Practice and The Innocence Project affiliated with Cardozo Law School, both in New York, will also contribute in the effort to commission field studies. 

Funding for the meeting in Greensboro and the initial field study design work has been provided by the Herb Block Foundation of Washington, D.C.
 

National Commission inaugural meeting in Greensboro

The Commission on Forensic Science and Public Policy held its inaugural retreat on March 31 through April 2, 2006. During that time, a distinguished group of scientists, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement officers, forensic practitioners, victims’ rights advocates and academics met at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Commission’s co-chairs, Janet Reno, former U.S. Attorney General; Dr. Stephen E. Fienberg, Professor, Carnegie Mellon University; and the Honorable William H. Webster, former FBI and CIA director led the group in discussions and presentations regarding “what we know, what we need to learn, and how we can improve the use of forensic science in the courts.”

The Commission established five committees at the Greensboro Retreat.  The areas of study the committees will be addressing are ensuring the preservation and scientific testing of and fair access to evidence; improving the quality of eyewitness testimony; promulgating standards for and systematically evaluating the nation’s forensic labs; encouraging research and evaluation of pattern recognition techniques associated with forensic evidence used in solving crimes; and developing mechanisms to improve science education for justice system professionals.

Click below for a transcript of the retreat.
Saturday, April 1, 2006
Sunday, April 2, 2006