The Changing Paradigm

in

Forensic

Science

by Dr David Klatzow

Justicia (aka “Lady Justice”)

Janós Blaschke, The Goddess Themis, 1786

Is this what we have become?

““The surest way The surest way to corrupt a youth to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to is to instruct him to holdholdin higher ESTEEMin higher ESTEEMthose who think alikethose who think alikethan those who think than those who think differently.”differently.”

Friederich Nietzche

See Davie v Edinburgh Magistrates, 1953SC 34 of 40 quoted in Phipson on Evidence13th Edition at 574

What is an Expert?

Also Maritime & General Insurance Company v Sky Unit Engineering1989 (1) SA 867

What is an Expert?

The Mayfield Print

www.forejustice.org

Agent Massey:

“I’ll preach fingerprints till I die. They are infallible.”

Chicago Tribune, 17 Oct 2004

Bombing Out in Birmingham

The Birmingham 6 and the Maguires

•Frank Skuze

•The Griess Test

•Police Confessions?

Bullet Identification

•Bullet Lead ID

•Striations

Up to 25% of matching striationscan be by chance alone

Bullet Identification

Bullet Identification

Bullet Identification

Strengthening Forensic Science

Forensic Science is vulnerable to contextual andconfirmational bias

I Dror et al Forensic Science International, 2006, 156: 74,77

Forensic Science is hindered by:

•Multiple levels of educational requirements\

•Different professional cultures within the field

•Reliance on apprentice-type training and a guild-like structure of each discipline

Strengthening Forensic Science, pg 87

Research by Dror et al has shown that:

…experienced fingerprint examiners do not necessarily agree with their own past conclusions when the examination is presented later in a different context.

Shoe Prints and Tyre Tracks…

…are largely subjective.

National Academies Report Ballistic Imaging:

…observed that validity of fundamental assumptions of uniqueness and reproducibility has not yet been fully demonstrated.

Hair

•Gaudette : 1 in 4 500

•Local less features : 1 in 4 500

FiresMany of the rules of thumb used to indicateaccelerant are simply not true.

The Statistics:

MJ Saks & JJ Koehler

What’s To Be Done?1. Forensic science should not function

in a police and prosecutorial environment

2. State and defence experts should meet to draft a joint expert minute prior to a trial

3. Slugging it out in court should be a thing of the past

4. There is a need for proper academic training of forensic scientists

5. A research culture needs to be fostered.