DOJ to develop standards for forensic testimony

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced plans on Monday to issue federal guidance on what forensic experts can and cannot say in court.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the Uniform Language for Testimony and Reports will ensure testimony given in court by DOJ forensic examiners is “consistent with sound scientific principles and just outcomes.”

Federal prosecutors will be directed to follow the same guidelines.

{mosads}“Forensic evidence can be extremely important. But we also need to recognize that it can be abused and misused, as is true of every discipline,” Rosenstein said while speaking at the International Association for Identification’s conference in Atlanta, according to his prepared remarks.

“There have been instances in which people have operated in bad faith, masquerading as reliable experts when they lacked sufficient knowledge or failed to perform appropriate tests. In other instances, people have testified in good faith but used language that may have suggested more confidence than was warranted.”

Rosenstein said the DOJ is also creating a new program to monitor its forensic examiners and ensure their testimony follows the guidelines.

He added that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has tapped Ted Hunt, a former member of the National Commission on Forensic Science, to serve as the department’s in-house adviser on forensics.

In a statement, a DOJ official said Hunt, a former state prosecutor, will oversee development and implementation of forensic science initiatives and work with external forensic science stakeholders, including scientists, crime lab leaders, law enforcement and legal practitioners.

Sessions in April ended a partnership with the independent panel of judges, defense attorneys, researchers and law enforcement officials that former President Obama formed in 2013 to address wide-ranging concerns about problematic forensic techniques, “PBS Newshour” reported at the time.

Rosenstein on Monday said the DOJ plans to examine the workload, backlog, personnel and equipment needs of public crime laboratories and the education and training needs of forensic science practitioners, collect and review existing data, and assess the department’s internal needs.