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From DNA exonerations to life-saving surgery, I cannot help but be in awe of the feats of modern science. But unfortunately, in the criminal justice system, real life is nothing like the television series CSI. Far too often, what is sold to jurors as science is actually junk science.<\/p>\n
Scientists at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) prepared a report at the request of Congress analyzing science and the law. The report was published in 2009 and entitled \u201cStrengthening Forensic Science in the U.S.: A Path Forward.\u201d It exposes glaring deficiencies in forensic science.<\/p>\n
Problems with scientific evidence include:<\/p>\n
\u2013 There are no uniform standards for the accreditation of \u2018experts.\u2019
\n\u2013 There are not rigorous protocols for scientific analysis.
\n\u2013 Forensic laboratories are not independent of police departments and district attorneys offices.
\n\u2013 Some forensic \u201cscience\u201d disciplines \u2013 including microscopic hair comparison, tool mark analysis, and tire impressions \u2013 have not even been validated as science.
\n\u2013 Other scientific areas are open to bias and subjectivity.
\n\u2013 Lawyers sometimes ask, and experts sometimes answer, questions that go beyond what the science supports.<\/p>\n
The NAS report offers a number of recommendations to make courtroom science more reliable in the future. In the meantime, don\u2019t be swayed by an expert witness\u2019s credentials alone. If the reasons behind the expert\u2019s opinion make no sense to you, disregard it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From DNA exonerations to life-saving surgery, I cannot help but be in awe of the feats of modern science. But unfortunately, in the criminal justice system, real life is nothing like the television series CSI. Far too often, what is sold to jurors as science is actually junk science. Scientists at the National Academy of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"es","enabled_languages":["en","es"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"yoast_head":"\n