F O C U S

Autonomy and the Practice

of Forensic Science

R. E. Gaensslen

Director of Graduate Studies

Forensic Science GroupUniversity of Illinois at

Chicago

ASLME DNA and Civil LibertiesWorkshop 2, Sept 2004, Boston

Laboratory Autonomy

Operational ForensicScience Laboratories

Does the administrative housing of the laboratory contribute to creation, or prevention, of intrinsic bias or error in testing and / or interpretation ??

LawEnforcement

Departmentof Health

MedicalExaminer

IndependentCommercial

ERROR / BIASSystemic: > intrinsic to the lab / organization

> independent of individual examiner

Individual:> intrinsic to the person> independent of the lab / organization (?)

Intentional / Unintentional

The Los Angeles TimesSunday, August 21, 1994 Scores of Convictions Reviewed as Chemist Faces Perjury Accusations Forensics: Fred Zain's expert testimony and lab tests helped put scores of rapists and murderers behind bars. But college transcript shows he flunked some chemistry classes and barely passed others. He is also accused of evidence-tampering. by SAU CHAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Crime lab chemist goes on trial for alleged fraud By The Associated PressCHARLESTON, W.Va. At one time, Fred Zain was a prosecutor's dream: a respected crime lab chemist with a compelling courtroom demeanor whose testimony helped convict hundreds of people.The trouble, authorities now say, is that much of what Zain had to say was questionable at best, or outright lies at worst.

Allegations of individual bias - apparently intentional

Allegations of individual error – motivation less evident

… questions about her work serve as a reminder of the grave harm that a single person in the criminal justice system apparently can cause – either through malice or incompetence – if the rest of the system offers little more than malign neglect.

USDOJ/OIG Special Report

The FBI Laboratory: An Investigation into Laboratory Practicesand Alleged Misconduct in Explosives-Related and Other Cases (April 1997)

Allegations of organizational bias, or at least neglectful leadership

The Chicago Police Dept Laboratory displayed serious deviations from established crime laboratory standards for care of crime laboratories in 1986.

A fraction of – but not all – these cases were handled by the Chicago Police Department, and the laboratory work was done in the CPD Laboratory

The day before leaving office, Illinois Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of everyone on death row.

Tests, procedures, protocols themselves

Results

Sources of Error / Bias

Recording, transposing data

Specimen mixups

Interpretation

RESULTSRESULTS

INTERPRETATIONINTERPRETATION

RESULTS

1. Raw, unfiltered data

2. “Interpreted” raw data

INTERPRETATION1 Of the test results in terms of what is known about the science

2 Of the first level interpretation in terms of the case or situation at hand

RESULTS

1 Raw, unfiltered data

2 “Interpreted” raw data

INTERPRETATION

1 Of the test results in terms of what is known about the science

2 Of the first level interpretation in terms of the case or situation at hand

Subjective

Objective

LEVELS OF CERTAINTYin Match / Inclusion Cases

Is

Could Be Estimate of Probability / Likelihood

Could Be Frequency Estimate

Could Be / Consistent With

Sins of Commission / Sins of OmissionAll the professional organizations have codes of ethics, but there is not always widespread agreement in the profession about exactly what constitutes an ethical violation

Debate often centers on exactly how much responsibility rests on the scientist / expert vs. how much lies elsewhere, e.g. with the prosecutor or defense attorney, with the court, with the jury, etc.

It is probably harder to get consensus about “sins of omission” being unethical than it is about less equivocal “sins of commission”

Strategies for Avoiding / Detecting / Correcting Error or Bias

• QA - QC

• Lab Audits – internal / external

• Proficiency testing – open or blind

• Testimony audits

Accreditation guidelines and goals include many of these strategies

• Criminalist / analyst certification

• Reanalysis by opposing side experts

Should analysts be blinded?

To perform their functions properly, criminalists have to know what the questions are

Avoiding / Detecting / Correcting Error or Bias

Choices / judgments are part of the examination

Effect of the laboratory administrative setting Effect of the laboratory administrative setting

• Real / Perceived

• Explicit / Subtle (the “culture”)

• Avoiding unintended consequences of change

• Teasing out the laboratory’s agenda

E N D

Thank You