Tuesday, February 10, 2004

National Academies Study Recommends Limits on Bullet Lead Comparison Testimony

That National Academies' National Research Council has released its report on bullet lead comparison evidence, concluding that there are inadequate underlying data to support forensic testimony that some particular bullet came from some particular box, or was manufactured on a particular date. The NRC also says that FBI examiners should not rely on bullet lead analysis to testify in criminal cases about the statistical probabilities that a crime-scene bullet originated with the defendant. Details are available in an NRC press release and in the full NRC report.

TalkLeft also has more.

posted by pn at 7:44 PM  

Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.