Saturday, March 25, 2006

Kentucky High Court Holds Bullet-Lead Identification Inadmissible as a Matter of Law

Comparative bullet-lead analysis is a largely discredited forensic technique -- one that the FBI formerly employed, but which it has since repudiated, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of William A. Tobin, a retired FBI agent and former chief metallurgist at FBI.

The FBI's recantation was apparently enough for the Kentucky Supreme Court to hold, this past week, that bullet-lead comparison testimony should be inadmissible in Kentucky courts, under Daubert, as a matter of law. See Ragland v. Commonwealth, No. 2002-SC-0388-MR (Ky. Mar. 23, 2006). Two justices dissented, believing that a per se ban on such testimony goes too far. The Lexington Herald-Leader has more.

posted by pn at 4:59 PM  

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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.