02/22/09

On February 18, 2009 the National Research Counsel issued a report that outlined several deficiencies in the nation's forensic science system.  The report detailed what they perceived to be serious problems in training, certification, accreditation, protocols, standards, and reporting on evidence. 

Also, the report was critical of a number of the disciplines of forensic science.  One of which was the science of Firearm and Toolmark Identification.  The report implies that FA/TM ID is lacking peer-reviewed studies and its validity and reliability has not been fully established.

While most of the recommendations coming from the NAS study are highly commendable and long overdue, their attack on the validity of FA/TM ID appear to ignore the extensive history of peer reviewed validation studies on the uniqueness of toolmarks.  Both the Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners (AFTE) and the Scientific Working Group on Firearms and Toolmarks (SWGGUN) are working to address this and other perceived issues with the report.

A number of links to learn more about the NAS study are below.

Executive Summary
Webcast News Briefing
View Full Report
National Academies Website

 

12/28/08

On December 11, 2008, Gregory Klees, Firearms and Toolmark Examiner, Forensic Science Laboratory-Washington (FSL-W) and Chair of the Scientific Working Group of Firearm and Toolmarks (SWWGUN) was a speaker and panel participant at the New York Commission on Forensic Science conference in New York City.

Mr. Klees represented and supported the Firearms and Toolmark Identification forensic discipline. Mr. Klees’ participation included a presentation entitled “The Science and Reliability of Firearms and Toolmark Identification” followed by a panel discussion on the current Daubert rulings in the Firearms and Toolmark discipline.

Read more and view the WEBCAST by clicking here...

11/17/08

By: James E. Hamby, Ph.D., Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency, Indianapolis, IN 46204 and James W Thorpe, Ph.D., Forensic Science Unit, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland GI 1XW

Originally published in the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners Journal, Summer 1999, and revised April 2008.  Now includes an extensive reference section.

"One of the earliest references concerning the rifling of firearms is in a book authored by Harold Peterson wherein he discusses the rifling of firearms by Emperor Maximilian of Germany between 1493 and 1508. Although some firearms were rifled - helical grooves in the bore of a firearm barrel to impart rotary motion to a projectile - the recognition that this rifling was of value for identifying a fired projectile to the firearm did not occur until late in the l9th century."

Read the paper by clicking here...

11/17/08

The SWGGUN met in Missoula, Montana for their semi-annual meeting from October 20-23, 2008. Fifteen members of the Board members were present for the meeting with three members absent and two Board vacancies through recent resignations. Topics and issues covered during this meeting are listed below.

The Board reviewed the following proposed guidelines and then voted that these guidelines be adopted and placed on the website for final posting:

• Verification of Conclusions (inserted in QA/QC Guidelines)

• Standardization of Comparison Documentation

The Board reviewed the following guideline and voted to post this document on the website for review:

• ISO 17025 Transition

The Admissibility Resource Kit (ARK) Maintenance Committee presented the following reports and updates to the Board:

• Eight new court ruling citations and summaries have recently been added to the Admissibility Resource Kit (ARK). Many of these rulings involved reference to the NAS/NRC Report on Ballistic Imaging.

Visit www.SWGGUN.org for more information and additional resources.

In December of 2006 a Trial Court ruled in favor of the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE) and named defendants in a lawsuit filed by AFTE member Paul Dougherty. Judgment was entered in favor of AFTE and the named defendants in January of 2007.

Thereafter, Mr. Paul Dougherty appealed the Trial Court decision to the California Court of Appeal. On July 27, 2008, the Court of Appeal issued a unanimous decision affirming the Trial Court and awarding AFTE and the named defendants their cost on Appeal.

The Appeals court summarized their ruling by stating,

"Stepping back from this appeal, however, there is something very heartening about this case: A private organization whose purpose is to ensure the integrity of expert testimony actually had the gumption to censure a member whose testimony bordered on the ludicrous -- roughly the equivalent of saying that a shotgun can shoot at a right angle. The organization painstakingly gave the errant member multiple opportunities to explain why his testimony wasn’t as bad as it looked, and ultimately, after about four years of internal due process, his peers censured him. In our opinion, they didn’t deserve a lawsuit, they deserve a medal."

Read the full ruling by clicking here... (99k pdf file)