A few years ago, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department would not renew its partnership with the National Commission on Forensic Science - a group of independent scientists, judges, defense attorneys, and law enforcement officials that had been advising the Department on ways to improve the reliability of forensics and on the use of scientific evidence in the criminal justice process. Sessions also announced that the Department is reconsidering its efforts to conduct reviews of forensic practices by the FBI, similar to the 2012 collaborative review of hair microscopy evidence. See: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/sessions-says-justice-department-will-end-forensic-science-commission/Links to an external site.

 

Write an initial post responding to the following questions:

1. In light of the positive steps being made through collaboration, why do you think the Justice Department made this decision?
2. Do you think such a decision will affect the rate of progress being made to bridge the gap between forensic methodologies and the scientific method? If so, how? If not, why not?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 The decision by former US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end the partnership with the National Commission on Forensic Science and reconsider reviews of forensic practices by the FBI was met with ... View the full answer