Kaye to address National Commission on Forensic Science

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The National Commission on Forensic Science has invited Penn State Law associate dean for research and Distinguished Professor of Law David Kaye to discuss “Statistical Statements of Relevance” at its meeting on Sept. 13. Three statisticians selected by the commission also will serve on the panel asked to inform the group about the role and nature of statistics in forensic-science evidence.

In 2013, the Department of Justice and the National Institute of Standards and Technology established the commission to enhance the practice of forensic science. The commission has made a series of recommendations to the U.S. attorney general on reforms such as insulating analysts from information about a case that is unrelated to the scientific procedure, adding more information to laboratory reports, expanding pretrial discovery, avoiding the phrase “scientific certainty” in testimony, and implementing a national code of professional responsibility for forensic science and forensic medicine service providers.

The commission, which is composed of scientists, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, other law enforcement officials, and academics, invited the panel to brief the members before it discusses a views document on  “Statistical Statements in Forensic Testimony” that Kaye helped draft.

Kaye is an internationally recognized expert on scientific and statistical evidence who writes about developments in forensic science, statistics, and the law at for-sci-law.blogspot.com.