The NAS report: in pursuit of justice.

• Author: Mearns, Geoffrey S.
• Position: National Academy of Sciences

I had the privilege of serving on the Committee on Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Science Community at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). In February 2009, after more than two years of work, our committee issued a report entitled, "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward." (1) As a former federal prosecutor, I believe it is imperative that the recommendations in the NAS Report be implemented. Implementing our recommendations will advance the principal goal of the NAS Report: to assist law enforcement officials in identifying and convicting people who commit crimes. (2)

In order to understand fully why I believe law enforcement officials should embrace the recommendations in the NAS Report, it is important to understand how my personal views of forensic science evolved during the two-year period in which I served on the NAS Committee. I believe my own growth may help others, particularly law enforcement officers, to reconsider some of their pre-existing views about forensic science.

Before becoming dean of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in July 2005, I practiced law and tried criminal cases for more than fifteen years. My trial experience included nine years as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice. While serving in the Justice Department, I had several positions. As an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, I was Chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. I then became the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. I completed my Justice Department career as Special Attorney to United States Attorney General Janet Reno. In that capacity, I assisted in the successful prosecution of Terry Nichols for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. (3)

As a federal prosecutor, I tried more than twenty criminal cases. As a result, I gained substantial experience preparing and examining expert witnesses from various forensic science disciplines. I questioned chemists who analyzed suspected narcotics, technicians who compared tool marks, fingerprint examiners, and handwriting experts. In the Nichols case, I presented expert testimony regarding the chemical composition of plastic fragments that were found in the rubble of the Murrah Building in order to establish a link between that evidence and large plastic drums that were seized from Nichols.

Based on that experience, I began my service on the NAS Committee with two fundamental assumptions about forensic science. First, I assumed that the vast majority of forensic science disciplines were well-grounded in scientific research and scientific methodologies. Second, I assumed that forensic science analysts followed uniform processes and procedures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of their tests and their trial testimony. In short, I had faith in the scientific expertise of the practitioners and in the scientific validity of the tests and...