Trump Regime's Forensic Science 'Reforms': (3): Wall Street Journal reporter Beth Reinhard reports: "Jeff Sessions Scuttles Forensics Partnership With Scientists." ... "Defense attorneys, academics and civil rights activists at odds with many of Mr. Sessions’ policies raised concerns about his decision to walk away from the National Commission on Forensic Science. The partnership between the Justice Department and a scientific panel called the National Institute of Standards and Technology offered a more thoughtful check on courtroom practices, they said, than would an internal Justice Department committee. Misuse of forensic science contributed to wrongful convictions in nearly half of the 350 cases in which the Innocence Project, a nonprofit at the Cardozo School of Law in New York City, used DNA to help exonerate wrongly convicted defendants. ”The legal perspective is well represented by the Department of Justice, and it’s the scientific perspective that I’m concerned won’t get the attention it needs,” said Suzanne Bell, chairwoman of the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at West Virginia University and a former member of the National Commission on Forensic Science."

STORY: "Jeff Sessions Scuttles Forensics Partnership With Scientists," by Beth Reinhard, published by The Wall Street Journal on August 7, 2017.

SUB-HEADING: "The Justice Department announced that guidelines for the use of forensic evidence in court, previously developed by a partnership between the agency and a panel of scientists, will now be spearheaded by a former prosecutor."

GIST: "Prosecutors notched a victory Monday over academics and defense attorneys in the long-running debate about what qualifies as sound crime-scene evidence versus “junk science” used to wrongly convict defendants. Guidelines for the use of forensic evidence in court, previously developed by a partnership between the Justice Department and a panel of scientists, will now be spearheaded by a former state prosecutor who reports to the department’s top leadership. Forensic science has come under heightened scrutiny since a  2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that hair samples, bite marks, ballistics reports and handwriting analysis used to prove guilt were scientifically flawed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has acknowledged that it used scientifically questionable microscopic hair comparisons to help identify suspects in hundreds of convictions dating back to the mid-1980s. Prosecutors often say defense lawyers, in challenging scientific evidence, can persuade courts to question techniques that are entirely solid. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Monday that the new initiative to guide what forensic examiners and prosecutors can say about clues collected from crime scenes would counter “efforts in the courtroom and elsewhere to reject reliable and admissible forensic evidence.” The move reflects Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ crackdown on violent crime and is another step toward dismantling former President Barack Obama’s legacy on criminal justice. Monday’s announcement has been expected since Mr. Sessions declined in April to renew the National Commission on Forensic Science, an advisory group of scientists and lawyers created in 2013 after a series of crime lab blunders by federal, state and local police. In his most sweeping criminal justice policy change, Mr. Sessions scrapped an Obama administration policy that avoided charges carrying long, mandatory-minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. The attorney general has also reversed decisions under Mr. Obama to retreat from contracts with for-profit, private prisons and to intervene in local police departments accused of civil rights abuses.........Defense attorneys, academics and civil rights activists at odds with many of Mr. Sessions’ policies raised concerns about his decision to walk away from the National Commission on Forensic Science. The partnership between the Justice Department and a scientific panel called the National Institute of Standards and Technology offered a more thoughtful check on courtroom practices, they said, than would an internal Justice Department committee. Misuse of forensic science contributed to wrongful convictions in nearly half of the 350 cases in which the Innocence Project, a nonprofit at the Cardozo School of Law in New York City, used DNA to help exonerate wrongly convicted defendants. ”The legal perspective is well represented by the Department of Justice, and it’s the scientific perspective that I’m concerned won’t get the attention it needs,” said Suzanne Bell, chairwoman of the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at West Virginia University and a former member of the National Commission on Forensic Science."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.cetusnews.com/news/Jeff-Sessions-Scuttles-Forensics-Partnership-With-Scientists-.Syeb_5_IvZ.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.