Advocates Challenge Mysterious Justice Department Statement…

Photo: A toolmark examiner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives demonstrates the ability to analyze bullet casings inside a mobile National Integrated Ballistic Information Network van on April 19, 2018, in Houston. Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez /Houston Chronicle via AP. Article by Jordan Smith. The Intercept – August 8, 2021.

In the final days of the Trump administration, a curious press release appeared on the Justice Department’s website announcing the publication of a statement in response to a nearly five-year-old report that critiqued a handful of forensic science practices.

The 2016 report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST, concluded that a number of forensic feature-comparison methods — including bite-mark, footwear, and firearms analysis — lacked scientific validity and reliability. […]

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