Skip to content

Probabilistic Reporting in Criminal Cases in the United States: A Baseline Study

Journal: Science & Justice
Published: 2020
Primary Author: Simon Cole
Secondary Authors: Matt Barno

Forensic evidence reporting shows a high degree of adherence to prevailing disciplinary standards.  Probabilistic reporting of forensic results remains rare.  Probabilistic reports were mostly subjective verbal assignments of posterior probabilities.

Related Resources

What’s in a Name? Consistency in Latent Print Examiners’ Naming Conventions and Perceptions of Minutiae Frequency

What’s in a Name? Consistency in Latent Print Examiners’ Naming Conventions and Perceptions of Minutiae Frequency

Fingerprint minutia types influence LPEs’ decision-making processes during analysis and evaluation, with features perceived to be rarer generally given more weight. However, no large-scale studies comparing examiner perceptions of minutiae…
Shifting decision thresholds can undermine the probative value and legal utility of forensic pattern-matching evidence

Shifting decision thresholds can undermine the probative value and legal utility of forensic pattern-matching evidence

Forensic pattern analysis requires examiners to compare the patterns of items such as fingerprints or tool marks to assess whether they have a common source. This article uses signal detection…
The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases: An Interim Report

The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases: An Interim Report

This report is from Simon A. Cole, Vanessa Meterko, Sarah Chu, Glinda Cooper, Jessica Weinstock Paredes, Maurice Possley, and Ken Otterbourg (2022), The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to…
CSAFE Project Update & ASCLD FRC Collaboration

CSAFE Project Update & ASCLD FRC Collaboration

This presentation highlighted CSAFE’s collaboration with the ASCLD FRC Collaboration Hub.