PCAST 2016
Definition
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 2016 report 'Forensic Science in Criminal Courts', which assessed foundational validity of forensic disciplines including fingerprint examination and called for expanded black-box error-rate studies; influenced subsequent Daubert hearings on fingerprint methodology.
- Full title
- Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of Feature-Comparison Methods
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Key innovation
- Introduced foundational validity / validity-as-applied distinction to forensic science assessment
- Primary call to action
- Black-box accuracy studies for subjective comparison disciplines
Common questions
What is the PCAST 2016 report and why does it matter?+
The PCAST 2016 report is a US government assessment titled 'Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of Feature-Comparison Methods.' It evaluated how forensic methods hold up in the courtroom and found that many subjective comparison disciplines (fingerprints, handwriting, tool marks, firearm identification) lacked sufficient research to prove they reliably work. The report influenced how courts evaluate forensic evidence in Daubert hearings.
What distinction did PCAST introduce?+
PCAST drew a line between foundational validity (does the method work in principle) and validity-as-applied (does it produce reliable results in real casework). Many forensic disciplines have foundational validity but weak evidence for validity-as-applied. The report called for large-scale, blind accuracy studies to close this gap.
Which forensic methods did PCAST criticize most?+
Handwriting examination, tool mark identification, and firearm/toolmark comparison were flagged as having insufficient validation evidence and no demonstrated error rates. Fingerprint examination was also assessed for foundational validity and the report called for expanded black-box error-rate studies in that discipline as well.
Related terms
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- AFTE Theory of Identification
- The Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners' standard (1992, revised 2011) for reporting tool-mark comparison conclusions as Identification, Inconclusive, or Elimination...
- Class Characteristics
- Features deliberately or systematically imparted to a group of items by design or manufacture, such as the calibre of a bullet, the...
- ENFSI EDEWG
- European Network of Forensic Science Institutes, European Document Examiners Working Group: the EU-level body coordinating document examination standards, proficiency tests, and the...
- Frye Standard
- The US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be...
- Individual Characteristics
- Surface features on a fired bullet or cartridge case that arise from random or unique events (tool wear, corrosion, service damage) and...
- Likelihood Ratio (LR)
- The ratio of two conditional probabilities: the probability of the observed evidence given the prosecution's hypothesis (same source), divided by the probability...
- SWGDOC
- The Scientific Working Group for Forensic Document Examination (US), which publishes standards for typewriter examination, handwriting comparison, ink analysis, and related forensic...
- ABFDE
- American Board of Forensic Document Examiners: the US professional certification body whose diplomate examination is the recognised US standard for examiner competence...
- ACE-V
- Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification: the four-stage method for latent print examination used by accredited forensic fingerprint laboratories. Analysis examines the latent in...
- Asperity
- A microscopic surface protrusion on a tool's cutting edge; each asperity produces a groove in the substrate when the tool slides, contributing...
- ASTM E30
- The ASTM International Committee on Forensic Sciences, which maintains standards including E2388 (minimum training requirements for document examiners) and E2520 (examination of...
Explained in these topics
- Computer-Assisted Handwriting Analysis: FISH, WANDA, CEDARPresident's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report 'Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of Feature-Comparison Metho...
- Introduction and Scope of Questioned Document ExaminationThe 2016 report by the US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 'Forensic Science in Criminal Courts,' which critiqued the validation basi...
- Standards, Accreditation and Admissibility in Fingerprint EvidencePresident's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 2016 report 'Forensic Science in Criminal Courts', which assessed foundational validity of forensic d...
- Standards, Accreditation and Admissibility in QDEThe President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 2016 report that introduced the foundational validity / validity-as-applied distinction and calle...
- Stereo Microscope and Comparison MicroscopeThe US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report concluding that firearm/tool-mark identification and other subjective comparison discip...
- Tool Marks: Fundamentals, Striations and ImpressionsPresident's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report concluding that tool-mark identification lacked sufficient foundational validity evidence and...