Peer Review of Casework
Definition
The ABFA 2017 position: every forensic anthropology report submitted to a court should be independently reviewed by a second qualified analyst before submission, with any disagreement documented and resolved.
- Source standard
- ABFA position paper, 2017
- Reviewer requirement
- Second qualified analyst, independent of the original examiner
- Applies to
- Reports submitted to a court
- Disagreement handling
- Documented and resolved before submission
Common questions
Does the second reviewer see the first analyst's conclusion before reviewing?+
Quality frameworks generally call for the reviewer to reach an independent conclusion first, then compare it against the original report, so the review is not simply a rubber stamp of an existing opinion.
What happens if the two analysts disagree?+
The disagreement is written into the case record rather than quietly overridden. Some labs resolve it through a third opinion or supervisor sign-off, and the resolution itself becomes part of the disclosed casework file.
Is peer review the same as technical review at an accredited lab?+
They overlap. ISO 17025-accredited labs already require technical and administrative review of reports; the ABFA position specifically ties that review to court-bound forensic anthropology conclusions.
Related terms
- ABFA Diplomate
- The American Board of Forensic Anthropology's practitioner certification, requiring a doctoral degree, three or more years of forensic casework, a reviewed case...
- BSA 2023 Section 79
- The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, which replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872, governing expert testimony admissibility in India. Section 79 (formerly §...
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- ENFSI FAWG
- The ENFSI Forensic Anthropology Working Group, which produces the ENFSI Best Practice Manual for Forensic Anthropology and operates an annual External Quality...
- ISO 17020:2012
- The international standard for inspection bodies. Applies to forensic anthropology teams conducting scene recovery and exhumation, requiring documented procedures, personnel qualification evidence,...
- ISO/IEC 17025:2017
- The international standard specifying general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Covers management (document control, non-conforming work, audits) and...
- OSAC Anthropology Subcommittee
- The Organisation of Scientific Area Committees' Anthropology Subcommittee, operating under NIST since 2014. Develops and publishes formal standards for forensic anthropology methods...
- Qualified-Opinion Framework
- The four-tier opinion scale used by forensic anthropologists for identification opinions: identification confirmed / consistent with / cannot exclude / excludes. Formalised...
- SWGANTH
- Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology. A US expert panel that produced guidance documents (2008-2013) on standards for forensic anthropological practice, now...