Conference: Scientific Evidence in the Courts: The Sciences' Role in the Promotion of Justice

In 1923, the District of Columbia Court ruled that judges have a constitutional responsibility to assess the reliability of scientific and technical evidence and expert witness testimony (Frye v. United States), establishing guidelines for judges to determine what evidence and whose testimony will be presented at trial or provided to the jury for their consideration. Since this ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States and Congress have expanded upon and articulated further guidance for this gatekeeping function (the Federal Rules of Evidence, 1975; Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 1993; General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 1997; and Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 1999). However, the applications of the Frye and Daubert Standards remain inconsistent across both federal and state courts, allowing for unreliable evidence and testimony to enter trials, increasing the likelihood of unjust outcomes, such as wrongful convictions, as well as other violations of constitutional rights. Some experts suggest that the adoption of the Daubert Standard has also constrained access to the justice system for litigants from historically marginalized populations, specifically African Americans. This conference will reflect upon the current body of research regarding the courts’ application of admissibility standards and explore the potential challenges to these standards arising from quickly developing scientific fields such as artificial intelligence, climate science, statistical modeling, and advances in forensic science. Event speakers and attendees will assess current practices and identify pathways for improving the use of credible, trustworthy scientific evidence and expert witness testimony by federal and state courts going forward. The conference in Washington, DC, will be an efficient and effective method of assembling a strategically identified and diverse group of people from across research disciplines, societal sectors, and geography, to share and discuss relevant knowledge and its impacts on society at large. The event will bring together members of both the scientific and legal communities, with government officials, academics, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to improving the United States justice system. The research that will be presented and discussed in the conference, and the needs for future research that will be identified, are directly related to improving the judicial system’s accurate and effective use of scientific evidence and to building public trust in the judiciary. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.