Has the criminal defense community been like Bill Buckner and letting the easy grounders gently roll past us?

I think so.

Perhaps too frequently in this blog, we highlight what is wrong with forensic science. What is one of the biggest problems (and may even be the biggest problem) is the incredible lack of interest in science by the criminal defense attorney. This is something that the National Academy of Sciences noted in its ground breaking publication Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward.

Education and Training. Students in the physical and life sciences should be encouraged to pursue graduate studies to improve and develop applicable research methodologies in forensic science through scholarship and grant programs administered by The new federal entity. Continuing legal education programs for law students, practitioners and judges should also be established and supported.

The only way we can insure that a just result comes is if we make sure that the only thing that stands between the accused and the leviathan that is the government (which is the criminal defense attorney) is educated. The sad reality is the horrible underfunding of the office of the public defender in the various jurisdictions. Even private attorneys infrequently have clients who can both afford them and then an appropriate expert. Part of the solution is to either mandate education in science to those who handle criminal defense cases or shame them into it. We need to become better educated.