S. HRG. 107–342 DNA CRIME LABS: THE PAUL COVERDELL NATIONAL FORENSIC SCIENCES IMPROVEMENT ACT HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MAY 15, 2001 Serial No. J–107–19 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 78–008 DTP WASHINGTON : 2002 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Feb 1 2002 09:40 Mar 27, 2002 Jkt 078008 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 C:\HEARINGS\78008.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman STROM THURMOND, South Carolina PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware JON KYL, Arizona HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin MIKE DEWINE, Ohio DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois MARIA CANTWELL, Washington SHARON PROST, Chief Counsel MAKAN DELRAHIM, Staff Director BRUCE COHEN, Minority Chief Counsel and Staff Director (II) VerDate Feb 1 2002 09:40 Mar 27, 2002 Jkt 078008 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\HEARINGS\78008.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Page Durbin, Hon. Richard J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois .................... 27 Feingold, Hon. Russell D., a U.S. Senator from the State of Wisconsin ............. 21 Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa ..................... 7 Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah ............................ 1 Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont .................... 3 Thurmond, Hon. Strom, a U.S. Senator from the State of South Carolina ........ 7 WITNESSES Buel, Eric, Director, Vermont Forensic Laboratory, Waterbury, Vermont ......... 36 Boyd, David G., Deputy Director, National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. .......................... 8 Coonrod, Keith K., Chair, Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations, Albany, New York ................................................................................................ 14 Downs, James Claude Upshaw, M.D., Director/Chief Medical Examiner, De- partment of Forensic Services, State of Alabama, Auburn, Alabama ............. 40 Nix, Milton E., Jr., Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Decatur, Georgia .................................................................................................................. 43 Petersen, William, Actor, Valencia, California ...................................................... 18 Sheppo, Michael G., Bureau Chief, Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services, Forensic Sciences Command, Springfield, Illinois ............................. 32 Townsend, Richard J., Director, Utah Bureau of Forensic Sciences, Salt Lake City, Utah ............................................................................................................. 28 Yura, Michael T., Director, Forensic Identification Program, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia ............................................................ 47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Questions submitted by the Committee on the Judiciary .................................... 54 Questions submitted by Senator Feingold ............................................................. 55 Responses of Eric Buel to questions submitted by the Committee on the Judiciary ............................................................................................................... 55 Responses of Eric Buel to questions submitted by Senator Feingold .................. 56 Responses of J.C. Upshaw Downs, M.D. to questions submitted by the Com- mittee on the Judiciary ........................................................................................ 57 Responses of J.C. Upshaw Downs, M.D. to questions submitted by Senator Feingold ................................................................................................................ 58 Response of the National Institute of Justice to a question submitted by Senator Schumer .................................................................................................. 60 Responses of Milton E. Nix, Jr. to questions submitted by Senator Feingold .... 60 Responses of Michael G. Sheppo to questions submitted by the Committee on the Judiciary ................................................................................................... 61 Responses of Michael G. Sheppo to questions submitted by Senator Feingold .. 63 Responses of Richard J. Townsend to questions submitted by the Committee on the Judiciary ................................................................................................... 65 Responses of Richard J. Townsend to questions submitted by Senator Fein- gold ........................................................................................................................ 66 Responses of Michael T. Yura to questions submitted by the Committee on the Judiciary ................................................................................................... 66 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Laboratory, Washington, DC, proposal .. 68 (III) VerDate Feb 1 2002 09:40 Mar 27, 2002 Jkt 078008 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\HEARINGS\78008.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC IV Page Fenger, Terry W., Director, Forensic Science Program, School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, statement ............................................ 70 Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, DC, report ................................ 71 VerDate Feb 1 2002 09:40 Mar 27, 2002 Jkt 078008 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\HEARINGS\78008.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC DNA CRIME LABS: THE PAUL COVERDELL NA- TIONAL FORENSIC SCIENCES IMPROVE- MENT ACT TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2001 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:13 p.m., in room SD–226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. Present: Senators Hatch, Sessions, Leahy, Feingold, and Durbin. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN G. HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH Chairman HATCH. Good afternoon. I am pleased to welcome all of you to today’s hearing on forensic science. I appreciate the efforts of Senator Sessions, who has agreed to chair the hearing. While the topic may at first blush sound somewhat dry, I assure you that any reader of Patricia Cornwell’s novels or any viewer of the television programs ‘‘Quincy’’ or ‘‘CSI: Crime Scene Investiga- tion’’ knows the work performed by our Nation’s forensic scientists is truly fascinating. These are the people who, by analyzing finger- prints, DNA samples, fibers, hair, ballistics and other crime scene evidence, help solve some of our most difficult crimes. Without them, I don’t think we would solve a lot of crimes. The work performed by these scientists carries with it an awe- some responsibility. Because of their expertise, the testimony of fo- rensic scientists often carries great weight with a jury in a criminal trial. In that regard, we are all troubled by allegations that mis- takes by a police chemist helped send innocent people to prison. This isolated situation should not be used unfairly to indict the thousands of forensic scientists who perform their work profes- sionally and responsibly. It should, however, remind us that those who work in our criminal justice system have an obligation to be diligent, honest and fair-minded. And we as public policy leaders have the obligations to ensure that our forensic scientists have the resources necessary to carry out their critical work. Thanks in large part to Senator Sessions, we now have legislation that will do just that. The Paul Coverdell National Forensic Sciences Improvement Act of 2000, introduced last session by Senator Sessions and signed into law by President Clinton, authorized substantial resources for (1) VerDate Feb 1 2002 09:40 Mar 27, 2002 Jkt 078008 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\HEARINGS\78008.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC 2 State and local crime laboratories. These resources, awarded to States by the Attorney General in the form of block grants, can be used by laboratories for personnel, facilities, training, equipment and other supplies. The legislation also contains an important safe- guard that will ensure testing accuracy. To apply for a grant, a State must certify that it has either a fo- rensic laboratory system, coroner’s office or medical examiner’s of- fice that is accredited by the Laboratory Accreditation Board of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors or the National Association of Medical Examiners, or that the State would use a portion of the grant to prepare and apply for such accreditation. This provision is critical given that less than one-half of all crime laboratories in the United States are currently accredited. The resources authorized by this legislation are dearly needed. To cite one statistic that I am certain we will hear again this after- noon, a recent study by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors found that 9,000 additional forensic scientists