FORENSIC CODES OF ETHICS

Forensic science provides a service to others, with a set of standards upon which others, not of the profession may rely. This service, when provided within the court system, is designated as expert testimony, and is, by definition, beyond the ken of the lay jury. Thus, forensic science meets the criteria of a profession, which mandates that its practitioners adhere to a code of ethics governing professional relationships.

The basic operation of a forensic scientist is the presentation to a court of law of a scientific analysis of evidence, complete with the limitations of that analysis in accordance with the established rules of evidence and legal code of ethics. This same criterion must apply even if the matter never gets to court and whether he be presenting evidence to a police investigator, prosecutor or to a defense attorney.

The profession of Forensic Science has been defined by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences as "the study and practice of the application of science to the purposes of justice." This is accomplished by a person skilled in the scientific examination of evidence in accordance with standards set by due process of law and by the scientific method. Thus, the standards set by due process of law and by the scientific method comprise the main tenets of a code of ethics.

The standards of the scientific method dictate that an examination be reliable and that the degree of reliability be known. Reliability is achieved by assuring that the examination is valid, reproducible and objective. Thus the standards of the scientific method require that the forensic scientist provide the client with a comprehensive and comprehensible, scientific analysis that can be relied upon by the Court and the client.

The above statements were reproduced by permission of Dr. H. Dale Nute, Chairman, SAFS Ethics Study Committee and appear in his online article titled: AN ETHICAL CODE FOR FORENSIC SCIENCE (http://www.southernforensic.org/ethics%20code.htm)