Emerging Areas of Science, Engineering, and Medicine for the Courts: A Workshop to Identify Chapters for a Fourth Edition of The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence

《科学证据参考手册》是联邦法官关于诉讼中的科学问题的主要参考资料。它不仅被联邦法官使用，也被州法官、律师、法律学者和法律系学生使用。它的实用性和广泛使用是因为它在可能出现在专家证词中的领域公平和平衡地提出了科学方法论的基本原则。自《参考手册》最后一版(第三版)出版以来，已经过去了九年，其中许多章节需要更新，以适应科学和法律方面的最新发展。例如，关于法医学和DNA鉴定的章节需要更新，以考虑到新的基因测试技术和方法，关于神经科学的章节必须考虑到检测神经活动的新途径。新版还需要处理近年来在诉讼中变得重要的科学领域，例如计算机软件；危险行为的预测/个人行为的遗传基础；目击者识别；以及气候变化。美国国家科学院、工程院和医学会科学、技术和法律委员会与联邦司法中心--美国政府司法部门的研究和教育机构--合作，已同意继续开发第四版参考手册，并将召开研讨会，审查第三版的内容，并确定可能成为新版新章节或更新章节的候选科学和技术领域。将召集一个由6至8名成员组成的规划委员会，由法律界和科学界/工程界/医学界平均分配，以规划为期两天的虚拟讲习班。通过电话会议，工作人员和委员会将确定研讨会的议程、格式和主题，并确定演讲者。将印发由报告员编写的讲习班简要会议记录，以提供有助于编写第四版《科学证据参考手册》的信息。讲习班将通过协助法官了解科学和技术信息，从而加强他们对这类纠纷中可能涉及的复杂信息的了解，并加强他们与律师、法院官员、法院指定的专家和其他寻求向法院通报相关科学技术信息的人进行知情对话的能力，从而促进在法庭上正确使用和评价科学证据。充分利用现有证据有助于司法机构确保所有人在法庭上得到公正对待。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence is a primary reference source for federal judges on questions of science in litigation. It is used not only by federal judges, but by state judges, attorneys, legal scholars, and law students. Its utility and widespread use is the result of the fair and balanced presentation it provides of fundamental principles of scientific methodology in areas likely to arise in expert testimony. Nine years have passed since the publication of the last (third) edition of the Reference Manual, and many of the chapters need updating to account for recent developments in science and law. For example, chapters on forensic science and DNA identification need updating to take into account new genetic testing techniques and methodologies, the chapter on neuroscience must take account of new approaches for detecting neural activity. A new edition will also need to address areas of science that have become important in litigation in recent years, e.g., computer software; prediction of dangerous behavior/genetic foundations of individual behavior; eyewitness identification; and climate change. The Committee on Science, Technology, and Law of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in collaboration with the Federal Judicial Center – the research and education agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. government – have agreed to pursue the development of a fourth edition of the Reference Manual and will convene a workshop to review the contents of the third edition and identify areas of science and technology that may be candidates for new or updated chapters in a new edition. A planning committee of 6-8 members equally divided between the legal and scientific/engineering/medical communities will be convened to plan the two-day virtual workshop. Working via conference calls, staff and the committee will define the workshop agenda, format, and topics and identify speakers. A rapporteur-authored proceedings in brief for the workshop will be issued to provide information that will be useful in the development of a fourth edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence. The workshop will advance the proper use and evaluation of scientific evidence in court by assisting judges in understanding scientific and technical information, thereby strengthening their understanding of the complex information that may be at issue in such disputes and their ability to engage in an informed conversation with lawyers, officers of the court, court-appointed experts, and others who seek to inform the court regarding relevant scientific and technical information. Making the best use of available evidence helps the judiciary ensure that all people are treated justly in the courts.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.