ANSI Announces Spring 2022 Legal Issues Forum: Forensic Standards and Conformity Assessment

Register for the World Standards Week Event on May 19, 2022

As part of its spring 2022 World Standards Week (WSW) series of events, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will host a Legal Issues Forum on the theme, Forensic Standards and Conformity Assessment. The forum will take place on May 19 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. A virtual attendance option is also available. REGISTER HERE.

The Legal Issues Forum will address the unique interplay between forensic standards, conformity assessment, and the law. The event will kick off with a keynote address by Judge Pamela King, District Court Judge, Minnesota’s 3rd Judicial District. The Hon. Pamela King is currently on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a member of the Academy Standards Board. She was previously a Commissioner on the National Commission on Forensic Sciences, Federal Advisory Commission.

Two panels will engage legal, forensic, and accreditation professionals, focused on two issues:

Panel One: How Performance Can Be Assessed Against Forensic Standards – The Lab Perspective

• This panel of forensic science experts will discuss how performance can be assessed against forensic standards from the lab perspective. The experts will explore both the history and current state of forensic standards as well as the real-world impact of accreditation on the field.

   

• Moderated by Dr. Mary McKiel, ANSI Board Vice Chair and Standards Consultant with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences – Academy Standards Board, panelists will include: Linda Jackson, Director, Virginia Department of Forensic Sciences; Scott Oulton, Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office of Forensic Sciences; Brad Putnam, Senior Director of Accreditation, Forensics, ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB); and Peter Stout, President and CEO, Houston Forensic Science Center, LLC.

Panel Two: How This Plays Out in the Courtroom

• This panel of legal experts will address the role of forensic standards in the administration of justice, the forensic standards currently used in the courtroom, and the profound impact these standards (and the evidence to which they apply) can have on the outcome of cases in our judicial system.

   

• Moderated by Pamela Sale, Vice President, Forensics at ANAB, panelists will include: Sarah Chu, Senior Advisor on Forensic Science Policy, Innocence Project; Ted Hunt, Special Counsel - Science and Technology Branch, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Terri Rosenblatt, Chief of Post-Conviction Justice Unit, Manhattan District Attorney's Office; and Raymond Valerio, Assistant District Attorney and Director of Forensic Sciences, Office of the Queens County District Attorney.

The agenda and registration details are available at www.ansi.org/wsweek.

About World Standards Week
World Standards Week is an annual gathering that brings together ANSI members and private- and public-sector stakeholders from across the standards and conformity assessment communities to engage on priority issues and celebrate standardization achievements.

About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.

The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.