Standards Implementation: Legal Community

The Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science, or OSAC, was established in 2014, in collaboration with NIST and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to help the forensic science community establish standards and best practices. OSAC’s mission is to strengthen the nation’s use of forensic science by facilitating the development of technically sound standards, expanding the OSAC Registry with standards that have completed a technical assessment, and promoting the implementation of those standards by OSAC’s stakeholders and the forensic science community. 

Generally speaking, forensic science standards are documents that define minimum requirements, best practices, standard protocols, or provide other guidance for forensic practice.  Some standards require action by implementers (i.e., use the word "shall"), and others recommend it (i.e., use the word "should"). The term “standard” can apply to both kinds of documents, or it can be used as a term of art to mean only requirements documents. Standards will vary in this regard, and in their content and appearance, based on document type and on the standards developing organization (SDO) through which they were developed. 

For more information see:

•  What are some common kinds of standards?
• What are standards developing organizations (SDOs)?

Standards developing organizations (SDOs) are private-sector organizations that develop, publish, and maintain standards, typically through a voluntary consensus process. Currently, most of the standards on the OSAC Registry have been developed through either through the Academy Standards Board (ASB), which is a subsidiary of the American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS), or through the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Both ASB and ASTM’s standards development processes have been accredited as standards developing organizations by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).  

Other SDOs with standards currently on the Registry or in development include the American Dental Association (ADA), the Audio Engineering Society (AES), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE). A complete list of SDOs with standards on the OSAC Registry or in development can found here.

Standards’ format and content will vary from SDO to SDO, as do the circumstances under which they can be formally labeled “standards” in the first place. Some SDOs are also accredited, meaning they have met certain requirements for standards developing organizations set by their accrediting bodies. However, inclusion on the OSAC Registry means that, regardless of the SDO which ultimately produced a standard, the standard has undergone the OSAC Registry approval process. This process includes the opportunity for review and commentary by the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB); the FSSB’s resource groups, which include forensic science practitioners, research scientists, statisticians, and legal experts; and the public. SDOs may also publish standards that may not be considered for the OSAC Registry, or which do not pass the review process required to be placed on the OSAC Registry.  

For more information see:

• What are standards?
• What are some common kinds of standards?

There are many different types of standards, which will vary based on the SDO that produced them. When reading standards, lawyers should take care to identify the SDO that developed the standard, the type of document, and the form of the language used in the document and in any particular section. The form of these documents will help lawyers understand how standards are understood and used by forensic practitioners and how they might be understood and used by the courts. 

One key distinction for lawyers to understand is the difference between standards that require action versus those that recommend action. This distinction is typically drawn through document type, as most SDOs have different document categories for those standards which set out requirements and those that make recommendations (though note that some mandatory requirements may be embedded in otherwise non-mandatory documents). In addition to document type, this distinction is also drawn through language; for most standards, “shall” typically sets forth a requirement, while “should” sets out a recommendation. The distinction between these documents is important for lawyers to understand in part because requirements documents that have been implemented by a forensic science service providers can play a role in accreditation, while recommendation documents typically do not.

For more information see:

• Types of ASB documents
• Walkthrough an ASB Standard
• Types of ASTM documents
• Walkthrough an ASTM Standard

Prior to the establishment of OSAC in 2014, most forensic science standard development was done through a program under the auspices of the Department of Justice and other federal agencies known as Scientific Working Groups, or “SWGs.”  In 2014, the development of standards and guidelines for forensic practices largely transitioned from the SWGs to OSAC. One exception to the transfer of SWG responsibilities to OSAC is the Scientific Working Group for DNA (SWGDAM), which continues to maintain responsibility for helping the FBI update the DNA Quality Assurance Standards. Those standards set minimum requirements for a forensic science service provider to participate in, and contribute DNA records to, the National DNA Index System (NDIS). OSAC also produces DNA standards in parallel to SWGDAM’s continued work. 

In addition, the Scientific Working Group for Digital Evidence (SWGDE) continues to operate as an SDO for standards produced in digital evidence. The Scientific Working Group for Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG) and the Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG) also maintain some level of continued operation. A list of all legacy SWGs can be found here. 

OSAC Proposed Standards are documents that have undergone the OSAC internal review process for placement on the Registry before they are sent to an SDO to be further developed and published. Because the SDO process is lengthy (often taking upwards of two years to complete), and because these standards have undergone full consensus review within OSAC, OSAC encourages labs to adopt OSAC Proposed Standards as the most current scientific guidance available to them in the interim.

The OSAC Registry is a repository of selected published and proposed standards for forensic science. These documents contain minimum requirements, best practices, standard protocols, terminology, or other information to promote valid, reliable, and reproducible forensic results. The standards on the OSAC Registry have undergone a technical and quality review process that actively encourages feedback from forensic science practitioners, research scientists, human factors experts, statisticians, legal experts, and the public. Placement on the Registry requires a 2/3 consensus of both the OSAC subcommittee that proposed the inclusion of the standard and the Forensic Science Standards Board. 

The OSAC Registry includes SDO-published standards, which have completed both the consensus process of OSAC and that of an external standards developing organization (SDO). It also includes OSAC Proposed Standards which have undergone the same OSAC technical and quality review process as the SDO-published standards on the Registry, but which have not yet completed an SDO consensus process. Once the SDO process is completed, the SDO published standard is reviewed at OSAC, and if approved for inclusion on the Registry, it replaces the proposed standard. 

For more information see:

• What are standards?
• What are OSAC Proposed Standards? 

A list of forensic science service providers (FSSPs) that have formally notified NIST that they have implemented standards on the OSAC Registry can be found here (Note: FSSPs that have implemented standards on the OSAC Registry but have elected to not notify NIST will not appear on this list). Also note that inclusion on this list does not mean that an FSSP has implemented all standards on the OSAC Registry, and NIST does not independently verify implementation. Texas practitioners can also find a list searchable by lab, standard implemented, implementation date, and implementation type (e.g., whether partial or full) at the Texas Forensic Science Commission website.

Adoption of standards on the OSAC Registry is completely voluntary, as are virtually all forensic science standards. However, if a forensic science service provider (FSSP) has adopted standards on the Registry that set forth mandatory provisions (i.e., that use “shall” language and/or take a mandatory document form), or if an FSSP has incorporated those standards into its standard operating procedures (SOPs), an FSSP’s accrediting body can assess it against those provisions. Failure to follow recommendation documents, or recommendations set forth in “should” language, typically do not impact accreditation. 

For more information see:

• What are some common kinds of standards? 

No. While an expert may testify or report that they followed standards on the OSAC Registry in their work, neither OSAC as a whole nor individual subcommittees can approve, validate, or otherwise sanction testimony or reporting. 

There are a number of resources available to help legal participants understand and make better use of standards. 

• Fact Sheets. As part of a cooperative agreement with NIST, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) is producing fact sheets for every standard on the OSAC Registry. These are meant to explain the standards in plain language. Although they are not aimed at lawyers (and are not a substitute for the standard itself), they can be a starting place for understanding the standard. The list of fact sheets is available here; each fact sheet is also linked beneath the relevant standard on the OSAC Registry.
• Standards Checklists. Also part of the NIST-AAFS cooperative agreement are Standards Checklists, which are fillable spreadsheets meant for forensic science service providers to track their implementation of a standard and provide evidence of that implementation for potential use in accreditation audits and other procedures. These documents, which are being produced for each standard on the OSAC Registry, break down line by line whether particular provisions are mandatory or not. They can be a helpful resource for lawyers to better understand what particular language in a standard actually requires. Standard checklists are linked below each standard on the OSAC Registry. 
• Process Maps. OSAC has produced process maps, which are flow charts detailing key forensic decisions, in a number of disciplines including Fire Investigation, Seized Drugs, Human Forensic DNA Analysis, Footwear & Tire Examination, Firearms, Friction Ridge, Handwriting, and Speaker Recognition. Although these maps are not keyed directly to standards on the OSAC Registry, they can help lawyers see what part of a forensic process a standard covers. More about process maps can be found here. 
• SDO Style Guides and Manuals. Most standards developing organizations have style guides or manuals. Although these documents are typically aimed at standards drafters, rather than end users, they are invaluable in explaining document types, terminology, what standards should contain, and what the documents are meant (and not meant) to do. These include:
  • Form and Style for ASTM Standards 
  • Manual and Style Guide for ASB Standards, Guidelines, Best Practice Recommendations, and Technical Reports
  • Manual of Style for NFPA Technical Committee Documents
  • ISO Directives Part 2

Previous versions of standards and the date they were replaced on the OSAC Registry can be found at the OSAC Registry Archive. 

Lawyers can get involved with OSAC in two primary ways. First, all stakeholders are encouraged to participate in public commenting. The list of standards open for public comment is available here. Lawyers can also apply to join OSAC and participate in the standards development process as a volunteer member.