Statement of Task

At the request of the Federal Judicial Center (FJC), and in collaboration with the FJC, CSTL will develop the third edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence. The Reference Manual assists judges in managing cases involving complex scientific and technical evidence by describing the basic tenets of key scientific fields from which legal evidence is typically derived and providing examples of cases in which that evidence has been used. The development of the third edition will follow the basic structure of the current edition, but will include, in addition to updating, new topics and annotated case citations. An ad hoc committee under the auspices of CSTL will take the lead in producing the reference manual, i.e., developing, approving, publishing, and disseminating the Reference Manual. This work will be guided by the committee procedures of the National Research Council, and the final text will undergo review through the Academies' formal review process. CSTL also will organize a one-day symposium at which the new edition will be released to the legal and scientific communities.

This study is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Starr Foundation.

The approximate start date for the project is December 2006.

The Reference Manual will be issued in late 2009/early 2010.

Update 8/13/09: The Reference Manual will be issued in late 2010.

Update 6/7/11: The Reference Manual will be issued in mid 2011.

Update 7/29/11: The Reference Manual will be issued in September 2011.

Update 9/13/11: The Reference Manual will be issued on September 28, 2011.