[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-450140-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-450140-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","fbi-drops-controversial-bullet-tests","FBI Drops Controversial Bullet Tests","","FBI ended tests that matched bullets by lead content after concerns about a high false-match rate between bullets from crime scenes and those taken from suspects. The bureau notified 300 U.S. and foreign agencies that received positive reports since 1966 without concluding the findings were wrong, allowing agencies to decide appropriate next steps. Defense attorneys argue re-evaluations could affect appeals, as exemplified by a New Jersey retrial ordered after courts cited erroneous scientific foundations. The NRC study criticized chaining-based statistics and urged clearer limits in courtroom testimony.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/fbi-drops-controversial-bullet-tests/450140/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/fbi-drops-controversial-bullet-tests/450140.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Blue Pony","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why did the FBI stop lead-content bullet matching tests?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"The FBI decided to end the practice because it was criticized for producing a high rate of false matches between crime-scene bullets and bullets taken from suspects.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Who was notified about past positive bullet lead test reports?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The FBI said it informed 300 state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies that had received positive match reports from the FBI Laboratory since 1966.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What did the NRC study criticize about the FBI’s method?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The NRC study questioned a statistical analysis method called chaining, warning it could produce artificially large groups of bullets deemed identical, and it recommended that FBI witnesses better explain test limits.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},450140,1792170768,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,94,99,104,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},70,"exam",{"id":95,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":100,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":95,"preview_page_count":4},962090760266,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","FBI Drops Controversial Bullet Tests [http://www.whistleblowers.org/FBI_Drops_Controversial_Bullet_Te..](http://www.whistleblowers.org/FBI_Drops_Controversial_Bullet_Te..) .  \n[washingtonpost. com](washingtonpost. com)  \nFBI Drops Controversial Bullet Tests  \nBy MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN  \nThe Associated Press  \nThursday, September 1, 2005; 9:37 PM  \nWASHINGTON--The FBI decided Thursday to stop tests that match bullets by lead content, a practice criticized as producing a high rate of false matches between crime scene bullets and bullets taken from  \nsuspects.  \nThe bureau said it was informing 300 state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies that had received positive match reports from the FBI Laboratory since 1966. The FBI said it had not determined those  \nresults were wrong but informed them so they could take whatever action they deem appropriate.  \nCriminal defense attorneys have contended that re-evaluation of these tests could affect some  \nconvictions on appeal. One New Jersey defendant has been granted a new trial because of questions  \nabout the bullet test analysis, and a convicted double murderer in New Zealand has requested a pardon  \nbased on questions about the test.  \nJack King, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers spokesman, said defense attorneys will  \ntrack down most defendants in those 300 cases. \"Now, we need the FBI to provide a live witness, a  \nscientist from the FBI Lab, to testify at post-conviction hearings on these old cases,\" King said. \"Some  \nof these guys have sat in jail for decades, and it's about time they got a fair hearing. \"  \nThe bureau spent more than a year reviewing recommendations of a scientific panel that last year  \ncriticized the reliability of conclusions based on the tests. The panel was assembled by the National  \nResearch Council, principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences, a private institution  \nchartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters.  \nThe FBI said it dropped the tests primarily because \"neither scientists nor bullet manufacturers are able  \nto definitively attest to the significance of an association made between bullets in the course of a bullet  \nlead examination. \"  \nExaminations of the lead content of bullets have been performed in limited circumstances, the FBI said.  \nTypically they are done when a firearm has not been recovered or when a fired bullet from a crime scene is too small or damaged to compare with the marks left on a slug by the barrel of a firearm.  \nThese bullet lead exams determine the amounts of trace elements, like copper, arsenic, antimony, or tin,  \nin the bullets. That analysis allows crime-scene bullets to be compared to bullets found in a suspect's  \npossession or weapon, the FBI said.  \nSince the early 1980s, the bureau has performed bullet lead examinations in 2,500 cases submitted by  \nfederal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies. But the results were introduced at trials in  \nfewer than 20 percent of those cases, the FBI said.  \nThe NRC study, requested by the FBI and released in February 2004, found the FBI's chemical analyses and equipment were sound. However, the study questioned a statistical analysis method known as chaining that compares trace elements in a series of bullets. It noted that bullets sold in one package  \nare not necessarily all from the same batch of lead.  \nThe study was first reported by The Associated Press in November, 2003.  \nKenneth O. MacFadden, a Chestertown, Md., research and management consultant who chaired the  \n1 of 2 8/7/08 12:40 PM  \nFBI Drops Controversial Bullet Tests [http://www.whistleblowers.org/FBI_Drops_Controversial_Bullet_Te..](http://www.whistleblowers.org/FBI_Drops_Controversial_Bullet_Te..) .  \nNRC study, said its most urgent recommendation was to have FBI witnesses in criminal cases more  \nclearly explain the limits of the test.  \nMacFadden said chaining is like saying bullet A is like bullet B and B is like C and C is l","cbCaiqv4tlrR2BYS","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqv4tlrR2BYS","pdf",40553,"English","# FBI Stops Lead-Content Bullet Tests\n## False Matches and Notifications\n## Legal Challenges and Appeals\n## Lead-Content Method and Trace Elements\n## NRC Review and Critique of “Chaining”\n## Court Rulings and New Trials","[{\"question\":\"Why did the FBI stop lead-content bullet matching tests?\",\"answer\":\"The FBI decided to end the practice because it was criticized for producing a high rate of false matches between crime-scene bullets and bullets taken from suspects.\"},{\"question\":\"Who was notified about past positive bullet lead test reports?\",\"answer\":\"The FBI said it informed 300 state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies that had received positive match reports from the FBI Laboratory since 1966.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the NRC study criticize about the FBI’s method?\",\"answer\":\"The NRC study questioned a statistical analysis method called chaining, warning it could produce artificially large groups of bullets deemed identical, and it recommended that FBI witnesses better explain test limits.\"}]","FBI Drops Controversial Bullet Tests | PDF",1790732221]