John Morrey Collins warns forensic groups about strategic litigation

John Morrey Collins has asked 14 national forensic science organizations to respond to what he calls a growing threat from strategic litigation, citing the Hawaii Supreme Court’s Granillo v. State decision. The memorandum urges professional standards, internal review, and support for experts named in post-conviction cases.

Why it matters: - Collins says strategic litigation is creating a new pressure point for forensic science and criminal justice. - The memorandum argues that post-conviction challenges can weaken confidence in forensic testimony even when the underlying science and courtroom context are not fully considered. - The issue affects how forensic organizations, laboratories, and experts are used in appeals and conviction challenges.

What happened: - John Morrey Collins sent a memorandum dated July 24, 2026, to the boards and leadership of 14 national forensic science organizations. - The recipients include the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, the International Association for Identification, and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science. - Collins tied the memo to the Hawaii Supreme Court’s Granillo v. State decision. - The court vacated a 36-year-old kidnapping and sexual assault conviction after concluding that hair and fiber testimony at the original 1990 trial exceeded what the science could support.

The details: - Collins says post-conviction courts too often isolate words and phrases from old testimony instead of reading the full question-and-answer exchange. - He distinguishes that practice from innocence work based on direct evidence of factual innocence. - Collins uses the term “strategic litigation” for efforts that seek exonerations by attacking entire categories of forensic evidence as “junk science.” - “A subjective accusation of malpractice is not proof of a professional failure on the part of a forensic expert, nor is it proof of a defendant’s innocence,” Collins writes. - Collins adds that strategic litigation “too often substitutes the disparagement of a forensic method for the harder work of establishing fact.” - The memorandum sets out 10 principles Collins wants forensic organizations to adopt and reinforce through professional codes of conduct. - The memo also lists six practical implementation measures. - One measure calls for internal review before an organization’s name or publications are cited in support of a post-conviction claim. - Another calls for expanded support for members who are individually named or disparaged in post-conviction proceedings. - Collins is the author of Valid Comparisons: The Forensic and Judicial Examination of Stochastic Patterns and Crime Lab Report: An Anthology on Forensic Science in the Era of Criminal Justice Reform. - Collins has spoken to forensic science audiences internationally, including a 2015 address to scientists of the FBI Laboratory.

Between the lines: - Collins is trying to move the debate from isolated courtroom language to professional standards and organizational self-defense. - The memo signals growing concern among some forensic commentators that post-conviction advocacy is shifting from case-specific innocence claims to broader attacks on forensic disciplines. - That framing could sharpen tensions between reform advocates and forensic professionals over how to evaluate older evidence.

What's next: - The 14 organizations will decide whether to respond to Collins’s memo and whether any group adopts his recommended principles. - Any future post-conviction case that cites forensic organization materials could face more internal scrutiny if the memo’s recommendations gain traction. - Collins is also likely to keep using his book and public speaking work to press the same argument with forensic audiences.

The bottom line: - Collins is urging forensic science leaders to treat strategic litigation as an institutional challenge, not just a series of isolated appeals.