The Bullets Match .... But Who Cares?

The recently released National Academy of Sciences report" Weighing Bullet Lead Evidence" evaluates current FBI practice with respect to measuring trace element concentrations in bullet lead, determining whether two bullet profiles match, and the interpretation of the results.  A short summary is that the chemistry is fine, the statistics could be better, and the legal interpretation is problematic.  This talk provides
a brief review of the statistical issues and reports on some FBI-funded research attempting to address the difficult issue of interpretation.