In Report questions science, reliability of crime lab evidence, LATimes.com writes:

The National Academy of Sciences says many courtroom claims about fingerprints, bite marks and other evidence lack scientific verification. It finds forensics inconsistent and in disarray nationwide. 

The National Academy of Sciences report called for a wholesale overhaul of the crime lab system, which has become increasingly crucial to American jurisprudence.  Many experts said the report could have a broad impact on crime labs and the courts, ushering in changes at least as significant as those generated by the advent of DNA evidence two decades ago.

Recommendations from the scientific panel included requiring that expert witnesses and forensic analysts be certified by the new agency, and that labs be accredited.