SJC supports judicial inquiry into ShotSpotter reliability, technology used to track gunshots in cities

'We note that, although it was not requested in the instant case, a
Daubert-Lanigan
hearing should be allowed if so requested to further inform the court regarding retrospective forensic use of ShotSpotter technology,' Justice Scott L. Kafker wrote for the unanimous court.
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He added, 'we are not aware that any Massachusetts court has undertaken a
Daubert-Lanigan
hearing regarding the retrospective forensic use of ShotSpotter technology."
In the 1990s, the US Supreme Court and the SJC set a five-part test now known as
Daubert-Lanigan
before new science can be used in trials. They include peer review, support for the tech in the scientific community and testing to confirm its accuracy,
The Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state's public defender agency, supports the SJC's call for scrutinizing ShotSpotter systems.
The 'underlying methodology, the proprietary nature of its algorithms, and the lack of independent scientific validation raise serious questions about its accuracy and reliability — especially when used to retrospectively determine the timing, location, or even the existence of gunfire,'' CPCS spokesman Robert McGovern wrote.
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ShotSpotter has been deployed by Boston police - and other Massachusetts police agencies - as part of its technological response to gun violence, and is used in real time to dispatch officers to active crime scenes and in court to support shooting and homicide prosecutions.
But critics, including the New England Innocence Project and the national Innocence Project, contend the company has not undergone the rigorous judicial inquiry long required of new science - like was done for DNA testing - before it was used in criminal cases.
'Flawed forensic science is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions.' Mitha Nandagopalan, staff attorney for the national Innocence Project wrote in an e-mail to the Globe. 'It's past time Massachusetts courts examine whether ShotSpotter is reliable.'
A 2024 study by researchers at Northeastern University found ShotSpotter does get police to active crime scenes faster and for improved evidence collection.
ShotSpotter was questioned in the first degree murder appeal of Lee M. Rios convicted for the March 24, 2015, shooting of Kenneth Lopez multiple times in Springfield.
During his Hampden Superior Court trial, a ShotSpotter employee testified the geolocation system can mistake loud sounds for gunshots. In the Rios trial, ShotSpotter mistakenly identified a location 300 yards from where Lopez was actually killed, and only by manually reviewing the data was the error corrected, the SJC said.
In his appeal, Rios argued the flawed ShotSpotter report undermined his defense and justified granting him a new trial, among other grounds.
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The SJC, however, disagreed. 'There was overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt entirely separate from the ShotSpotter evidence,'' Kafker wrote for the court.
If the
Daubert-Lanigan
finds the ShotSpotter unreliable, the use as a forensic tool could be severely restricted in criminal cases, attorneys said.
The Globe requested comment from Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni's office, which prosecuted Rios.
John R. Ellement can be reached at

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