Weedn says New Jersey's medical examiners need to be under the jurisdiction of an independent office not under law enforcement jurisdiction. "People get rewarded for convictions, they get raises and promotions. There is an essential bias," argues Lawrence Kobilinsky, chair of the science department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and chair of the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists. While law enforcement and medical examiners do need to be able to communicate and coordinate their efforts, the latter should be under the jurisdiction of a state's health department to remain independent. "It is essential that these organizations remain independent of each other", Kobilinsky told the Star-Ledger.
