IDS and the Mecklenburg Public Defender’s Office provide regular continuing education to dozens of NC criminal defense and parent attorneys, investigators, and mitigation specialists who attend the IDS Forensic Science Education Series. In 2024, we will offer monthly 90-minute webinars on various forensic disciplines and preparations for Daubert/702 challenges. These webinars will take place typically …
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2025 Forensic Trial Litigation CLE at Duke Law
Pre-recorded lectures: 2 hrs February 7: 2 pm to 5 pm (2.5 hrs.) February 8: 9 am to 12 pm, 2 pm to 5 pm (5 hrs.) Total CLE Hours: 2 hrs prerecorded + 7.5 hrs in person = 9.5 hrs(Each three hour in-person session will include two 15 min. breaks) Forensic evidence, from DNA …
2025 IDS Forensic Science Education Series
IDS and the Mecklenburg Public Defender’s Office provide regular continuing education to dozens of NC criminal defense and parent attorneys, investigators, and mitigation specialists who attend the IDS Forensic Science Education Series. In 2025, we will offer monthly 90-minute webinars on various aspects of forensic evidence. These webinars will take place typically at 12:30 pm on …
Defense Challenges to Firearms Evidence CLE
Free to attend in-person only CLE Brunswick County Courthouse Jan. 10, 2025 at 11 am Forensic Fridays Series is a six-part program held over the course of the next year and is sponsored by the 15th District Office of the Public Defender, in conjunction with Indigent Defense Services. This free CLE series is open to …
Forensic Webinars Wrap Up for 2024
In collaboration with the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office, IDS just completed its fifth consecutive year of offering FREE, regular continuing education to criminal defense attorneys, investigators and mitigation specialists across North Carolina. In 2024, a total of 15 sessions of the IDS Forensic Science Education Series were offered. Participants who took advantage of each session in …
Smith v. Arizona Comes to NC
As regular readers know, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Smith v. Arizona, 602 U.S. 779 (2024), this past June. The decision undercut the reasoning used by North Carolina courts to justify the practice of permitting substitute analysts to offer an independent opinion about the forensic report of another, nontestifying analyst (as discussed here and here). Until this week, no …
Come read with us!
The Forensic Book Club is starting its second book and will meet virtually to discuss on Feb. 10 at 7 pm. We hope you’ll join us. We are a group of defenders, scientists, one prosecutor, one ombudsperson, and a judge! The next book we’ll be discussing is Blood, Powder, and Residue: How Crime Labs Translate …
Defending Sex Offense Cases
Live webinar presented by Susan Seahorn, J.D.Nov. 7, 2024, 12:30pm90 min of CLE credit anticipated This presentation is designed for defenders who handle sex offense cases. It will provide an overview of the unique challenges these cases present, including navigating sensitive subject matter, addressing the public stigma associated with sex crimes, and understanding the legal …
New Report: Wrongful Convictions in North Carolina
On October 2, 2024, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law marked International Wrongful Convictions Day – a day designed to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful convictions and to shed light on the tremendous harms wrongful convictions have on individuals, their families, and communities. Since 1989, 75 people have been …
State Crime Lab tour offered
Would you like to see where evidence is tested at the State Crime Lab and learn more about the methods used at the Lab? The NC State Crime Laboratory is offering a tour of the Lab in Raleigh for criminal defense attorneys and investigators. The tour will take place on Dec. 5, 2024 at 9:30 …
The Fourth Circuit Weighs in on THC-O and “Synthetic” THC
Originally posted on North Carolina Criminal Law, a UNC School of Government Blog In September, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant decision affecting the hemp industry on the federal level. There has been an open question for some time regarding the legality of certain cannabinoids that do not naturally occur in the …
The Fourth Circuit Weighs in on THC-O and “Synthetic” THCRead More
Brain Injuries in Criminalized Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
Live webinar presented by Kelly Newcomb, J.D.Oct. 3, 2024, 12:30pm90 min of CLE credit anticipated Millions of women in the U.S. experience brain injury as a result of intimate partner violence (IPV). Some survivors later become involved in the criminal legal system. The presentation offers education to legal actors and advocates as to the types, …
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FORENSICS@NIST 2024
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN MAIN EVENT: NOVEMBER 18-20, 2024 Join NIST virtually on Tuesday November 18th – Thursday November 20th, 2024 to learn how NIST scientists are using advanced methods in metrology, computer science and statistics to strengthen forensic science. Topic Areas to be covered include: Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions during a virtual Q&A. OPTIONAL WORKSHOPS: …
Forensic Science Standards and Their Use in Court
Live webinar presented by Dana M. Delger, JDSept. 19, 2024, 12:30pm90 min of CLE credit anticipated The Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science, administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), leverages volunteer efforts from over 800 stakeholders to support the development and implementation of forensic science standards across a …
Challenging the Foundational Validity of a Forensic Method Using a Statistician as an Expert
Live webinar presented by Jordan Duhe Willetts, JD and Melinda Thielbar, PhDSept. 5, 2024, 12:30pm90 min of CLE credit anticipated In order to raise a 702 challenge to the foundational validity of a forensic method, information about the research that purports to validate the method must be presented in court. This webinar will explain how …
The Role of Comprehensive Medicolegal Death Investigation as part of a Public Health Improvement Strategy
Attorneys handling death by distribution or other cases involving toxicology evidence may be interested in this recorded webinar series. In 2024, the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) offered a webinar series entitled, “The …