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 …
Blog
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, …
Brain Injuries in Criminalized Survivors of Intimate Partner ViolenceRead More
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 …
Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Law, Brain & Behavior Advances Juvenile Justice in Launching First-of-its-Kind Cutting-Edge Brain Science “NeuroLaw Library”
BOSTON ̶ June 11, 2024 – In an effort to make the legal system more effective and just for all those affected by the law, today, the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB), one of the nation’s leading institutes committed to providing the most accurate and actionable neuroscience for judges, lawyers, policymakers and journalists, …
Forensic Book Club
Would you like to read and discuss books about science and the law with a group of attorneys, legal professionals, and scientists? We have decided to create a Forensic Book Club that will meet every couple of months to discuss a book of interest. This book by science writer Tom Chivers has struck my fancy …
NC State Crime Laboratory Welcomes New Director
Amanda W. Thompson has accepted a new role as Director of the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory. Director Thompson has been with the crime laboratory since 2000. She was hired as a DNA Database Analyst and then promoted to a Forensic Scientist in the Forensic Biology Section where she served as a Forensic Serologist and …
Human Factors and Cognitive Bias in Forensic Science – What Does the Research Say?
Live webinar presented by Adele Quigley-McBride, PhD, LLBAug 1, 2024, 12:30pm90 min of CLE credit anticipated Research and post-mortem evaluations of wrongful conviction cases have shed light on some of the problems contributing to errors in forensic science in the US. Although research explicitly designed to apply to forensic testing procedures is in its infancy, …
Human Factors and Cognitive Bias in Forensic Science – What Does the Research Say?Read More
Smith v. Arizona and testimony of substitute analysts
On June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court issued an important decision in Smith v. Arizona. This is a good opinion; you should know about it if you don’t already. If you’d like to join an informal discussion of this case and its importance for NC defenders, Phil Dixon and I will be talking about it on the …
Smith v. Arizona and testimony of substitute analystsRead More
How do you know if audio evidence is faked?
Digital forensics expert Lars Daniel has a new 8-minute video explaining how he spotted 80 different points where an audio file was edited in a criminal case he testified in a couple of weeks ago. He did this via a spectrogram analysis, which lets you “see” where audio has been edited, even if you cannot hear it. In …
2024 Report of the State Crime Lab Ombudsperson released
Susan Brooks, Ombudsperson to the NC State Crime Laboratory released a report prepared pursuant to N.C.G.S. 114-62 on June 12, 2024. The full Report is available here. The Report makes no recommendations for the lab’s technical operations, but makes several recommendations in four areas: The Report recognizes that several of these recommendations would require significant …
2024 Report of the State Crime Lab Ombudsperson releasedRead More
What Attorneys Need to Know about Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence
Live webinar presented by Victoria Reynolds, Ph.D. and Barbara Lagemann, JDJune 27, 2024, 12:30pm90 min of CLE credit This presentation will provide information about the dynamics present in relationships involving Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence (IPV/DV) and how these dynamics may impact criminal and child protection cases. Presentation of a case study from the perspective of an attorney experienced in defending …
What Attorneys Need to Know about Intimate Partner/Domestic ViolenceRead More
Toxicology Testing Methods
Live webinar presented by Rohan Parekh, MS, PhDJune 6, 2024, 12:30pm90 min of CLE credit anticipated Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool for separating and identifying the components of forensic samples. This presentation will explain how the method works and its forensic use in testing blood or urine for the presence of controlled …
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 June 14, 2024 at 10:00 …