North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services
// by Sarah Olson
Attorneys handling complex cases know that expert insight can be the difference between a strong defense and a missed opportunity. Yet securing qualified forensic expertise quickly and efficiently can be a challenge. For Assistant Public Defenders and IDS Managed Assigned Counsel attorneys, the Expert Services Project helps bridge that gap by providing streamlined access to …
Great trial result from working with Expert Services ProjectRead More
// by Sarah Olson
In this database, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law has assembled reported decisions, chiefly by appellate courts, that discuss the admissibility of expert testimony regarding firearms, fingerprint, and shoeprint evidence. This database digests reported judicial rulings regarding that type of proffered expert testimony.
// by Sarah Olson
IDS has prepared this handbook to provide information for any professional considering serving as an expert witness in indigent criminal defense cases, as well as best practices for NC criminal defense attorneys working with expert witnesses.
// by Sarah Olson
Free to attend live webinar offered by the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office
The Care, Feeding, and Discovery of Expert WitnessesRead More
// by Sarah Olson
Free in person and online CLE offered by Mecklenburg Public Defender’s Office
The Care, Feeding, and Discovery of Expert Witnesses CLERead More
// by Sarah Olson
// by Sarah Olson
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 …
// by Phil Dixon, Jr.
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 …
// by Sarah Olson
// by Sarah Olson
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 …
// by Sarah Olson
// by Sarah Olson
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 …
// by David Andrews
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
// by Sarah Olson
// by Sarah Olson
Live webinar offered by UNC SOG
Indigent Defenders in Civil Proceedings Webinar – Expert TestimonyRead More