2025 Winter Conference CLE Archive Package
Product description:
OCDLA and the Forensic Justice Project
Forensics for the Factfinder
Introduction: Welcome; Short Discussion of Why Forensics Matter
Session One: Evaluating Forensic Evidence in Your Case.
This session will focus on a discussion about how to evaluate forensic evidence to determine (1) whether you need to mount a challenge to the evidence and (2) what kind of expert(s) you need. The speakers will discuss: how to identify the need for a challenge to foundational validity versus validity-as-applied; how the type of challenge informs the type of expert(s) to consult; how to find the right expert(s) for foundational validity; how to organize materials for the lab for you and your expert to make use of; best practices for “file hygiene” to protect your work product and theirs; and tips for interviewing the state’s expert to better understand how the government may respond.
Speakers: Julia Leighton, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (retired), Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Friedman, Deputy Federal Defender for the Central District of California, Los Angeles, CA
Session Two: What Happens if You Lose the Admissibility Challenge.
This session will focus on the question of how to adapt your strategy if you lose the admissibility challenge. The speakers will discuss: strategies to reframe the forensics for trial; how to work with your expert(s) to change up the presentation by pivoting from a judge-friendly direct to a jury-friendly direct; and how to redesign your cross-examination of the state’s expert. The speakers will use the field of DNA to illustrate these topics.
Speakers: Jessica Willis, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Daniel-Vasquez, Founder & President, The Forensic Evidence Table, Montclair, NJ
Session Three: Litigating Cognitive Bias in Forensics.
This session will focus on how cognitive bias may impact the forensic examiner’s opinions. The speakers will discuss: what forms of cognitive bias come into play with forensics; how to explain to a judge or jury the significance of cognitive bias in a forensic examination; and how to present the issue of cognitive bias through direct of your own expert and cross-examination of the government’s expert. The speakers will use the field of latent prints to illustrate these topics.
Speakers: Byron Lichstein, Forensic Justice Project, Portland
Paul Rudof, PD Servies of Lane County, Inc., Eugene
Session Four: Keeping Up with the Evolving Nature of Forensics.
This session will focus on how the field of forensics is evolving over time in response to defense challenges. The speakers will use the field of firearms and toolmark analysis to discuss: the evolution of the scientific discourse; how long-term thinking and strategic planning changed the approach to admissibility challenges over time; how the examiners and the government have adapted their presentation of the evidence in response to favorable rulings.
Speakers: Richard Gutierrez, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL
Celeste Addyman, Cook County Public Defender, Chicago, IL
Emily Prokesch, Incorporated as EP Forensics, Atlanta, GA
Session Five: Preserving the Record for Appeal.
This session will focus on how to preserve the record from your pre-trial admissibility challenge all the way through trial. The speaker will provide concrete steps lawyers should take to make sure that the forensics issues can be effectively raised on appeal, including by: showing the trial court why the defense cannot simply address complex questions of scientific validity through cross-examination; when to ask for a standing objection versus when to keep objecting through trial; how to improve your record by asking for something “less” than complete exclusion or for helpful jury instructions; and other tips to avoid the “harmless error” trap.
Speaker: Neil Byl, Oregon Public Defense Commission, Salem