FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL FORENSIC COLLEGE 2015 AT CARDOZO LAW PRESENTS THE LATEST COURTROOM SCIENCE TO HELP REDUCE WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
June 11, 2015 – NEW YORK, NY – Cardozo School of Law and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) co-sponsored a weeklong conference on science in the courtroom, hosted at Cardozo Law, bringing lawyers from around the country to the second annual National Forensic College (NFC). The NFC is a concept developed by renowned attorney, Cardozo professor and former NACDL President Barry Scheck, who designed the program to provide defense attorneys with up-to-date forensic science information. Professor Scheck co-founded the Innocence Project at Cardozo Law, which in its 25 years has revolutionized the criminal justice system and exonerated hundreds of wrongfully convicted prisoners with the use of DNA evidence.
“Training lawyers in the latest in forensic science means we are creating a network of defense attorneys who are better armed in the courtroom, and more prepared to win their cases,” said Professor Scheck. “Spreading this type of knowledge is essential to our goal of decreasing the numbers of those wrongfully imprisoned.”
The NFC brings leading scientists, litigators and scholars together to present the latest developments, strategies and best practices for forensic tools in criminal cases.
“This is precisely the sort of program that is a core part of the NACDL mission – fostering the expertise of the criminal defense profession,” said NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer. “We are committed to ensuring that all attorneys – private and public defenders – are better equipped to understand all aspects of forensic evidence to minimize the risk that such evidence contributes to unfair trials and unjust outcomes."
In the six-day college, lawyers and scientific experts present information and form working groups to ensure that each of the trainees has the know-how to become part of a national network sharing the most sophisticated law reform strategies.
“Innovation is a hallmark of Cardozo Law, and Barry Scheck has already reformed the criminal justice system dramatically with the Innocence Project,” said incoming Cardozo Dean Melanie Leslie. “Generations of Cardozo students have helped win the freedom of wrongfully convicted prisoners using DNA evidence, and now the work of the NFC 2015 will advance this cause throughout the nation.”
Topics on the 2015 NFC Agenda include: Digital Evidence; Cellphone Tracking and Mobile Forensics; Hair Review and DOJ/ FBI Commitment to Review; Medical Imaging in Child Abuse Cases; Firearms Identification; Forensic Accounting; Forensic Issues in Health Care Fraud; Loss Calculation; Ballistics/Toolmark Evidence; Statistics in DNA Cases; Expert Software Systems for Interpreting Low Level Samples and Complex Mixtures; Race and Gender Bias in Risk Assessment; Sex Offender Risk Assessment Sentencing, Legal Challenges and Educating the Court; and more