Agenda Faculty CLE Hotel Exhibitor/Sponsor Scholarships Pricing Register Online Register by PDF
NACDL’s 18th Annual Forensics Seminar, “Making Sense of Science: Forensic Science, Technology & the Law” will be held at the Sahara Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, April 24-26, 2025.
BIG NAMES. BIG SCIENCE. NEW TECHNOLOGY. A BIG-TIME CLE EXPERIENCE!
Don’t miss this great opportunity for a no-nonsense, national networking CLE featuring the leading faculty in their respective fields.
Agenda
The program agenda and faculty are subject to change.
| Thursday, April 24, 2025 | |
|---|---|
| 3:30 pm | Early Registration & Exhibit Hall Open |
| Friday, April 25, 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Registration, Exhibits & Continental Breakfast | |
| 8:00 am | Welcoming Remarks and Morning Announcements – NACDL President Christopher Wellborn (Rock Hill, SC) & Program Co-Chairs Angelica Cogliano (Austin, TX), Jacqueline Goodman (Fullerton, CA), and Tamar Lerer (Newark, NJ) | |
| FORENSIC SCIENCE TRACK | AI & TECHNOLOGY TRACK | |
| 8:15 am | How to Best Utilize (and Treat) Your Experts – Laura Schile (Sun City, AZ) | The Future of Advocacy: Innovative AI Solutions for Criminal Defense Inside and Beyond the Courtroom – Patrick T. Barone (Birmingham, MI) |
| 9:15 am | Your Case is Raining Gems: How to Impeach Deviations from the Standards of Evidence – Dr. Jennifer L. Johnson (Mission, KS) | AI: Artificial Intelligence Roadmap for Practicing Attorneys – Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez (New York, NY) |
| 10:15 am | Exhibits, Networking & Refreshment Break | |
| 10:30 am | The Principles of Reliable Fire Investigation: Application of the Scientific Method to Forensic Investigations – Doug Carpenter (Columbia, MD) | Challenging Automated Suspicion: Litigating 4th Amendment & Technology Issues – Maneka Sinha (Baltimore, MD) |
| 11:30 am | Too Close for Comfort: AFIS Searches, Close Non-Matches, and Quality Assurance in Latent Print Comparisons – Heidi Eldridge (Silver Spring, MD) | Cellular Location Data: How Did the Great Lie Get Accepted by the Courts? – Andrew Garrett (Orlando, FL) |
| 12:30 pm | Lunch break on your own | |
| 2:00 pm | STRmix – Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez (New York, NY) | Biometrics: Facial Recognition – Sidney Thaxter, NACDL's 4th Amendment Center (Washington, DC) |
| 3:00 pm | Serology Testing and DNA Transfer: What the Lab Reports Really Mean – Lisa Desire (High Bridge, NJ) | Beating a Stacked Deck: Attacking Electronic Evidence in Digital Searches – Tim Zerillo (Portland, ME) |
| 4:00 pm | Exhibits, Networking & Refreshment Break | |
| 4:15 pm | The Science of Cannabis and THC – Daniel Mehler (San Antonio, TX) | Justice by Algorithm: AI, Bias, and and Ethical Challenges – Prof. Sonia M. Gipson Rankin (Albuquerque, NM) |
| 5:15 pm | Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: Genuine or Junk? – Amy Santoro (Kansas City, MO) | Electronic Data Recorders: The Value and How They are Misused – Daniel Billington (Beaver Dam, WI) |
| 6:15 pm | Adjourn for the Day | |
| 7:00 pm | Welcoming Reception | |
| Saturday, April 26, 2025 | |
|---|---|
| 7:15 am | Registration, Exhibits & Continental Breakfast |
| 8:00 am | Morning Announcements – Program Co-Chairs |
| 8:10 am | Challenging the "Science" of Shaken Baby Syndrome – Danica Rue (Newark, NJ) |
| 9:10 am | Forensic Pathology: Determining Manner and Cause of Death – Dr. Martha J. Burt, MD (Clackamas, OR) |
| 10:10 am | Exhibits, Networking & Refreshment Break |
| 10:25 am | Forensic DNA Interpretation, Human Factors & Cognitive Bias: Improving the Practice Through a Systems Approach – Melissa K. Taylor (Gaithersburg, MD) |
| 11:25 am | Cognitive Bias in Forensic Science – Adele Quigley-McBride (Burnaby, BC, Canada) |
| 12:25 pm | Lunch break on your own |
| 1:55 pm | Let’s Go to the Tape: Science-Based Standards for Non-Eyewitness Identification in a Surveillance World – Kathy Pezdek (Claremont, CA) and Tamar Lerer (Newark, NJ) |
| 2:55 pm | Do You Really See What You Think You Do? Visibility Analysis & Technological Advances – Daniel Billington (Beaver Dam, WI) |
| 3:55 pm | Exhibits, Networking & Refreshment Break |
| 4:10 pm | Analyzing Authenticity: Decoding Video Evidence – Brian Cummings (Albany, NY) |
| 5:10 pm | Challenging Carceral Forensic Software – Dr. Marc Canellas (Baltimore, MD) |
| 6:10 pm | Seminar Adjourns until 2026! |
Faculty
- Patrick T. Barone (Birmingham, MI) *NACDL MEMBER
- Daniel Billington (Beaver Dam, WI)
- Dr. Martha J. Burt, MD (Clackamas, OR)
- Dr. Marc Canellas (Baltimore, MD) *NACDL MEMBER
- Douglas J. Carpenter, MScFPE, CFEI, P.E., FSFPE (Columbia, MD)
- Brian Cummings (Albany, NY)
- Lisa Desire, MFS (High Bridge, NJ)
- Dr. Heidi Eldridge, Ph.D. (Silver Spring, MD)
- Andrew Garrett (Orlando, FL) *NACDL MEMBER
- Prof. Sonia M. Gipson Rankin (Albuquerque, NM)
- Dr. Jennifer Johnson, DNP, MSN, APRN, WHNP-BC, AFN-BC, SANE-A, SANE-P, DF-AFN (Mission, KS)
- Tamar Lerer (Newark, NJ) *NACDL MEMBER
- Daniel Mehler (San Antonio, TX)
- Kathy Pezdek (Claremont, CA)
- Adele Quigley-McBride (Burnaby, BC, Canada)
- Danica Rue (Newark, NJ)
- Amy Santoro, MFS, CBPA, CSCSA, CFPh, ABC-FKE (Kansas City, MO)
- Laura Schile (Sun City, AZ)
- Maneka Sinha (Baltimore, MD)
- Melissa K. Taylor (Gaithersburg, MD)
- Sidney Thaxter, NACDL's 4th Amendment Center (Washington, DC)
- Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez (Brooklyn, NY) *NACDL MEMBER
- Tim Zerillo (Portland, ME) *NACDL MEMBER
CLE Information
NACDL is an accredited provider of CLE in all states requiring mandatory CLE Training. NACDL will apply for at least 16.00 credit hours in every state requiring pre-approval. Approved hours for each state will be identified at the seminar. Some states, IL, GA, NE, NM, PA, SC, TN and UT require additional fees by the attendee in order to receive credit.
Hotel
Sahara Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
2535 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
All reservations within NACDL room block must be booked using the online reservations link below. Reservations over the phone are not available.
Online Reservations: https://book.passkey.com/e/50876781
Group rate: $99 + tax Thursday / 189 + tax Friday & Saturday (expires April 2, 2025).
Rooms/discounted group rates are not guaranteed once the block has been filled.
Sponsorship and Exhibits
Disclaimer: NACDL does not necessarily endorse or guarantee the quality, applicability, or discounts of the products and/or services of its exhibitors. Users of these products and/or services do so at their sole discretion and NACDL assumes no responsibility for them.
For information on exhibiting or sponsorships, please contact NACDL's Sales and Marketing Manager Jason Petty at jpetty@nacdl.org or call (202) 465-7637.
NACDL would like to thank the following sponsors, exhibitors, and affinity partners for their support and contributions:
PLATINUM Sponsor:
still available...
GOLD Sponsor:
still available...
SILVER Sponsor:
still available...
BRONZE Sponsor:
still available..
Event Sponsors:
still available...
Wi-Fi Sponsor:
still available...
Seminar Materials Sponsor:
still available...
Lanyards Sponsor:
Tote Bag Sponsor:
still available...
Exhibitors:
DNA Mavens LLC
Envista Forensics
ESi
Fat Pencil Studio
Garrett Discovery
Metadata Forensics LLC
RizeUp Media
Second Look Training and Forensic Consulting LLC
Veriscene Forensics Inc.
Scholarships
OPTION 1: Needs-Based Scholarships
Based on need, scholarships are available to NACDL members for up to 50% off the standard seminar fee of $429. Approved recipients are responsible for the remainder of the tuition fee, which is $215 (all other expenses are not included). The reduced scholarship fee includes seminar tuition, admission to all evening social events, and downloadable seminar materials. Travel, hotel, and other costs are not included.
To Apply: Prepare and e-mail a letter of no more than two pages explaining the reason why you believe you should receive the grant to: NACDL Senior Director of Events Akvile Athanason, at aathanason@nacdl.org.
All applications must be submitted before registering for the seminar and received by March 28, 2025.
NACDL MEMBERSHIP AND RESERVATION AT THE HOST HOTEL ARE REQUIRED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS.
OPTION 2: Public Defense Scholarships
As a result of generous grant funding, NACDL is able to offer scholarship assistance to public defense providers to attend this NACDL training program. Scholarships will be awarded in the form of full or partial reimbursement of the registration costs of the program. Limited travel reimbursement stipends may also be awarded to qualifying individuals to help defray the costs of travel and lodging.
Completed public defense scholarship applications should be emailed to: PDTScholarship@nacdl.org
Apply for a Public Defense Scholarship
Pricing
Register Online Register by PDF
Members of NACDL enjoy exclusive registration rates for our seminars along with all the benefits from joining.
| Registration Fees | |
|---|---|
| NACDL MEMBERS: Regular, Life, President's Club and Sustaining Members | $429 |
| NACDL MEMBERS: Public Defender, Associate, Investigator, Professor, New Lawyer, International and Military | $309 |
| Non-Members: Private Practitioners (includes 1-year membership) | $758 |
| Non-Member Public Defenders | $349 |
| Regional Affiliate Lawyer Discount: All Nevada and California Lawyers (Residents Only) | $339 |
| Groups of 4 or more PDs (must register at the same time; 1 payment; no changes or cancellations allowed). To register a group, please visit: http://www.nacdl.org/PDGroups | $289 |
| Non-Attendee Materials / Recordings | |
|---|---|
| Audio Recording of Seminar (pre-sale) | $225 |
| Video Recording of Seminar (pre-sale) | $299 |
CANCELLATIONS: There is a $75 cancellation fee. Cancellations must be received in writing via e-mail to cancel@nacdl.org by 5:30 pm E.T. Friday, April 18, 2025, to receive a refund, less the cancellation fee. No refunds can be issued after the cancellation deadline.
Code of Conduct
NACDL endeavors to foster a working, learning, and social environment free of harassment, discrimination, intimidation, and insult. To that end, NACDL has adopted a Code of Conduct for Affiliated Persons that applies to all attendees and participants of any kind at all NACDL sponsored events.
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