The law of expert evidence has experienced significant recent developments.  This presentation will discuss the recent amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 (experts) and what we as criminal defense lawyers can do to take advantage of the amendment (especially when it comes to excluding government sponsored expert evidence).  The presentation will also cover the recent Supreme Court decisions in Diaz v. United States (opinion on ultimate issue), and Smith v. Arizona (Confrontation Clause).

This is not your usual “eyewitness identification” piece. The authors’ idea – using an ophthalmologist as an expert — is different. Before the witness viewed the lineup or other identification process, did the police officers inquire whether the witness had a prescription for corrective lenses? This is an area lawyers may not be exploring.

Amended FRE 702 gives defense lawyers ammunition to exclude questionable government expert evidence and prevent experts from overstating their conclusions. Rene Valladares and Hannah Nelson address arguments defense advocates should be prepared to make when confronted with government or court reluctance to apply the text of Rule 702 faithfully.

During its 2023-2024 Term, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed criminal penalties for people who are homeless; blocked the ATF’s regulation of bump stocks; ended Chevron deference, a landmark doctrine of administrative review; and decided that U.S. presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for core constitutional acts taken during their tenure in office. Criminal defense lawyers will talk about these cases for years to come.

Important amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence came into effect on December 1, 2023: Amendments to Rule 106 (rule of completeness), 605 (exclusion of witnesses) and 702 (testimony by experts). These amendments will bring significant opportunities and challenges for defense lawyers. This presentation will discuss how to avoid the challenges and how to capitalize on the opportunities presented by these amendments. We will also discuss amendments that are scheduled to become effective in 2024 as well as important evidence related cases pending before the United States Supreme Court.

To combat questionable prosecution “expert” evidence, defense lawyers need to have a thorough understanding of Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and companion rules. This presentation provides practitioners with a framework for Article VII (Opinions and Expert Testimony) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, summarizes defense favorable cases, and presents arguments and tips on how to spot and avoid the most common ways the prosecution abuses expert testimony.  This area is of vital importance now considering the recent amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702.

Presented by Carrie Wood, Assistant Public Defender, Appellate Division, Hamilton County Public Defender (OH); and Nathan Adams, Systems Engineer, Forensic Bioinformatics (OH)

Trial Advocacy: Forensic Sciences Training
Philadelphia, PA | Grant-Funded Public Defense Training

Presented by Alice Fontier, Managing Director, Criminal Defense Practice, Bronx Defenders

Trial Advocacy: Forensic Sciences Training
Philadelphia, PA | Grant-Funded Public Defense Training

Confession cases are some of the most difficult to defend; juries, judges prosecutors and even some criminal defense lawyers often believe that only guilty people confess to crimes. The Brendan Dassey case, shown in the Netflix Documentary "Making A Murderer" has highlighted the problem of coerced and false confessions. In the webinar we focus on both suppressing confessions and persuading juries that confessions are false.

Race Data Matters: Using Expert Testimony and Social Science Data about Discriminatory Policing to Win Pretrial Motions: Part II presented by Alison Siegler, Clinical Law Professor, University of Chicago Law School

Race Matters I: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice
September 14-15, 2017 | Detroit, MI

This redacted affidavit from Clare Garvie, the Center's Training and Resource Counsel, describes due process and brady concerns with law enforcement use of facial recognition. 

Forensic DNA expert Tiffany Roy describes five common types of flawed forensic DNA testimony she encounters when she reviews transcripts of analysts’ testimony.

NACDL lists experts referred by its members, and an expert was in your search.

NACDL lists experts referred by its members, and an expert was in your search.

NACDL lists experts referred by its members, and an expert was in your search.