Program Chair and Presenters:

Katherine H. Judson, Chair
Center for Integrity in Forensic Science
Madison, WI

Stephen L. Hanko
Skogen Engineering Group Inc.
Fitchburg

Erin Nagy

State Public Defenders Office

Madison

Jeffrey J. Peterson
Skogen Engineering Group Inc.
Fitchburg

Emily J. Prokesch
Columbia Law School
New York, NY

Janis C. Puracal
Forensic Justice Project
Portland, OR

Claudia Solís-Lemus
University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Department of Statistics
Madison

Lindsey C. Thomas
TrueNorth Forensic Pathology
Madison

8:25 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks

Katherine H. Judson

8:30 AM Watching the Watchers: Understanding the State of Digital Surveillance

Erin Nagy

9:30 AM Accident Reconstruction

• When is accident reconstruction needed?
• What are the different types of cases and how does that affect the reconstruction process?
• What are important things to consider when preserving the evidence?

Stephen Hanko, Jeffrey J. Peterson

10:30 AM Break

10:45 AM The Role of the Coroner, Medical Examiner and Consulting Forensic Pathologist in a Death Investigation

• What are the laws in Wisconsin about coroners and medical examiners and what is the importance of the independence of medical examiners and coroners?
• To what degree do medical examiners and coroners rely on context (e.g., police reports of the circumstances in which a body was discovered)
• How does the role of the consulting forensic pathologist differ from that of the original coroner, medical examiner, or pathologist who did the autopsy?
• What information does the consulting forensic pathologist need?
• In a general way, what can a consulting forensic pathologist provide in reviewing the death investigation that has been completed in a case?

Dr. Lindsey C. Thomas

11:45 AM Lunch Break

12:45 PM Challenging the Admissibility of Firearms Identification Evidence

• How do we define the “relevant scientific community” that courts should hear from on the validity of firearms identification?
• What does the relevant scientific community have to say about the validity of firearms identification (from meta-analyses and case law)?
• How do we explain the lack of scientific validation to our judge at an admissibility hearing?

Janis C. Puracal

1:45 PM Understanding Manner of Death Testimony

• Understand the role of medical examiners and determinations of cause and manner of death
• Understand the challenges and pitfalls related to manner of death determinations
• Understand what to do in cases where manner of death determinations are controversial and possibly misleading
• Understand the limits of pathology testimony and when you should challenge pathology opinions

Katherine H. Judson

2:45 pm Break

3:00 PM Introduction to Statistics for Forensic Science

• Explain what are probabilities and how they are computed in practice
• Select the correct probability rule depending on the situation: product rule, addition rule or conditional probabilities rule
• Describe the main fallacies when interpreting probabilities

Dr. Claudia Solís-Lemus

4:00 PM What is AI? Leveraging Technology in Criminal Cases, Discovery and Beyond

• Introduction to key terms and concepts
• Introduction to common AI tools and a suggested approach to using them
• Application to a case study on discovery using AI

Emily J. Prokesch

5:00 PM Institute Concludes

• Strengthen the fairness, accuracy, and integrity of the cases you present or defend
• Recognize weak or overstated scientific claims or methods before they influence case strategy or trial outcomes
• Improve your ability to explain complex or technical evidence to judges and juries in clear, persuasive terms
• Identify when additional testing, consultation, or independent review could change the evidentiary picture 
• Apply science-based strategies when preparing or cross-examining forensic experts
• Reduce the risk of relying on incomplete or faulty forensic conclusions

• Criminal defense lawyers
• Prosecutors 
• Criminal appeals lawyers
• Judges in criminal cases
• Appellate court judges
• Law students
• Paralegals

Event Brochure

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