News 2011: "Strengthening forensic science" discussion at UMass Law April 23

News 2011: "Strengthening forensic science" discussion at UMass Law April 23
"Strengthening forensic science" discussion at UMass Law April 23

The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the UMass School of Law will present a discussion of the use of forensic evidence at trial at the law school campus at 333 Faunce Corner in North Dartmouth on April 23rd from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the UMass School of Law will present a discussion of the use of forensic evidence at trial at the law school campus at 333 Faunce Corner in North Dartmouth on April 23rd from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The presentation will focus on the 2009 National Academy of Sciences groundbreaking report entitled, "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward." 

The NAS Report documents serious concerns about the science and reliability of crime lab evidence and sets forth specific recommendations of change.  More than two years have passed since the NAS report was released -- and Courts continue to grapple with issues of when to admit forensic evidence.Anne Goldbach, Committee for Public Counsel Forensic Services Director, and Marvin Schecter, a New York attorney who was on the Committee that wrote the NAS Report, will be making the presentaton for attorneys on how this report came to be written, what has happened since, and the consequences to attorneys and judges as they try cases here in Massachusetts. 

Prior to the event, attorneys Goldbach and Schecter will speak to Professor Thomas Workman's law school class.