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LS101 Syllabus

Forensic Science and The Law:

A Beginners Guide to Physical Evidence, Expert Testimony and The United States Legal System

Note: Craig Cooley, MS is a guest instructors of Knowledge Solutions LLC.
He can be reached at: c-cooley@law.northwestern.edu

For administrative information regarding this course
please contact us via our request form.

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Lecture 1: Introduction

  1. Introduction to Evidence Law
  2. Historical Aspects of Expert Testimony

Lecture 2: Expert Testimony Admissibility Standards

  1. Commercial Market Test
  2. Frye v. United States
  3. Federal Rules of Evidence (1975)
  4. Daubert v. Merrrell Dow
  5. Kumho Tire v. Carmichael
  6. Federal Rule of Evidence (2000)

Lecture 3: Reliability, Validity, Daubert and the Forensic Sciences

  1. Reliability & Validity in the Forensic Science Context
    • Reliability Issues
    • Validity Issues
  2. Daubert's Four Factors vs. The Forensic Sciences
    • Error Rate
    • Testing
    • Peer Review
    • Falsifiability

Lecture 4: Ethical Considerations and the Forensic Scientist

  1. Discovery Rules-Material & Exculpatory Evidence
    • Brady v. Maryland
    • Kyles v. Whitely
  2. Duty to Preserve
    • Youngblood v. Arizona
    • California v. Trombetta
  3. Crime Lab Problems & Mishaps
    • FBI lab
    • Houston lab
  4. Fraudulent Forensic Practitioners
    • Fred Zain
    • Ralph Erdmann
    • Joyce Gilchrist
    • David Harding

Recommended Readings

The recommended text for this course is:
Legal Alchemy: The Use and Misuse of Science in the Law
by David L. Faigman

Please note: This book is a useful supplement to the course, but is not required. While a number of readings are assigned from the book, the student will gather the same amount and quality of information from the supplemental readings provided. These supplemental readings will primarily involve law review articles, case law and other scientific journal articles.

This book can be easily purchased from our online Forensic Science Bookstore. Just click on the book link to the right.

  

 

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