The 8th Annual Forensic Science and Law Conference: Where Fact Meets Fiction

Program Agenda

Please note that the following schedule, topics and speakers are subject to change. All events to be held at the Power Center Ballroom, Duquesne University.

Thursday, April 3
Forensic Science and the News
5:45 p.m. Registration  

6:45 p.m.

Welcome

Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D.
Donald J. Guter, J.D.

7 p.m.

Featured Presentation
The 24/7 News Cycle and the Perversion of the Free Press-Fair Trial Doctrine

 Robert K. Tanenbaum, Esq.

8 p.m.

Panel Discussion
Forensic Science and the News:
Opportunities and Limitations

Moderator:
James E. Starrs, LL.M.
Panelists:
Michael Baden, M.D.
Dawna Kaufmann
Henry Lee, Ph.D.
Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.
Robert Tanenbaum, Esq.
Cyril Wecht, M.D., J.D.
Michael Welner, M.D.
10 p.m. Adjournment  
Friday, April 4
The Uses and Depictions of Forensic Science in Popular Culture
7:30 a.m. Registration  
8:30 a.m.

Featured Presentation
An Interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht
Literary Autopsy: How to Write
Commercial Books with Professional Integrity 

Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.
9:25 a.m.

Hollywood Forensics: 
The Intersection of Fact and Fiction

 D.P. Lyle, M.D.
10:15 a.m. Break  
10:30 a.m. Revealing Character through Forensics Lee Goldberg
11:25 a.m.

The Body Farm: Truth and Fiction

 Jon Jefferson
12:15 p.m.

Lunch

Special Presentation
The State of Forensic Science and Evidence Law
in the People's Republic of China

Authors Fair
Barnes & Noble, F Level, Power Center

  
1:45 p.m. The Crime Lab Project Jan Burke
2:40 p.m.

The Art and Science of Criminal Profiling

 Andrew Wilder
James Clemente, J.D.
3:30 p.m. Break  
3:45 p.m.

Panel Discussion
Balancing Drama and Realism in the 
Cultural Depiction of Forensic Science

Moderator:
Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.

Panelists
Donna Gaffney, RN, D.N.Sc.
Kelly Ann Martin
Michael Rieders, Ph.D.
Gail Zimmerman
Friday Presenters
Ann Rule (by video-conference)
5:30 p.m. Adjournment  
Saturday, April 5
The Impact of Pop Culture on Forensic Scientific and Legal Practice
7:30 a.m. Registration  
8:30 a.m. The Impact of CSI on CSI Henry Lee, Ph.D.
9:25 a.m. The Role of the Media in Winning Criminal Cases Dawna Kaufmann
10:15 a.m. Break  
10:30 a.m.

Scientific Consulting for the News

 Michael Welner, M.D.
11:25 a.m.

A Study of Juror Expectations and Demands Concerning Scientific Evidence:
Does the CSI Effect Exist?

The Hon. Donald Shelton
12:15 p.m. Lunch  
1:45 p.m.

Panel Discussion
Understanding “The CSI Effect” on
Jurors, Judges, Experts and Attorneys

Moderator:
Anjali Swienton, M.F.S., J.D.

Panelists:
Tamara Lawson, J.D., LL.M.
E. Michael McCann, J.D.
Mark Safarik, M.S., V.S.M.
The Hon. Donald Shelton
Cyril Wecht, M.D., J.D.
3:30 p.m. Break  
3:45 p.m.

When Art Meets Crime:
The Work of Forensic Artists

 Karen T. Taylor
4:40 p.m.

Featured Presentation
Inside the World of
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

 David Berman
Jon Wellner
5:30 p.m. Adjournment