WASHINGTON, D.C., May 24, 2012 — Pattern evidence, including fingerprints and bite marks, new law-enforcement efforts to develop local DNA databases, and cybercrime are among the issues that will be addressed at the Third Annual “Prescription for Criminal Justice Forensics” conference hosted by the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section and the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics on June 1 at the Fordham University School of Law in New York.

Barry Scheck, professor of law and co-director of the Innocence Project at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, will speak during the luncheon panel, “Eyewitness Testimony,” at 11:45 a.m.

Other highlights include:

“Revisiting the NAS Report Three Years Later and Assessing the Role of Advisory Boards” —Experts will discuss the state of forensics in light of criticisms in the National Academy of Sciences report. Forensic issues that have resulted in attempts to restrict or exclude the testimony of forensic experts and New York’s experience with the use of forensic advisory boards and commissions will be explored.
8:45 – 10 a.m.

“Pattern Evidence: Fingerprints, Firearms and Bite Marks” — Panelists will examine issues raised regarding several types of pattern evidence, such as fingerprints, bite marks and firearms, that have been the focus of defense challenges by courts and the forensic community.
10:15 – 11:45 a.m.

“Peering into the Abyss: The Intersection of Technology, Identify Theft and the Harsh

Penalties That Apply” — Victims and targets of cybercrimes have a wide variety of forensic, technological and legal tools at their disposal. This panel will use case scenarios of recent cyberattacks to survey techniques criminals use and the weaknesses they exploit; identify criminal and traditional civil statutes that prosecutors and private victims can use to debilitate organized cybercriminals; and recommend best practices for enlisting the support of prosecutors.
4 – 5:15 p.m.

A complete agenda and updated list of speakers can be found online.

For media credentialing, please contact Rabiah Burks at Rabiah.Burks@Americanbar.org. This event is free and open to members of the press.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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