For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS, AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, PLANNING, BUSINESS, POLITICAL, BOOK, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–May 29, 2007–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach any of our experts, call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, at (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
CSI: Chicago. A new exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry explores the role of forensic evidence in criminal investigations. “CSI: The Experience” is an “immersive, interactive forensic science exhibit” that capitalizes on the popularity of the television crime drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investivation” and its spinoffs. The display includes three possible crime scenes. Visitors can solve the cases by using scientific evidence to validate their theories. The exhibit, created by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry, the National Science Foundation and CBS, runs in Chicago through September 3. Chicago-Kent experts are available to discuss legal issues related to the use of forensic evidence.
- What is the “CSI effect”? In television forensic evidence dramas, crimes usually are solved within an hour using high-tech laboratory detection methods. Legal analysts say popular television shows like “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami,” and “CSI: New York” raise jurors’ expectations of what type of evidence prosecutors should produce at trial. Professor Nancy S. Marder teaches a course on juries, judges and trials, and has written extensively about the American jury system. She is the author of the law review article Juries and Technology: Equipping Jurors for the Twenty-First Century. Professor Marder is available for interviews about the American jury system and about the “CSI effect.” Professors Douglas W. Godfrey and Richard S. Kling are also available for interviews about the impact of the “CSI effect” on criminal trials. Professor Godfrey is a former prosecutor in the Kings County District Attorney's office, where he served in the sex crimes and homicide bureaus. Professor Kling is a criminal defense attorney who teaches evidence and forensic science courses.
- Since 2002, DNA samples have been collected from convicted felons in Illinois for inclusion in the state’s data bank. Chicago-Kent Dean Harold J. Krent says there are privacy concerns. “Unlike with fingerprints, scientists likely will be able to extract enough genetic information from the samples taken to learn whether the individual is susceptible to cancer, bouts of anger, or dementia,” says Dean Krent. “Database creep”--a trend in which once a database has been established, access to it is extended to more authorities, for other purposes than those for which it was set up--is also a problem. In the early 1990s, Dean Krent filed the lead challenge to the establishment of mandatory collection of DNA samples from convicted felons in Virginia. The author the law review article Of Diaries and Databases: Use Restrictions Under the Fourth Amendment, he also has argued before the Illinois Supreme Court to contest administration of the state’s DNA collection rules.
- Forensic evidence plays an important role in The Silent Assassin, the latest book in the Alexandra Blake mystery series by Professor Lori B. Andrews. The heroine is a geneticist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology who performs high-level forensic research to solve a 30-year-old murder. Professor Andrews, who will be signing copies of her new book June 10 at the Printers Row Book Festival, is available for interviews.
- “Law students need to learn how criminal investigations and prosecutions are conducted in the 21st century. This is equally important for lawyers who will be responsible for defending people accused of crimes where scientific evidence is used to prosecute them,” says professor and criminal defense attorney Daniel T. Coyne. He is available to discuss Chicago-Kent’s new J.D. certificate program in criminal litigation.
Downtown Campus Events:
June 5: “Managing Information in One of the Biggest Companies in India” is the topic of a presentation by Ashishkumar Chauhan, president and chief information officer of Reliance Industries, a petrochemical company and India’s largest private-sector company. As CIO, Chauhan is responsible for IT applications development, configuration, rollout and operations. Chauhan is regarded as one of the five founders of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), India’s largest automated exchange, counted among the top three markets in the world by number of trades. He developed a satellite communication network for NSE which has served as a technology model for many other companies in India. At NSE, Chauhan set up the initial IT infrastructure and oversaw operations of the equity and derivatives markets for more than seven years. He is considered “the father of commercial satellite telecom and of modern exchange-traded financial derivatives markets in India.” Chauhan created the NSE-50 Index, the largest traded stock index in Indian derivatives market. This program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (312) 906-6508.
June 8: 26th annual Conference on Not-For-Profit Organizations. This one-day seminar is presented by a faculty of leading organization executives, attorneys, accountants and government officials. Program highlights include “Highlights of the Pension Protection Act of 2006,” “Understanding and Planning for Unrelated Business Income,” “Executive Compensation,” and “Accounting Issues – For Grants and Other Restricted Funds.” There will also be an “Intellectual Property Update” that will explore the types of intellectual property which not-for-profit organizations have and are likely to overlook protecting. Copyright, trademark and the right to publicity will be discussed. Workshops will also focus on the legislative and regulatory environment in Washington, D.C., for tax-exempt organizations, electronic filing requirements for IRS Form 990, and a report from the Office of the Illinois Attorney General on issues affecting not-for-profit groups in the state. For more information, call (312) 906-5090.
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