For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS, AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, PLANNING, EDUCATION, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–August 7, 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. “CSI: The Experience,” is an “immersive, interactive forensic science exhibit,” on display at the Museum of Science and Industry through September 3, that capitalizes on the popularity of the television crime drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investivation” and its spinoffs. The exhibit explores the role of forensic evidence in criminal investigations through the analysis of three possible crime scenes. Visitors can attempt to solve cases by using scientific evidence to validate their theories. The exhibit was created by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry, the National Science Foundation and CBS. 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 purposes other 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 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:
September 19: “MedImmune and San Disk: Seeking a License Without Getting a Lawsuit” is the topic of the fourth annual Federal Circuit Clerk Roundtable. The roundtable, composed of former Federal Circuit clerks, is a discussion of current developments in patent law. Chicago-Kent professor Timothy R. Holbrook, who served as a clerk to the Hon. Glenn L. Archer Jr., former chief judge of the Federal Circuit, will serve as moderator. Other participants include Meredith Martin Addy of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, Leonard D. Conapinski of McAndrews, Held & Malloy Ltd., Sasha D. Mayergoyz of Latham & Watkins LLP, and Michael R. Weiner of Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP. The program, which begins at 3 p.m., is free and open to the public. For more information, please call (312) 906-5128.
September 20: 25th annual Federal Sector Labor Relations and Labor Law Program. Keynote panelists John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO; Ronald J. James, assistant secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; and Neil Anthony Gordon McPhie, chairman of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, will address the topic “My Top Five Issues in Federal Sector Labor Relations.” Chicago-Kent professor Martin H. Malin, director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace, will serve as moderator. Hon. Dwight Lewis, EEOC supervisory administrative judge, will provide an overview of the most current developments in federal sector EEO law and practice. Workshops include “Ethical Dilemmas in the Practice of Federal Sector Labor Relations and Labor Law” and “Winning Strategies in Advocating Before the MSPB.” Sponsored by Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace, the program is the longest-running conference on federal sector and postal labor relations and labor law held outside of Washington, D.C. For more information, call (312) 906-5090.
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