Expert witnesses are called to testify due to their expertise and experience in a specific subject, such as DNA analysis, scene investigation, psychology or many other fields. Many of these subjects can be difficult to present to a lay audience, such as a jury in a limited amount of time. This course will show students how best to prepare in order to present themselves, their credentials, and their testimony in a professional manner and how to anticipate questions from opposing counsel. The students will be given preparation techniques and become familiar with trial procedures. They will have to prepare a court C.V., and participate in a mock trial exercise.

Threat assessment refers to the determination of risk posed by individuals or groups against specified targets or institutions. The course examines the types of threats commonly encountered in law enforcement situations and the characteristics of approach (i.e. individuals likely to engage in threatening or disruptive face–to–face contact) vs. non–approach situations. We base many decisions on our determinations of possible threats to ourselves and those around us. This course will briefly examine the information we use to process these risk determinations and attempt to provide explanations for our decisions. The course will also examine the way we view and perceive threat cases involving stalking, workplace, and school violence. The course will provide an overview of each topic with as much detail as possible in the time allotted.

Statement Analysis is an interesting study and may have multiple applications. In this course we will be examining the field of statement analysis which is sometimes called discourse analysis. We will be learning to understand how people use speech and how deception or failure to divulge fully can be detected in speech patterns and word usage. This course will also examine statement structure which will be used to understand the editing process and information concealment.

The best way to effectively communicate ideas in court is to display illustrations of them. The seminar participant will learn how to create demonstrative evidence that has been built using digital imaging technology. A demonstrative is a visual tool that clarifies a detailed or complex scenario at a crime scene. The use of effective demonstrative exhibits can be invaluable when it comes to delivering complex information to a court jury. The second session of the class will be a moot court where the student presents their court exhibit.

Topics related to a wide range of critical evidence types including: pattern injuries (i.e. bitemarks), trace and DNA evidence will be covered in this course. The successful collection and analysis of trace/DNA/pattern evidence is often subject to time constraints and proper handling. The student will learn to recognize and properly document/collect these types of evidence, to perform preliminary examinations, to deal with contamination issues, and what to do with the evidence once it is collected. Students will be able to recognize and assess the need for a forensic expert. This course also addresses the role of the forensic odontologist in pattern injuries and child abuse cases as they relate to forensic dentistry, and provides information on written protocols for pattern injuries. Concepts recently developed by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) will show how evidential information is used in missing and unidentified persons investigations.

Expert witnesses are called to testify due to their expertise and experience in a specific subject, such as DNA analysis, scene investigation, psychology or many other fields. Many of these subjects can be difficult to present to a lay audience, such as a jury in a limited amount of time. This course will show students how best to prepare in order to present themselves, their credentials, and their testimony in a professional manner and how to anticipate questions from opposing counsel. The students will be given preparation techniques and become familiar with trial procedures. They will have to prepare a court C.V., and participate in a mock trial exercise.

The recent use of DNA technology to exonerate individuals wrongfully imprisoned for a rape and homicide in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1985 brought renewed attention to the legal use of DNA in the courtroom. This seminar will consider issues related to the future of forensic DNA technology in order to maximize the value of DNA in the criminal justice system. The seminar will concentrate on four areas: crime scene investigation and evidence collection, post conviction, legal issues, and research and development.

Forensic Linguistics deals with the interface of language, crime, and the law. It deals with linguistic methods to determine authorship attribution and whether the subject is describing the truth. This is a distance learning course taught on-line by John Olsson, a practicing forensic linguist. The course covers a description of different kinds of forensic text, including ransom demands, suicide letters and a suspect interview excerpt. The course requires the completion of five assignments from a choice of fifteen. Introductory course information is at http://www.thetext.co.uk/courses.html. Students pay NWU a fee for the credit hour, and Prof. Olsson’s Forensic Linguistics Institute an additional fee. This is a very exciting course at a reasonable cost. Many serving police officers and other workers in the Justice System have benefited from Prof. Olsson’s extensive experience of criminal work in the field.