Transcript Slide 1

The NCSTL
and
Research Resources
Susan Zucker, Ph.D.
Director of Technology & Distance Education
Diana Botluk
Director of Research
May 22, 2009
TODAY’S DISCUSSION
Part 1. NCSTL & the Database
Part 2. Research Resources
BACKGROUND
A program of the National Institute of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
United States Department of Justice.
The National Clearinghouse of Science,
Technology and the Law (NCSTL) is
supported by Grant #2003-IJ-CX-K024.
A program of the National Institute of Justice, Office of
Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice.
The National Clearinghouse of Science, Technology and
the Law (NCSTL) is supported by Grant #2003-IJ-CX-K024.
Why NCSTL?
Forensic Sciences: Review of Status and Needs
NIJ Study (1999)
• Educate the end-users of forensic science
• Forensic scientists should have formal expert witness training
• Prepare a directory of technologies available and key contacts
• Accredit /certify forensic academic training programs and
institutions
NCSTL Goals
Establish effective communication between the
legal, scientific and technological communities.
Each group needs to know or have access to the
information possessed by the other.
Assemble scientific, technological and legal
resources into “one-stop shop” with equal access
for all
Most legal professionals
have little, if any, scientific or
technical background
Isn't it true that DNA spelled backwards
is "AND" ?
Isn’t it true that
DNA spelled backwards
is “AND” ???!!
“[M]ost criminal
attorneys
don’t have a
scientific
background.”
Jack Zemlicka, CSI Effect: Lawyers Discuss Effect Of TV On Jurors,
Wisconsin Law Journal (August 2006)
quoting chairman of the Wisconsin’s Bar’s Criminal Law Section,
attorney Jerome F. Buting
Lab error and junk science have
played a role in 65 % of
wrongful convictions
www.innocenceproject.org/Content/351.php, last viewed 4/4/2008
Wrongful Convictions
According to recent reports, 221 people
in the United States have been
exonerated through DNA evidence
www.innocenceproject.org/Content/351.php, last viewed 4/4/2008
NCSTL Program Objectives:
• Develop an online resource
• Build partnerships – law, science and technology
partnerships with federal and state agencies,
professional associations and law schools
• Build reference collection
• Develop training modules for distance education
NCSTL Program Objectives:
• Develop primers on law, science and technology topics
: NCSTL
• Gather information on ongoing
advances in scientific
technology policy and legislation
• Expert Witness Workshops
• Conferences to foster interaction between lawyers,
judges, scientists and those developing / using
technology
NCSTL …
• Free, extensive forensic database
• Popular forensic events/conference calendar
• Widely read quarterly newsletter, It’s Evident
• Forensic news you can use
• Guest Lecture Series
• Distance Education: primers on law, science and technology
topics
• Training: Expert Witness Workshops – Capital Litigation
Training on two coasts
• Conferences to foster interaction between lawyers, judges,
scientists and technologists
• Partnerships: law, science and technology partnerships with
federal and state agencies, professional associations and law
schools
• Reference collection
For Example…
Dr. Michael Baden
Dr. Henry Lee
New and improved website
www.ncstl.org
www.ncstl.org
How research is conducted:
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Students in Directed
Research courses
Pro Bono Research
students
NCSTL Research Staff
Subject Matter Experts
Future expansion to
other institutions
Topics Researched:
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Arson/Fire Debris
Biometrics – body scans, facial
recognition and retinal scans
Bioterrorism
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
Crime Laboratories
Digital Evidence
Digital Image Enhancement
DNA
Entomology
Expert Witness Malpractice
Fingerprints
Firearms/Tool Marks
Forensic Accounting
Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Engineering
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Forensic Linguistics
Forensic Nursing
Forensic Odontology
Forensic Pathology
Forensic Psychology
Expert Witnesses
Professional Assoc.; Board Certifying
Bodies ; Institutes
Questioned Documents
Smart Cards
Thermal Imaging
Toxicology
Trace Evidence –fibers, hair
Voice Analysis
Information Sources in the Forensic Database
• Board certifying bodies
• Books, Encyclopedias and
Treatises
• Cases
• College and University Courses
• Commercial Applications of
Science/Technology
• Conference Proceedings and
Abstracts
• Continuing Education Courses
• Dissertations
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Internet Articles
Law Reviews and Bar Journals
Legislation
Newspapers, Magazines and
Periodicals
Professional Associations
Radio/Television Shows
Scientific Journals
SWGs and TWGs
Web Sites
Record provides
citation
references and
other
bibliographic
information
Record provides
URL when
available so you
can link to the
full text
resource
Part 2
WorldCat
http://www.worldcat.org
• Where can you find a library item? WorldCat connects
you to over 10,000 libraries worldwide
Forensic Science Abstracts
• Abstracts from 40,000
journals with articles
related to forensics
WEB OF
SCIENCE
Google Scholar
http://scholar.google.com
• “Search across many disciplines and
sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses,
books, abstracts and articles, from
academic publishers, professional
societies, preprint repositories,
universities and other scholarly
organizations”
• Good for use as a citator—what
articles have cited other articles?
• Scholars can request that their own
literature be included