CSI Morgantown? LL.M. in forensic science is coming
By Karen Sloan, From The National Law Journal
Law school meets “CSI” in a new forensic justice Master of Laws degree offered by the West Virginia University College of Law.
The LL.M. is the first in the country to focus on the intersection of law and forensic science, administrators at the Morgantown, West Virginia, campus said. It is intended to teach lawyers and judges about forensic science and how to use it in the legal system.
“Forensic evidence is assuming an increasingly important role in both our civil and criminal justice systems,” said university provost and former law dean Joyce McConnell. “This new degree will help judges and lawyers understand the field of forensic science and better integrate it into the adversary system. That integration absolutely improves the system—and is essential to justice.”
Forensic evidence has been in the spotlight since the Federal Bureau of Investigation acknowledged this week that its experts gave flawed hair-analysis testimony in more than 200 criminal cases before 2000. The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an independent review of the FBI’s lab procedures.
The problem offers a perfect example of why lawyers and judges need to understand the finer point of forensic evidence, said interim law dean Greg Bowman.
A 2009 study commissioned by Congress and conducted by the National Academy of Sciences found numerous deficiencies in the national forensic system. Mandatory certification programs for forensic scientists are lacking, it found, as is effective oversight of labs. The study urged judges and attorneys to become better educated about forensic science.
“We hope and expect that graduates from this LL.M. program will help bring more evidence-based scrutiny to forensic science in the courtroom and elsewhere,” Bowman said. “We think this program will help promote justice in this very important field.”
The program is a collaboration with the university’s Department of Forensic and Investigative Science. Half the coursework will be through the law school with the rest through the forensics department.
The law courses include a forensic-justice seminar covering the role of forensic evidence and a class on evidence and expert witnesses. Within the forensic department, students will take classes including biological and chemical evidence; impression and trace evidence, including ballistics, bloodstain patterns and latent prints; and forensic quality assurance.
A forensic casework practicum will pair LL.M. students with forensic science master’s students to process simulated crime scenes and present evidence in a courtroom setting.
Even the science courses will be courtroom-focused, according to law professor Valena Beety, co-director of the program.
“The forensic science courses are created specifically around the use of this evidence in the courtroom in order to be of the most value to practicing attorneys,” she said.
The application process for the yearlong program is now open. Students may spread their coursework over two years. Tuition is expected to be $26,250. Administrators plan to cap enrollment at 12 to 15 students.
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