Melanie Reid on the "CSI Effect"

Ipse Dixit

In this episode, Melanie Reid, Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Law at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, discusses her paper "A CSI Story: The Past, Present, and Future of Crime Scene Collection and What Litigators Need to Know" which was published in the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy. Reid begins by discussing the role of crime scene investigators, and how contemporary perceptions of CSIs based upon movies and TV shows are much different than the realities in the field. She explores the advancement of forensic science through the lens of a 19th century murder trial in England and the 1994 OJ Simpson murder trial, noting the wide differences in forensic science techniques between the 19th century and the modern day. And she notes that a number of errors have been made by CSIs, and details what changes can be made to improve crime scene collection. She discusses the role of CSIs, prosecutors, and defense attorneys in criminal trials, and how each should interact with one another and the information provided by CSIs during trial. Reid concludes with what lawyers, judges, and investigative agencies should take away from her paper. Reid's scholarship is available on SSRN.

This episode was hosted by Luce Nguyen, a college student and the co-founder of the Oberlin Policy Research Institute, an undergraduate public policy research organization based at Oberlin College. Nguyen is on Twitter at @NguyenLuce.

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