Center Will Gather, Analyze and Distribute Scientific Information

Critical to the Investigation and Trial of Civil and Criminal Cases

The DePaul University College of Law will establish the Center for Law and Science to identify, collect and analyze important scientific literature, related trials and appellate reviews of criminal and civil cases that have science issues as important components. A major task of the center, under of the direction of Terrence F. Kiely and James J. Ayres, will be to maintain a comprehensive website for communication and the uploading and downloading of scientific and legal data. The center will be officially launched Oct. 15, 1998.

"The Center for Law and Science enhances the College of Law with technology that defines the future," said Teree E. Foster, dean of the College of Law. "The center will help our students remain abreast of technological developments and will serve as a valuable pool of information and communication tool for those with an interest in science and the law."

The center will be composed of three separate, but related functions that include the website, a speakers program and monthly newsletters. Aside from the communication aspect of the website, it will also contain comprehensive bibliographies consisting of all important scientific sources, trials, case law, and scientific studies and law review articles on key subjects. The address of the site, which will be up and running when the center is officially launched, is http://www.law.depaul.edu/cls.

The speakers programs, colloquia, debates and conferences will address cutting-edge issues in the areas of forensic evidence and science and the law. The center’s monthly newsletter will highlight the most significant and interesting developments in the area of law and science. Plans are also in the works to establish an online journal that will publish papers on these topics.

The center will be open to the public and will serve as a resource to those interested in exchanging views with the communities routinely involved in science-based litigation in the civil and criminal law fields in state and federal jurisdictions. This would include police officials, forensic scientists, prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers, product liability and toxic tort plaintiff and defense lawyers, judges, criminologists, legal scholars and law students.

Kiely and Ayres will work to ensure that information on the website is the most current available, with Ayres also coordinating advanced technical support.

Kiely has been a law faculty member at DePaul since 1972 and has written extensively on evidence and discovery problems. His books include, "Preparing Products Liability Cases," "Using Litigation Databases," and "Modern Tort Liability: Recovery in the 90’s." Kiely, who is an experienced litigator, was part of the prosecution team in the Indiana Pinto litigation. He currently teaches a seminar on product liability litigation as well as evidence, forensic evidence and criminal law.

"This center will be a major resource where lawyers, scientists and the public can exchange ideas and information about critical scientific issues in the law," said Kiely. "The center will be devoted to analyzing and sharing information and material concerned with the clash of state and federal courts with the increasing number of scientific disciplines devoted or applied to the investigation and trial of both civil and criminal cases."

Ayres, who is an adjunct professor in both the College of Law and DePaul’s school of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems, specializes in law and technology. He teaches a course in computer law and graduate courses in computer science.

"What makes this center novel is that it will immediately disseminate the latest news and information in the area of science and the law to every corner of the world," said Ayres. "By using the latest technology available, the center has the potential to play a crucial role in science-based litigation worldwide."

The center was designed with input from a distinguished advisory board that includes representatives from organizations that regularly address issues of science and the law. Advisory board members include Robert Clifford, of the law firm of Robert Clifford & Assoc.; David Coar, judge, United States District Court for the Northern District; John Decker, professor, DePaul College of Law; Richard Devine, Cook County State’s Attorney; Edmund R. Donoghue, M.D., chief medical examiner, Robert J. Stein Institute of Forensic Medicine; Lynn Fleisher, attorney, Sidley & Austin; Rita Fry, Cook County Public Defender; William Guswieler, Chief of Investigations for the Cook County State’s Attorney; Lt. Col. Laurence Mulcrone, director, Forensic Science Center of Illinois; Stephen A. Schiller, judge, Circuit Court of Cook County; Michael F. Sheahan, Cook County Sheriff; and Patrick Tuite, of the law firm Arnstein & Lehr.

The center is located at DePaul’s Loop Campus, 25 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago. Kiely can be reached at 312/362-8701.