Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President Article by: William C. Darby, MD, and Christopher R. Thompson, MD The United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in its 2017 McWilliams v. Dunn decision that Alabama failed to provide the adequate expert mental health assistance guaranteed by the Constitution as discussed in the 1985 case, Ake […]
Sources: William R. Johnson, BA, Section Program Chair, and Sherri L. Kacinko, PhD, Section Program Co-Chair Summer has officially arrived and it’s time for some important updates! Four months have passed since the very successful AAFS 2017 meeting in New Orleans and preparations are accelerating for another exciting program at the AAFS 70th Annual Scientific […]
Source: Linton A. Mohammed, PhD, Section Chair Members are invited to submit nominations for the 2018 Questioned Documents Section Ordway Hilton Award. The criteria for the award are listed in the AAFS Policy and Procedure Manual. Please submit your nominations by August 1 to Section Chair Linton Mohammed at lamqde@gmail.com or Section Secretary Jan Seaman Kelly […]
Submit your abstract for presentation at the 70th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. The AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting will be held February 19-24, 2018, in Seattle, WA, at the Washington State Convention Center. The theme for the upcoming meeting is Science Matters. The deadline for abstract submission is August 1! Presenting authors […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President On Friday, June 16, 2017, the Trump administration announced plans to alter the regulations controlling travel to Cuba that were put in place by the Obama administration. From initial reports, the new regulations are not expected to significantly impact the AAFS International Educational Outreach Program (IEOP) to […]
Source: Robert Barsley, DDS, JD, AAFS Past President The 10th ISABS Conference on Forensic and Anthropologic Genetics and Mayo Clinic Lectures in Individualized Medicine, June 19-24, 2017, is underway in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Among the members of the audience is the President of Croatia, Kolynda Grabar-Kitarović. The conference is hosted by Dragan Primorac, Criminalistics Section Fellow […]
Sources: William R. Johnson, BA, Section Program Chair, and Sherri L. Kacinko, PhD, Section Program Co-Chair Summer has officially arrived and it’s time for some important updates! Four months have passed since the very successful AAFS 2017 meeting in New Orleans and preparations are accelerating for another exciting program at the AAFS 70th Annual Scientific […]
Sources: Mary F. Horvath, MFS, Section Program Chair, and Douglas R. White, MS, Section Program Co-Chair Be sure to submit your novel scientific abstracts by the August 1 deadline for the 2018 AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting! The AAFS DMS Section Program Committee invites you to submit abstracts describing scientific research or case studies related to digital and multimedia […]
Source: AAFS Board of Directors The American Academy of Forensic Sciences wholeheartedly commends its membership who provided expertise, wisdom, and guidance to the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) since its 2013 origin. There are 14 Commission Members, 3 Ex-Officio Members, and numerous sub-committee members who are also members of the Academy and the work […]
Source: Tracie McCray, AAFS Accounting Assistant The AAFS 69th Annual Scientific Meeting Pre-Registration deadline is Wednesday, January 18. The deadline is firm. Attendance at all Special Functions (workshops, special sessions, and breakfast and luncheon seminars) is by pre-registration only. Registration forms received after January 18 will be processed at the on-site registration rates and no […]
Source: Dayle L. Hinman, BS Our Future Reflects Our Past: The Evolution of Forensic Science Many people spend their careers immersed in the day-to day-activities and challenges of their chosen profession. Special indeed are those individuals who have the ability to share effectively their knowledge and abilities to better the wider professional community. Remarkable is […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS On May 13, 2017, I had the honor of speaking at the commencement exercises for the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Forensic Sciences. This Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) -accredited program had 45 Bachelor of Science graduates and 15 Master of Science graduates for 2017. When I […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President Message to the Membership: On March 7, 2017, the AAFS Board of Directors requested input from the membership on two pieces of legislation proposed by the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations (CFSO), of which AAFS is a member. The two pieces of federal legislation concerned: (1) the […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President Article by: William C. Darby, MD, and Christopher R. Thompson, MD The United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in its 2017 McWilliams v. Dunn decision that Alabama failed to provide the adequate expert mental health assistance guaranteed by the Constitution as discussed in the 1985 case, Ake […]
Source: Linton A. Mohammed, PhD, Section Chair Members are invited to submit nominations for the 2018 Questioned Documents Section Ordway Hilton Award. The criteria for the award are listed in the AAFS Policy and Procedure Manual. Please submit your nominations by August 1 to Section Chair Linton Mohammed at lamqde@gmail.com or Section Secretary Jan Seaman Kelly […]
Submit your abstract for presentation at the 70th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. The AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting will be held February 19-24, 2018, in Seattle, WA, at the Washington State Convention Center. The theme for the upcoming meeting is Science Matters. The deadline for abstract submission is August 1! Presenting authors […]
Source: Tracie McCray, AAFS Accounting Assistant Registration is now available for the 2017 AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting. The online registration system requires payment with a credit or debit card. If you need to pay using another method (i.e., purchase order or check), please use the .pdf registration form found here: https://www.aafs.org/meetings/registration-information/. Please contact Tracie McCray […]
This article is out of date, please see: Important Hyatt Regency Accommodations Reservation Information or the AAFS Accommodations page for the most recent information. The NBA has announced it will move its 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, NC. New Orleans has been proposed as an alternative, with the game day proposed as Sunday, February 19, 2017. The move […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Technical Coordinator Announcement: The public comment period has opened for the following four AAFS Standards Board (ASB) documents. The two documents shown below were posted in the May 19, 2017, issue of the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI’s) Standards Action (the comment deadline is July 3, 2017): ASB Standard 011, Scope […]
Source: Mary McKiel, PhD The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Standards Board (ASB) standardization work began a little more than a year ago with the process of establishing and populating Consensus Bodies (CB) to conduct the work of standards writing. Since that time, progress has been outstanding. There are 33 standardization projects well underway […]
Source: Tanisha Henson, MFS, AAFS Fellow, General Section Welcome home from an amazing week in New Orleans! During the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, February 15, an amazing scholarship opportunity was presented to participate in the InterFORENSICS conference. This will be held by the Brazilian Academy of Forensic Sciences in the capital city […]
Editors: Jacob Griffin, MS, and Ashley E. Foster, MAS A Letter from the YFSF President As the seasons begin to change, it is time to start travel planning for the AAFS 69th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans, which is only four months away! Hotel and accommodation information can be found at aafs.org. In the […]
Source: Lucy A. Davis, BHS, Chair, FSF International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) Scholarship Committee The Forensic Sciences Foundation (FSF) is pleased to announce the 2017 recipient of the FSF IAFS Scholarship–Gulnaz T. Javan, PhD. Dr. Javan, Member of the AAFS General Section, is an Assistant Professor of Forensic Science at the Alabama State University. […]
The Forensic Sciences Foundation (FSF) Acorn Grants (up to and including $1,000) and Lucas Grants (up to and including $5,000) are intended to help the investigator/researcher initiate original in-depth problem-oriented research. These grants are open to members and affiliates (at any level) of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). Each research proposal must include: […]
Source: Nancy J. Jackson, AAFS Director of Development and Accreditation Pursuant to the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) Policies & Procedures, Policy 4.10 Review of Standards states that FEPAC is tasked with conducting ongoing and comprehensive reviews of its accreditation standards in order to verify that they adequately evaluate educational quality and are relevant […]
The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) is asking for your comments on and reaction to the proposed standards shown below for academic programs in forensic investigation and related areas. Background: FEPAC has recently been discussing the possibility of expanding the scope of its accreditation activities to areas other than classic forensic science/criminalistics. A […]