Instructor: Alicia Wilcox, Ph.D., 
​                 CSCSA, CLPE, CFPH, CFWE
Course length: 7 hours

Expert Witness Testimony

The role of the forensic scientist in the criminal justice system is a varied one.  We are asked to process crime scenes, teach evidence collection techniques to non-scientists, analyze evidence in the laboratory, and issue reports on our findings. 

One of the most important roles of a forensic scientist is to effectively communicate scientific findings in layperson's terms to police officers, lawyers, judges, and juries.  The most challenging form of communication is often the process of testifying as an expert witness in court.  This communication process is not straight forward as information the expert witness needs to communicate to the court comes through questions asked by the prosecution and defense attorneys, and the communication is one-sided because the jury (usually) can’t ask questions of the expert.

The skills taught in the Expert Witness Testimony webinar are based on empirical research around jurors' understanding of expert witness testimony.  The participants will gain a real world understanding of the current best practices for communicating forensic science conclusions and opinions to judges and juries.

In this 6-hour webinar, we will cover the following:
  • The Role of the Expert Witness – History of the expert witness and their importance in the courtroom work group
  • Preparing for Court – Court going curriculum vitae, organizing your case file, making charts and demonstrative aids
  • Courtroom Etiquette and Attire – How to dress for success, arriving at the court, waiting to testify, taking the witness stand and swearing in, body language, leaving the courtroom
  • Your Credibility in the Eyes of the Jury - Qualifying questions and your background, testimony style, direct examination, and cross examination
  • Perceptions of Evidence Reliability and its Importance in Decision-Making - Peripheral and central processing, heuristics, story model of decision making and deliberations
  • Evaluations – Self-reflection and transcripts, attorney and jury feedback, peer evaluations
  • Conclusions and Summary - How to put the research to work for you
Alicia Wilcox, Ph.D.
Earning a B.Sc. in chemistry and statistics from the National University of Ireland and holds M.S. degrees in forensic science, criminal justice, and business administration from Strathclyde University and Husson University, respectively.  She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Dundee, with a focus on how juries interpret evidence.

She is an associate professor at Thomas College in Maine and has practiced forensic science since 2001, working for Forensic Science Ireland, the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory, and through private consulting.  She has qualitied as an expert witness in Maine, Massachusetts, Florida and Nevada.

​Dr. Wilcox is certified by the IAI in crimes scenes, forensic photography, latent prints and footwear. In 2019 she was awarded a certificate in effective teaching (with a focus on online learning) by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) and the American Council on Education.

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