Courtroom Testimony Skills
Where:
Arcadia University, King of Prussia Campus
1150 First Ave., Suite 700
King of Prussia, PA 19406
When:
November 3 & 4, 2011
8:00 am – 5:00 pm each day
Course Instructor:
Raymond J. Davis
Course Fee:
$500.0
Applications are no longer being accepted. If you would be interested in taking this course in the future, please visit our Contact Form and tell us so.
This two day, interactive course will teach the basic skills of courtroom presentation of evidence. Combining various learning methods such as lectures, informal presentations, in-class exercises, and mock testimony, this will be an informative and practical way for expert witnesses to improve their confidence, public speaking ability, and general knowledge of courtroom procedure. While useful for anyone expecting to work in a courtroom setting, this course is uniquely suited to those in forensic science who are frequently called upon to present and support technical evidence in court and who may not have had adequate training in presentation skills, or may be nervous about speaking in public
COURSE TOPICS
The Successful Public Speaker: this discussion is designed to address common fears regarding the courtroom setting and ways to overcome them. Specific fears and strategies are addressed.
Confident communication: the many types of communication styles are identified and discussed. Students are given the opportunity to identify their own style, and are given tips to utilize this information in testimony.
How Juror’s Learn and Remember: Adult learning styles, attention and memory, engaging the audience, getting your point across, eye contact and body language.
Courtroom Testimony I & II: elements utilized by the successful expert witness (such as The Beginner’s Attitude and Paying Attention) are explored, and students identify other essential traits.
Channeling Nervous Energy & Using Eye Contact and Gestures: students are made aware of how nervous energy can be harnessed and overcome.
The Three V’s: successful presentations are based on Verbal, Vocal, and Visual proficiency. The three V’s are defined and explored.
Circles of Communication: non-verbal behavior is determined by thoughts and feelings. Students find out how this can effect an expert’s believability.
COURSE EXERCISES
Moot Court Exercises: each student gives an expert testimony based on a case given to them on the first day. Students employ the various tips, tricks, and information they have been given throughout the course, and receive feedback from the course instructor. Videotaping is used for self critique. This is designed to simulate an actual courtroom setting as much as possible, to enhance the applicability of what the student has learned.
Student Self Introduction: students present a short biography to their peers.
Case Studies: students are asked to problem solve when given a specific courtroom situation.
Visual Aids: students discuss, prepare, and utilize visual aids.
Listening Tests: exercises help to increase students’ listening ability.
Class size: 12-15 students.
CourtSkills has been providing expert witness training since 1988. They have trained over 3,500 law enforcement professionals, Criminalists, police officers, forensic specialists, CSI personnel and SART nurses the skills necessary for the successful presentation of technical evidence in the courtroom. The staff, with a combined law enforcement experience of one hundred years, has provided instruction to law enforcement agencies in the following States: Georgia, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Washington, Texas, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey, Oregon, Maryland, Virginia and Louisiana. Specific training has been provided to the FBI, BATFE, US Border & Customs Service & NIST, to the University of California at Davis Medical Training Center, to the California Criminalistics Institute and at numerous regional forensic science societies such as NWAFS, CAC, SAFS, SWAFDE, IAI and AFTE.
You can find out more about Raymond J. Davis and CourtSkills by contacting them at CourtSkills@msn.com.
About Raymond Davis
Raymond Davis is a forensic scientist with 38 years experience in general criminalistics. He has a BA degree in Chemistry from California State University at Sacramento and began his career as a forensic toxicologist with the California State Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services.
Raymond has trained in every forensic discipline except for DNA, although he completed his career at the Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory in Richmond, CA. He was a professional development trainer there assisting the technical staff in criminalistics, courtroom testimony, and interviewing.
In 1991, Raymond created the “Courtroom Presentation of Evidence” course and has presented it to over four thousand technical experts across the United States. Raymond is the former president of the California Association of Criminalists as well as former editor of the CACNEWS. Raymond and his wife live in Idaho.