NCDD Sessions and Seminars
Serious Science for Serious Lawyers 2021

Members Log-In to Receive the Discounted Member Rate
May 21, 2021 - May 26, 2021
Advanced Training in Blood Drug Analysis and Trial Advocacy
Arlington, TX
Andrew Mishlove, Course Director
The Serious Science Blood Drug Analysis course is designed to combine hard science and trial advocacy. There is no better course on forensic science and trial advocacy in America.
We start with hard science, including hands-on work in the Shimadzu Laboratory. Students will learn the basics of metrology, blood alcohol and the more complex blood drug analyses, and they will get hands-on experience preparing and analyzing their own samples. We focus on science for three full days; and then we transition to a focus on trial advocacy about the science, with reviews of the scientific concepts, and trial skills practice with the scientists from the University of Texas-Arlington. We use trial skills techniques developed by, and instructors trained at the Trial Lawyers College, with grateful acknowledgement.
This year we will start with a complete review of the basic of metrology and blood testing on Friday afternoon, May 21, 2021. So plan to arrive in Arlington no later than Friday noon.
We will have a walk every morning before breakfast for those interested. The NCDD provides breakfast and lunches, as well as transfers to and from the Shimadzu Laboratory, and the party at Mimi Coffey's. We will have a banquet at the hotel on Friday evening, a party on Saturday evening, a review of the science and science question and answer with the UT-A science faculty on Monday evening. Students will also receive a professional lab coat for use in the laboratory, which they may keep.
All students are required to take three hours of online lab safety courses from the University of Texas-Arlington, in order to enter the laboratory. You will get certificates for those courses too.
Registration Fees:
NCDD Members: $2,650Member Deposit Only: $650
Non-Members: $2,950
Non-Member Deposit Only: $950
CDC recommendations and "stay in place" orders are being closely monitored. Registration fees will be fully refunded if cancellation becomes necessary.
Hotel Accommodations:
Sheraton Arlington Hotel888-236-2427
Use Group Code: Serious Science DUI
Room Block Closes April 30, 2021.
Science Faculty:
- Tiffany Liden, PhD, Analytic Chemistry
- Ines Carvalho Dos Santos, PhD, Analytic Chemistry
- Janine Arvizu, QCA, Laboratory Quality Control, Metrology
- Post Graduate Assistants from the University of Texas-Arlington
Trial Advocacy Faculty:
- Andrew Mishlove, NCDD Regent, Course Director,
- Francisco A. “Paco” Duarte, Instructor,
- Kimberly Benjamin, Instructor,
- Bell Island, NCDD Regent
- Joseph Peter St. Louis, NCDD Regent
Friday, May 21, 2021 | ||
2:00 p.m-3:00pm | Basic Metrology | Joseph Peter St. Louis |
3:00pm-4:00pm | Basic Chromatography and FID | Bell Island |
4:00pm-4:15pm | Break | |
4:15pm-5:15pm | Basic Mass Spectrometry | Faculty |
6:00pm-6:30pm | Registration | |
6:30 P.M. -8:30 P.M. | Introduction of Faculty. Storytelling and Science. Attendees' Dinner. | Andrew Mishlove |
Saturday, May 22, 2021 | |
6:00am | Hike for those interested |
7:45am-8:45am | Breakfast |
9:00am | Bus to the Shimadzu Lab. BE ON TIME! |
9:15am | Metrology, Chromatography, and Mass Spectrometry. Joseph St. Louis, Tiffany Liden PhD, and Ines Carvalho Dos Santos, PhD |
10:15am-10:30am | Break |
10:30am-12:15pm | Key Measurement Concepts, Lab Record-Keeping, Lab Errors - Janine Arvizu, QCA; Traceability; Calibration; Method Validation and Uncertainty; Maintenance |
12:15pm-1:15pm | Lunch |
1:15pm-2:15pm | Discovery in a Blood Alcohol and Blood Drug Case. What You Need and How to Ask for It. Janine Arvizu CQA, and Bell Island. |
2:15pm-3:15pm | Blood Drug Analysis-Sample Preparation, Mass Spectrometry. Tiffany Liden, PhD, and Ines Carvalho Dos Santos, PhD |
3:15pm-3:30pm | Break |
3:30pm-4:45pm | Lab Tour |
4:45pm 5:30pm | Question and Answer. All Science Faculty |
5:30pm | BUS TO HOTEL. BE ON TIME |
7:00pm | Bus to Mimi's party. BE ON TIME |
7:30pm | Mimi's Party |
10:00pm | Bus to hotel |
Sunday, May 23, 2021 | |
6:30am | Hike for those interested |
7:45am-8:45am | Breakfast |
9:00am | BUS TO LAB-Be on time! |
9:00 -5:00 | LAB DAY |
Time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
9:00-10:30 AM | Sample Preparation* (2 instructors) | Hardware demo, GC-MS (5 people; 1 instructor), LC-MS (5 people; 1 instructor) | ||||
10:30-10:45 AM | Coffee Break | |||||
10:45-12:15 AM | Hardware demo | Sample Preparation* | ||||
12:15-1:15 PM | Lunch/ Sample loading | |||||
1:15 PM (45m-1h) | GC-MS 2x | LC-MS 2x | MS interpretation | |||
2:00 PM (45m-1h) | LC-MS 2x | MS interpretation | GC-MS 2x | |||
3:00 PM (45m-1h) | MS interpretation | GC-MS 2x | LC-MS 2x | |||
4:00-4:30 PM | Coffee Break/Compile data | |||||
4:30-5:00 PM | Discussion; compare results |
Monday, May 24, 2021 | |
6:00am | Hike for those interested |
8:00am | Breakfast |
9:00am-10:30am | Discovering the Story. Lecture, Exercises, Demonstrations. A forensic science case is not a matter of competing syllogisms; it is, rather, a human drama-a matter of competing narratives about the scientific process. We will learn innovative techniques, using all of our senses, to re-enact scenes from our cases-focusing on scenes in the laboratory and scientific settings. These re-enactments allow us to learn about the motivations of the state's experts-laying the groundwork for our defense. Paco Duarte and Kim Benjamin |
10:30am-10:45am | Break |
10:45am-12:15pm | Cross Examination: Strong leading questions, one word questions, tell the defense through the state's witness, control the witness, ask only questions where you know the answers. These are all great basic cross-examination skills. In Serious Science, we will go beyond basic skills, to a cross examination based on authentic story-telling and human connection: a juror based view of the story. - Review of the Basics Theory and Practice; Control Cross; The Look Good Cross; One Word Cross - Going beyond - Uncovering the layers of the witness' motivation - Establishing the witness' motivation - Dynamic Cross Paco Duarte and Kimberly Benjamin. |
12pm-1:00pm | Lunch |
1:00pm-5:00pm | Cross-Examination Breakouts with the Science Faculty from UT-A. Andrew Mishlove, Paco Duarte, Kim Benjamin, Bell Island, Joe St. Louis |
Tuesday May 25, 2021 | |
6:00am | Hike for those interested |
8:00am | Breakfast |
9:00am-10:00am | Opening Statements. Lecture, Exercises, Demonstrations. The opening statement is the story of the case-that is, what happened on the street, in the hospital, in the sample delivery truck, in the lab, or even in the lab director's office. It is neither an argument nor a speech. It is a story, made up of scenes where the defense lawyer describes and even re-enacts important moments from the case-introducing the jury to the locations, characters, conflicts, themes, and their role in the trial. Paco Duarte and Kim Benjamin |
10:00am-10:15am | Break |
10:15am-12:30pm | Opening Statement Breakouts. Andrew Mishlove, Paco Duarte, Kim Benjamin, Bell Island, Joe St. Louis |
12:30pm-1:15pm | Lunch |
1:15pm-2:15pm | Closing Arguments: Lecture, Exercises, Demonstration. The closing argument is the story of the trial. The trial itself is a part of the story, and the jurors themselves, as well as the prosecutor, defense lawyer, and the judge, are also characters in the story. The closing argument is based on the story of the case, but it is about what happened in the courtroom. Like the opening statement, it includes scenes, and re-enacts important events, calling the jury to action as the heroes of the story. Paco Duarte and Kim Benjamin |
2:15pm-2:30pm | Break |
2:30pm-5:00pm | Closing Argument Breakouts. Andrew Mishlove, Paco Duarte, Kim Benjamin, Bell Island, Joe St. Louis |
Wednesday May 26, 2021 | |
6:00am | Hike for those interested |
8:00am | Breakfast |
9:00am-10:00am | Voir Dire. Lecture, Exercise, Demonstrations. We approach voir dire at the end of the course, even though it is the beginning of a trial, because in order to start the process of persuasion with the jury, the defense lawyer must first understand the components of the story of the witnesses, the story of the case, and the story of the trial. These are the things that we have worked on the previous three days. We take these skills and apply them to the fundamental task of establishing ourselves as the guide to the jury, the person with rapport and credibility-as we start the process of leading them through their journey as our heroes of the case. Andrew Mishlove, Paco Duarte, Kim Benjamin |
10:00am-10:15am | Break |
10:15am-12:30pm | Voir Dire Breakouts. Paco and Kim, with Joe, Bell, and Andrew |
12:30pm-1:30pm | Lunch |
1:30pm-2:30pm | Review and Closing Ceremony. Andrew Mishlove |
Members Log-In to Receive the Discounted Member Rate
FIND AN ATTORNEY
Enter your city, state, or Zip code below to locate a qualified attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to defend those accused of DUI and related crimes.
FROM OUR BLOG
I Still Stand With You
07/28/2020
By Jonathan Dichter Continuing to Remember What Our Clients Really Need Some years ago, I wrote an article for a Washington State Defense Journal entitled "I Will Stand With You." I have received amazing feedback from it including a local public defense agency making it part of their required reading for new hires. Our world has changed since then - drastically as of...
New York Times Investigation: Breathalyzers are Unreliable Machines and Should Not be Trusted
07/06/2020
By Kevin Bennett Breathalyzer devices can be found in every police station in the country. Law enforcement use them as indisputable proof of a driver's blood alcohol level, incorporati0ng them into evidence when prosecuting suspected drunk drivers. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest breathalyzers are not a reliable tool when it comes to measuring how intoxicated a...