Judge Roderick T. Kennedy will return to his alma mater for Homecoming and give a talk as part of the UT College of Law’s Distinguished Alumni Lecture SeriesThursday, Oct. 5.
He will speak at noon in the Law Center’s McQuade Law Auditorium.
Kennedy
The lecture titled “Light A Fire And Curse the Darkness — Where Does the Forensic Science Buck Stop?” will address two new law review articles that argue that the revolution in the admission of scientific and expert evidence promised by Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals in 1993 has been mostly available in civil court only, while criminal courts have either not rigorously attended to their Daubert “gatekeeping” duties, or ignored rigorous admissibility criteria for forensic science evidence entirely.
Kennedy also will reflect on his commitment during his 36-year career in the law to educating judges, lawyers and scientists to improve the quality of science in court, and to fighting to maintain high standards for judicial decisions regarding scientific and technical evidence.
He recently retired from the New Mexico Court of Appeals after serving 16 years on the bench, two of those years as chief judge. The New Mexico Court of Appeals consists of 10 judges and serves the entire state. Kennedy has written and presented extensively in the areas of expert testimony, scientific evidence and forensic evidence.
Food and beverages will be provided at the free, public lecture.
