Workshop
Advanced Workshop on the Reporting of Likelihood Ratios
Monday September 18th, 2023 // 8:30 am - 5:00 pm // Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center, Centennial Hall AB
Fee includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and materials.
Description:
This workshop will provide attendees guidance for the reporting of likelihood ratios (LRs) for DNA profiling evidence. Topics include: an introduction to Bayes’ Theorem and the assignment of LRs, setting propositions for complex scenarios with examples, approaches when relatives are a consideration (including mixtures of relatives and propositions considering relatives either as co-contributors or alternate contributors), and reporting LRs. We will provide analogies for the layperson, discuss pros and cons of verbal scales, and reporting LRs with an emphasis on avoiding fallacies. Examples and interactive activities will be provided to help avoid misrepresenting the LR, and how to correct.
Learning Outcomes:
- Advanced examples of setting propositions involving complex scenarios
- Spotting transposed conditionals with both written and verbal examples
- How to handle examples where relatives are proposed as alternative contributors to a DNA profile
This workshop is intended for DNA analysts, supervisors, technical leaders, attorneys and judges. Attendees should have a solid understanding of algebra and bring a calculator to the workshop. Handouts will be provided.
Speakers
Michael CobleChair
Executive Director, Center for Human Identification, UNTHSC
Michael Coble, PhD, is an Associate Professor and the Executive Director of the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a member of the International Society for Forensic Genetics. He serves as a commissioner of the Texas Forensic Science Commission and is an invited guest at the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM).
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Jo-Anne Bright
Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) New Zealand
Jo-Anne Bright is a Senior Science Leader within the Forensic Biology group at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) New Zealand, where she has worked since 1999. Jo is one of the co developers of STRmix™, expert software for the interpretation of forensic DNA profiles and the new Australasian standard.
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Richard Wivell
Senior Scientist, Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited
Richard Wivell is a Senior Scientist within the STRmixTM team at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited, New Zealand where he has worked since 2008. Before moving to New Zealand, Richard was a Forensic Scientist for the Metropolitan Police Service and the Forensic Science Service in the UK.
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