“Courtroom Success – Understanding the Psychology of a Trial”, presented by John Kwasnoski
For most officers who work on crash cases they are usually under-trained, if they have formal training at all, in the skills needed to provide powerful, persuasive testimony at trial. COURTROOM SUCCESS discusses the psychology of a trial, and goes beyond the “how to dress” and “where to look” rules. The presentation explains why jurors believe a witness, how to develop rapport with jurors, and why credibility is his/her most valuable shield against cross examination attacks. This class is intended for prosecutors, reconstructionist, crash investigators, DREs, detectives, and forensics people.
Washington County – July 29, 2024: CANCELLED
Orange County – July 30, 2024: CANCELLED
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John Kwasnoski is Professor Emeritus of Forensic Physics at Western New England University, Springfield, MA after thirty-one years on the faculty. He is a certified police trainer in more than twenty states, and has instructed prosecutors, police, and civil attorneys on more than 400 occasions in every one of the fifty states. He is the crash reconstructionist on the “Lethal Weapon – DWI Homicide” team formed by the National Traffic Law Center to teach prosecutors how to utilize expert witness testimony and cross examine adverse expert witnesses. Prof. Kwasnoski has reconstructed more than 1,300 crashes, including multiple and single vehicle, pedestrian, motorcycle, and train crashes, and has given sworn testimony on more than 200 occasions; he has trained with the NYPD collision reconstruction unit since 2001, and continues to serve as a consultant to prosecutors nationwide on MV homicide cases. He has served as an expert in several cases of national significance including S. Carolina v. Susan Smith (a mother’s drowning murder of her two children) in which he participated in the re-enactment of the drowning in a submerged automobile and the creation of a video used in the sentencing phase of the trial. Prof. Kwasnoski has authored The Handbook of Collision Reconstruction, Kwasnoski’s Little Red Book, Anticipating Defenses in a MV Crash Case From Crash to Courtroom , Crash Investigation Primer , , Preparing Your MV Crash Case for Trial , Low BAC Driver Impairment , Large Truck Collision Reconstruction for Prosecutors , and Crash Reconstruction Basics for Prosecutors . Prof. Kwasnoski has published more than 60 journal and newsletter articles on collision reconstruction, has a national speaking schedule, and maintains a 24/7 Online On-demand Digital Library of documents and his Lethal Weapon presentation videos. He is the creator of CRASH! The Science of Collisions, a resource for high school and middle school science, physics, biology, health studies, and math teachers that utilizes police traffic crash reports as a starting point for student activities and laboratory investigations that captivate students and motive science and math learning.