#82: One Officer, One Bullet, and Two Critical Lessons on Police Culture
Release Date: 01/20/2025
#99: How Much Control Should Judges Have Over the Testimony of Expert Witnesses?
Crime and the Courtroom
Judges hold tremendous power in the American criminal justice system, and possibly more power than we realize. In this episode of Crime and the Courtroom, John Collins shares his thoughts about a trend being encountered by expert witnesses whose testimony is being limited or controlled by judges. In some cases, the identification of latent prints or firearms is being rejected, and judges are instead instructing expert witnesses on what they can or cannot say. Is this even permissible? John also discusses what he describes as “the nuclear option,” a tactic that judges could adopt, if they...
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#98: The ISHI Forensic Leadership Alliance: Looking Ahead to the 2025 Symposium
Crime and the Courtroom
In this episode of Crime and the Courtroom, host John Collins is joined by colleagues Dr. Pamela Marshall, Julie Sikorsky, and Dr. Ray Wickenheiser to discuss their ongoing collaboration, the Forensic Leadership Alliance. The group reflects on their shared work since 2020 in providing leadership development opportunities for forensic scientists, with a focus on coaching, mentorship, and team empowerment. The conversation covers key leadership challenges facing forensic laboratories, including funding instability, cultural dynamics, and professional development. The episode also includes...
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#97: Police Culture, Federal Funds, and Forensic Science Laboratories
Crime and the Courtroom
John Collins examines the growing challenges facing U.S. forensic science laboratories as federal funding programs come under political pressure in Washington. Drawing on decades of experience as a former laboratory administrator and current leadership coach, Collins explores how dependence on federal grants has affected laboratory budgets, priorities, and culture—particularly in agencies where labs are managed by police commanders. He outlines the risks of “supplanting,” the importance of independent budget planning, and offers five practical recommendations for law enforcement leaders...
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#96: Cyber Hell? A Conversation with Tom Arnold
Crime and the Courtroom
In this episode of Crime and the Courtroom, host John Collins speaks with Tom Arnold, a leading expert in digital evidence and cyber crime investigation. Mr. Arnold has led major breach investigations involving thousands of servers and has advised agencies including the U.S. Secret Service. He currently teaches at San Jose State University and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he helps develop academic programs in digital forensics and cybersecurity. In addition to his technical work, Tom recently authored The Digital Detective: First Intervention, a novel designed to teach...
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#95: The Wrongful Conviction of Forensic Science and the Attack on Firearm Identification
Crime and the Courtroom
In this episode, John Collins provides a thought-provoking and direct follow-up to episode #94, which covered the Oregon appellate court ruling in State v. Adams. In Adams, the court rejected the science of firearm identification and reversed the conviction. John explains the recent historical forces that have made forensic science a target of criminal justice reform activists, while providing encouragement to forensic practitioners in maintaining their professionalism and credibility as expert witnesses. He also calls out what he describes as “courtroom science activists” who’ve made it...
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#94: Firearm Testimony Blocked by Oregon Appellate Court - A Call to Action
Crime and the Courtroom
SPECIAL EPISODE: In a June 2025 decision, the Oregon Court of Appeals delivered a controversial ruling on forensic evidence admissibility in State v. Adams, a case involving a 2018 shooting in Portland. The ruling has been interpreted and reported as a categorical rejection of the method of linking spent shell casings to a particular firearm—commonly used for decades. The court argued that the State failed to establish the scientific validity of the method under Oregon’s rules of evidence. In this special edition of Crime and the Courtroom, John Collins shares his thoughts on the...
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#93: The Highly Impressive Expert Witness - Training Priorities and Strategies
Crime and the Courtroom
In this coaching session with John Collins, we explore specific priorities and strategies for developing professionals who give courtroom testimony as a part of their normal responsibilities. This episode is useful for accelerating the development of all kinds of expert witnesses, especially forensic laboratory scientists and administrators. Season: 5 Episode: 93 Duration: 48:06 YOUTUBE CHANNELS FROM OUR SPONSOR REFERENCED RESOURCES None ABOUT YOUR HOST John Morrey Collins is a leadership and expertise coach specializing in working with clients in authoritative,...
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#92: Evaluating Expertise in an Era of Compromised Integrity - A Coaching Session
Crime and the Courtroom
In this coaching session with John Collins, we discuss the problem of placing our trust in subject-matter experts in a time when it seems that integrity has gone out of style. John offers some solutions and strategies for how to be more effective in screening the individual expertise, competence, and character of individuals who claim to be experts. Season: 5 Episode: 92 Duration: 42:06 YOUTUBE CHANNELS FROM OUR SPONSOR REFERENCED RESOURCES ABOUT YOUR HOST John Morrey Collins is a leadership and expertise coach specializing in working with clients in authoritative,...
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#91: Psychopaths and Copycats - A Conversation with Dr. Jacqueline Helfgott
Crime and the Courtroom
Jacqueline Helfgott is the Director of the Crime and Justice Research Center at Seattle University and the author of “Copycat Crime: How Media, Technology, and Digital Culture Inspire Criminal Behavior and Violence.” In this episode, Dr. Helfgott speaks with John Collins about the subject of psychopathy and how prevalent it is across the human population. They also discuss how psychopaths come into being, and whether or not the disorder can be treated. Season: 5 Episode: 91 Duration: 56:00 YOUTUBE CHANNELS FROM OUR SPONSOR REFERENCED RESOURCES ABOUT YOUR HOSTJohn...
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#90: A Conversation with Jeff Asher on Crime Data, Trends, and Reporting Challenges
Crime and the Courtroom
John Collins speaks with Jeff Asher, a data-analytics expert and Substack writer specializing in - as Jeff puts it - crime, data, and crime data. Jeff has an impressive history working in the Department of Defense and the CIA, among others. In this episode, John and Jeff discuss the measurement of crime in the United States, how it is done, and the challenges that exist in collecting, analyzing, and reporting this data as efficiently and accurately as possible. Season: 5 Episode: 90 Duration: 32:06 YOUTUBE CHANNELS FROM OUR SPONSOR REFERENCED RESOURCES ABOUT YOUR HOST John...
info_outlineIn this inaugural episode of Crime and the Coutroom, John Collins shares what he describes as "the craziest case I ever experienced in a forensic science laboratory." As he explains, sometime in late 1995 or early 1996, John conducted what started as a routine forensic analysis of a firearm used by a police officer in a shooting invovling an armed suspect. As it turned out, nothing about the case was routine, and the experience helped to galvanize John's perspectives on the risks of policing and the greater risks of dysfucntional police culture. John closes with some encouragement for police organizations doing their best to enable healthy, productive, supportive, and efficient organizational environments for their sworn and civilian team members, as well as the communities they serve.
Season: 5
Episode: 82
Duration: 34:24
REFERENCED RESOURCES
Book: The New Superior - By John M. Collins (2023)
ABOUT YOUR HOST
John Morrey Collins is a leadership and expertise coach specializing in working with clients in authoritative, high-stakes occupations, but with a primary emphasis on serving leaders, professionals, and organizations that support our complicated systems of criminal and civil justice. John started his private practice, Critical Victories, in 2013 after retiring his award-winning, 20-year career as a forensic laboratory scientist and executive administrator, having served as the Director of Forensic Science for the State of Michigan. His forensic technical expertise was in the examination and testing of firearms and firearm-related evidence, having provided expert courtroom testimony in approximately 130 criminal trials, including death penalty cases and Daubert hearings. John is also the author of three books on forensic science and criminal justice reform. In 2022, he released his fourth book, “The New Superior – A Better Way to Be the One in Charge,” which is available in print and audio. John’s many career highlights include his part in the forensic investigation of the Atlanta serial bombings, which included the bombing of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, as well as his 2013 participation in a historic meeting with the US Attorney General and other firearm experts to discuss the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. John has a master’s degree in organizational management and is formally certified as a Senior HR Professional by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In 2012, John was trained as a professional coach by the College of Executive Coaching, and he became certified as a Gallup Strengths Coach in 2022. He lives and works near Detroit, Michigan.
For more information and resources, please visit www.criticalvictories.com