NAPD - Antiracist expert evidence: An exploration of racism

Time: October 23, 2025 - 1-2:30pm

Location: Webinar

Demonstrating the influence of racism is vital to the practice of criminal defense, yet many attorneys do not know how to prove racism in court. We surveyed over seven hundred criminal-defense attorneys across the United States, and nearly half had never heard of expert witnesses testifying or submitting written reports on racism—what we call “antiracist expert evidence.” This finding would be unremarkable if such experts were unhelpful, but nearly ninety percent of surveyed attorneys expected that antiracist expert evidence would benefit their criminal-defense practices.

In this webinar, we will present the findings of the article, Antiracist Expert Evidence, published in the Yale Law Journal in 2025. This article conceptualizes, categorizes, and instantiates six different expressions, manifestations, or mechanisms of racism relevant to criminal defense: (1) racist affiliations and views; (2) racist language, sounds, and imagery; (3) racial stereotypes; (4) racial disparities; (5) implicit racial bias; and (6) the impact of racism on health and behavior. It also analyzes survey results showing criminal-defense attorneys’ levels of familiarity with antiracist expert evidence, their perceptions of its utility, and the barriers they anticipate to its introduction. This Article then examines these barriers and identifies means of overcoming them. The webinar will cover all of these facets and facilitate a discussion about the use of such evidence in criminal defense practice.

Additional information and online registration.