FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  --  AUGUST 6, 2007

Registration Underway For Fall Session Of SMC Paralegal Program
Forensics Course Expected To Generate Significant Interest
           

SPARTANBURG, SC – One of the most popular elective courses within the Spartanburg Methodist College Paralegal Certificate Program will be offered again in the upcoming Fall I 2007 term.

The first time Forensics – Crime Scenes Investigations, Criminalistics and The Law was offered at SMC, there were almost 25 students taking it.

“The first time the Forensics class was taught, we received a tremendous amount of interest. We were very pleased with how it went and are looking forward to another successful session for our entire Paralegal Certification Program,” says Yvonne Harper, program director.

This Forensics course will focus on how a crime scene should be investigated, searched and processed for evidence and the legal admissibility of these procedures.  It will also cover the forensic value of physical evidence and the role of forensic science and criminalistics in evaluating evidence and presenting it in court. 

Discussions about United States Supreme Court cases and other recent state and federal cases will expose the student to issues involving “implied” consent to search, what constitutes an “exigency” at a crime scene, forensics experts and testing, chain of custody, scientific testing, admissibility of blood spatter analysis, fingerprints, DNA and other crime scene evidence. 

“With all the televisions shows that are out there now that address the issue of forensics, it has become a topic that has generated a lot of interest – so much to the point that jurors expect this now in almost every case. This course gives our students an overview of not only what can be done with forensics, but how evidence is analyzed and how it can be useful both for the prosecution and defense. It gives them a practical grasp on the subject,” says adjunct instructor Donnie Willingham, who will be teaching the course.

Willingham says that during the course students will be able to participate in mock crime scenes and meet and talk with professional forensics investigators.

A total of 20 courses and a 40-hour internship are required for completion SMC’s Paralegal Certification Program. All legal specialty courses within the program are taught by local attorneys and/or paralegals. General education courses are taught by persons with advanced degrees.

The registration deadline for the Fall I 2007 term is August 23. Classes start on August 28 and are $275 each.

Students who are interested in taking the Real Estate course offered during the program’s Fall I term are strongly encouraged to take Title Search I during the Fall II 2007 term (Nov. 18-Jan. 31) and Title Search II during the Spring I 2008 term (Feb. 5 to April 10). 

An application to enroll in the Paralegal Certification Program can be found online at www.smcsc.edu. For further information on the program, please contact director Yvonne Harper at (864) 587-4278.

Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 96th year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.

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