Betty Layne DesPortes is a criminal defense attorney with the Richmond, Virginia law firm of Benjamin & DesPortes.
Betty Layne was named one of Virginia Lawyers Media’s “Influential Women of Virginia” for 2014
Betty Layne received her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law and her MS in forensic science from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Betty Layne is a Past President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. She served as Chair of the Forensic Sciences Foundation, Inc. and on the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Biological Evidence as a representative of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She also served on the ABA Task Force on the Presentation of Forensic Science Evidence.
She has actively sought reform of Virginia’s indigent defense system and is committed to improving indigent defense forensic resources. In 1996, Betty Layne and her law partner, Steven D. Benjamin, obtained a landmark Virginia Supreme Court decision recognizing the constitutional right of an indigent criminal defendant to expert forensic assistance. Since 2005 she has assisted with speaker recruitment and planning of the Virginia Chief Justice’s Advanced Indigent Criminal Defense Training Seminar.
In 2001, Betty Layne and Steve obtained the exoneration and release of Jeffrey David Cox, a man who was serving a life sentence for a murder he did not commit.
Professional Details
EDUCATION:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Master of Science (Forensic Sciences): December 1993
University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia
Juris Doctor: May 1992
JOURNALS: Virginia Law Review, The Journal of Law and Politics
University of South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, South Carolina
Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae (Honors Degree): May 1989
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES/ADMISSIONS:
Supreme Court of the United States — Admitted 2006
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals – Admitted 1994
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia – Admitted 1994
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia – Admitted 1994
South Carolina State Bar – Admitted 1993
Virginia State Bar – Admitted 1992
STATE APPOINTMENTS
Virginia Chief Justice’s Indigent Defense Training Initiative:
Planning Committee: 2005-2019
Program Co-Chair: 2011-2012
Commission on Virginia Courts in the 21st Century: To Benefit All, To Exclude None, Task Force on the Structure of the Judicial System: 2005-2006
TEACHING
Adjunct Faculty – University of Richmond School of Law, (Scientific Evidence), Spring 1997-2002, 2004
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Fellow)
Immediate Past President: 2018-2019
President: 2017-2018
President-Elect: 2016-2017
Treasurer: 2014-2016
Vice President: 2013-2014
Board of Directors: 2007-2019
Ad Hoc Committee on Amicus Briefs: 2007
Ad Hoc Committee on Publications (Chair): 2011-2013
Ad Hoc Committee on Term Limits: 2011-2012
Ad Hoc Committee on Ethics Response: 2011-2012
Continuing Education Committee: 1999-2006
Executive Committee: 2009-2010, 2012-2013, 2014-2015
Forensic Science Foundation:
Chair: 2013-2015
Research Committee: 2009-2013
Secretary: 2012-2013
Trustee: 2011-2018
Internal Audit Committee: 2000-2004
Jurisprudence Section: 1995-present
Chair: 2004-2006
Secretary: 2002-2003, 2003-2004
Program Chair: 1999-2000, 2001-2002
Membership Committee:
Chair: 2013-2014
Member: 2002-2006
Nominating Committee: 2004-2007
Program Committee:
Interdisciplinary Symposium Chair: 2009-2010
Local Arrangements Chair: 2012-2013
American Bar Association
Criminal Justice Standards Committee Task Force on Biological Evidence: 2003-2006
Criminal Justice Task Force on Presentation of Forensic Evidence and Jury Instructions: 2010-2012
American Board of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Fellow)
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Books
- Moenssens, A.A., DesPortes, B.L., and Benjamin, S.D., Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases (7th edition)(Foundation Press 2017)
- Moenssens, A.A., DesPortes, B.L., and Edwards, C.E., Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases (6th edition)(Foundation Press 2013)
- Review of: Black Robes, White Coats: The Puzzle of Judicial Policymaking and Scientific Evidence, Journal of Forensic Sciences, Volume 54, Issue 3, May 2009, Page: 729.
- Review of: Arson Law and Prosecution, Journal of Forensic Sciences, Volume 55, Issue 1, January 2010, Page: 283
Publications
- Survey of Criminal Law and Procedure, Univ. of Richmond Law Review, 1997
- "The Admissibility of Laboratory Reports: The Melendez-Diaz, Bullcoming, and Williams Cases" WILEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, (Jamieson A. & Moenssens A.A., eds) 2009 & online updates
- "Validation of Forensic Science Techniques: Principles and Procedures," WILEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, (Jamieson A. & Moenssens A.A., eds) 2009 & online updates.
- "Handwriting Comparison Opinions Admissibility After the NAS Report" WILEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, (Jamieson A. & Moenssens A.A., eds) 2009 & online updates.
- "Jury Instructions on Expert Testimony" WILEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, (Jamieson A. & Moenssens A.A., eds) 2009 & online updates.
- "Friction Ridge Opinion Evidence after Daubert and the NAS Report" WILEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, (Jamieson A. & Moenssens A.A., eds) 2009 & online updates.
- "Firearm and Toolmark Opinion Evidence: Admissibility of Opinions After Daubert and the NAS Reports" WILEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, (Jamieson A. & Moenssens A.A., eds) 2009 & online updates.
Presentations
- Panelist, Keynote Session, “Last Lecture Series . . . Words of Wisdom from Our Mentors,” American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2014, Seattle WA.
- “Error Reporting: Replacing Blame with Solutions,” American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2014, Seattle WA.
- Panelist, "Legal vs. Scientific Proof" — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2012, Atlanta GA.
- Panelist, "How Far Has the Federal Government Advanced Toward Meeting the Recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Report and How Does the United States Effort to Strengthen Forensic Science Compare with that in Other Countries?" — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2012, Atlanta GA.
- Panelist, "The Forensic Landscape Two Years After the NAS Report: Litigating Issues in Light of the Report and Responses of the Forensic Community, Governmental Agencies and Congress," American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section and the Louis Stein Center for Law & Ethics Second Annual Prescription for Criminal Justice Forensics, June 2011, New York NY.
- Panelist, "National Academy of Sciences Study," American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section and the Louis Stein Center for Law & Ethics First Annual Prescription for Criminal Justice Forensics, June 2010, New York NY.
- Organizer, "Putting Our Forensic House in Order," Interdisciplinary Symposium — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2010, Seattle WA.
- "Forensic DNA Evidence: Recent Controversies" — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2007, San Antonio TX.
- "Crisis Management in the Lab: Legal Considerations in Conducting Audits and Other Investigations" — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2006, Seattle WA.
- "Forensic Science and the Rule of Law: The Role of Discovery in Today's Crime Laboratory" — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2006, Seattle WA.
- "Other Acts Against Humanity: A Defense Attorney's Perspective on Virginia's Death Penalty" — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2001, Seattle WA.
- Substitute Panelist, "Multidisciplinary Session: Child Abuse: A Forensic Reassessment and Search for Balance," - American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 2000, Reno NV.
- "Forensic Science and the Criminal Lawyer: A View from the Front Lines" — American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Annual Meeting, February 1999, Orlando FL.