Dear Esteemed Colleagues of the American College of Legal Medicine,
I hope that your summer has been enjoyable! As the warm season draws to a close, the American College of Legal Medicine will center its’ attention on some exciting upcoming events that will surely be informational and thought provoking.
ACLM Mid-year Meeting October 17 and 18, 2025 with the Wecht Institute
This year, the ACLM Mid-year Meeting will be in partnership with the Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law. The event will take place at the Power Center on the Duquesne University campus in Pittsburgh, PA on October 17 and 18, 2025. The meeting will have a hybrid format, with both in-person attendance and a virtual option. Many of our distinguished members will lecture about interesting topics that relate to Medicine, Dentistry, Forensic Science and Law. Some of the topics include:
DNA, Ancestry Databases and the Law, presented by Dr. Jackson Snyder
Current Topics in Forensic Dentistry, presented by Dr. Michael Kaner and
Dr. Roger Medcalf
An Analysis and Report on Custodial Deaths, presented by Dr. Cordelia Okoye
More information will be forthcoming, and available on the ACLM’s events webpage and the Duquesne University website. A notice will be sent to all ACLM members once registration opens. There will be registration discounts for ACLM members and hotel discounts available at the Double Tree Hotel at One Bigalow Square, Pittsburgh for those coming in-person. The Marriott City Center, Washington place is also within walking distance of the venue.
2025 National Health Law Moot Court Competition at Southern Illinois University
The ACLM will once again sponsor the 2025 National Health Law Moot Court Competition at Southern Illinois University (SIU) which will take place October 31 – November 1, 2025. The Journal of Legal Medicine (JLM) will publish the proceeding of the competition, which traditionally has included the Competition Problem, winning brief, and a scholarly article authored by SIU faculty that explores the legal issues presented and their broader implications for health law and society. The ACLM is committed to continuing this tradition and wish all those who will be presenting arguments the best of luck. I will participate as one of the judges on the panel for the final round of the competition, and Dr. Amirala Pasha has offered to be available to SIU as Editor-in-Chief of the JLM to aid with publication. Thank you Dr. Pasha.
Australasian College of Legal Medicine 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting and Awards Dinner
The Australasian College of Legal Medicine will have their 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting and Awards Dinner November 8 and 9, 2025 in Singapore. The theme of the meeting is Ethics, Medicine and the Law, with an Expert Report Writing Course on November 7, 2025. The meeting is being offered with in-person attendance as well as a virtual option. Dr. Amirala Pasha, Secretary of the ACLM, will be a featured guest speaker and will represent the ACLM at the conference. His topic will be “Beyond Dobbs: The Current State of Reproductive Rights in the U.S.”. We are very proud and honored to have Dr. Pasha represent the ACLM in Singapore. The meeting has an exciting array of topics. ACLM members are being offered the registration rate at the Australasian College of Legal Medicine member discount. Please click here for more details.
AMA News
The ACLM was well-represented by Dr. Ellia Ciammaichella (Delegate), Dr. Richard Wilbur (interim Alternate Delegate), and Dr. Rajil Asri (newly elected Resident and Fellow Section Alternate Delegate) at the 2025 Annual AMA House of Delegates. Their efforts also led to the creation of a new Legal Medicine Caucus, a significant step for the future of legal medicine within the AMA. The ACLM is looking forward to building on this momentum at the upcoming AMA interim meeting in November.
66th ACLM Annual Conference
Plans are taking shape for the 66th ACLM Annual Conference to be held in Phoenix Arizona, at the Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law,
March 6 – 8, 2026. Dr. Amirala Pasha is serving as Chair of the 2026 Conference and Dr. Nicholas Panomitros is serving as Chair of the Dental Conference. Please mark your calendars and we hope to see you in Phoenix.
Dr. Richard Wilbur
Finally, it is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Dr. Richard Wilbur on August 6, 2025 at 101 years old. Dr. Wilbur has been a mentor, icon, and inspiration to all of our members, regardless of age.
Dr. Wilbur served his patients, his country and his family to his fullest. It is impossible to name every post that he has held, or every job he has performed in the limited space of this President’s Letter. For those of us who have had the distinct pleasure of meeting him and knowing him, he was, and will continue to be a true legend. He remained an active Fellow of the ACLM until his death.
I spoke with his son, Andy Wilbur, to inquire about memorial services for Dr. Wilbur. Andy informed me that his father did not wish to have a memorial service, however I am providing the link to his obituary here so that those who wish to send their condolences, or would like to share a memory, can post on his “Tribute Wall”.
The ACLM Immediate Past President, Dr. Michael Vinluan, in his testimonial to Dr. Wilbur on his 100th birthday in April 2024, summed up his life beautifully, referring to Dr. Wilbur as a “true titan of medicine, law and life itself!” He will be missed.
May he rest in peace.
Yours respectfully,
Jennifer Unis Sullivan, DMD, JD, FCLM
55th President of the American College of Legal Medicine