In a case of life-imitating-art-imitating-life, a program at the Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law will commence next month with a crime scene, akin to the weekly opening scene of the procedural drama "Law & Order" -- but minus the TV show's signature "cha-ching."

And, much as the fictional show's scripts -- as well as real-life cases -- proceed from investigation through trial, so, too, will the curriculum for the Duquesne University institute's Certificate in Forensic Science & Law program.

The course will progress from discovery of the crime at the mock crime scene, through evidence collection and analysis and the scientific and legal issues investigators face, to a mock trial with a judge, jury and witnesses. A civil case that grows out of the criminal case also will be included.

John T. Rago, institute director and associate dean of Duquesne University School of Law, said the curriculum for the course that begins Jan. 8 was revamped to give students in the 10-month, 12-credit certificate program a context for their education.

Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, the institute's namesake, said the new case-study approach is advantageous because "it is one of great pragmatic impact."

"It's not just an academic exercise or an intellectual pursuit, although there's nothing wrong with that, but this also provides a way for students to really understand how these things play out in the forensic science arena and in the overall investigative spectrum, from the first knowledge of an incident, from the discovery of a body, for example . . . all the way to the presentation in a courtroom.

"It should be very interesting, very stimulating, with a high level of challenge and interest."

The new approach was conceived by the institute and advisers such as retired Pittsburgh Police Cmdr. Ronald Freeman, Allegheny County Forensic Science Laboratory Director Fred Fochtman and internationally known criminalist Henry Lee.

With the "crime scene" as the starting point, the hands-on investigation will introduce students to such wide-ranging topics as evidence collection, DNA, hair and fiber analysis and forensic toxicology as well as legal issues that law enforcement and attorneys face, with everything coming together with the "trial" in November.

Rago said it's likely the "crime" will be a rape-homicide.

"We'll piece together a lot of elements from real cases. We may have a ransom note, blood, tool marks, a weapon. We'll try to mix in as many forensic elements as possible."

The course is broken down into five modules -- An Overview of the Legal System, The Functions of the Forensic Scientist, Criminal Law and Forensic Scientific Procedures, Civil Applications of Forensic Science, and Trial Preparation and Tactics. Registration for the program, for which classes are held on Saturdays, is open through Jan. 7.

Wecht said the institute is one-of-a-kind for using an interdisciplinary mode linking law and science, for having a board of advisers who are experts in their fields and for utilizing the resources provided by the coroner's office, county crime lab, law enforcement agencies and the courts.

"I can truly say without exaggeration that what we have is a unique entity here," he said.