Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases
Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases

Author: Andre A. Moenssens

Publisher: Foundation Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781599411545

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This popular casebook is designed to provide those participating in trials with a concise understanding of the scope of the most commonly encountered types of expert testimony, and the nature of the results which may be expected from specialists. It explores both the potentialities and limitations of various types of expert proof. It considers qualifications needed for expertise in these various professional disciplines and discusses the status of the law concerning the various types of evidence encountered. The book first deals with the general concepts underlying expert opinion testimony, with the use of real and demonstrative evidence, and with opinion testimony of non-expert skilled witnesses. It then turns in succession to expert testimony based upon the physical sciences, and expert witnesses in the biological and life sciences. Finally, the book explores expert testimony in the behavioral sciences.

The Impact of Scientific Evidence on the Criminal Trial
The Impact of Scientific Evidence on the Criminal Trial

Author: Oriola Sallavaci

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-05

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1317910915

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This book explores challenges posed by the use of DNA evidence to the traditional features, procedures and principles of the criminal trial. It examines the limitations of existing theories of criminal trial processes in the face of increasing use of scientific evidence in the court room. The research elucidates the interconnections at trial of three epistemologies, namely legal reasoning, as represented by counsel and trial judge, common sense manifested by the jury and scientific reasoning expounded by the expert witness. Sallavaci argues that while scientific reasoning is part of this hybrid of trial languages and practices, its extended use is producing specifically novel tensions which impact on the traditional criminal trial landscape. Through the lens of DNA evidence, the book investigates how far the use of scientific evidence in the fact finding process poses challenges for the adversarial character of the proceedings and rules of evidence; how it affects the role of the judge, jury and expert witness, as well as the principle of orality and continuity of the trial. In comparing the challenges faced in English common law trials to those of the USA, this book has international scope, and will be of great use and interest to students and researchers of Criminal Law and Practice, Policing, and the role of Forensics in Law.

The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence
The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1996-12-12

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0309134404

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In 1992 the National Research Council issued DNA Technology in Forensic Science, a book that documented the state of the art in this emerging field. Recently, this volume was brought to worldwide attention in the murder trial of celebrity O. J. Simpson. The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence reports on developments in population genetics and statistics since the original volume was published. The committee comments on statements in the original book that proved controversial or that have been misapplied in the courts. This volume offers recommendations for handling DNA samples, performing calculations, and other aspects of using DNA as a forensic toolâ€"modifying some recommendations presented in the 1992 volume. The update addresses two major areas: Determination of DNA profiles. The committee considers how laboratory errors (particularly false matches) can arise, how errors might be reduced, and how to take into account the fact that the error rate can never be reduced to zero. Interpretation of a finding that the DNA profile of a suspect or victim matches the evidence DNA. The committee addresses controversies in population genetics, exploring the problems that arise from the mixture of groups and subgroups in the American population and how this substructure can be accounted for in calculating frequencies. This volume examines statistical issues in interpreting frequencies as probabilities, including adjustments when a suspect is found through a database search. The committee includes a detailed discussion of what its recommendations would mean in the courtroom, with numerous case citations. By resolving several remaining issues in the evaluation of this increasingly important area of forensic evidence, this technical update will be important to forensic scientists and population geneticistsâ€"and helpful to attorneys, judges, and others who need to understand DNA and the law. Anyone working in laboratories and in the courts or anyone studying this issue should own this book.

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States
Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-07-29

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0309142393

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Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.

Expert Evidence and Scientific Proof in Criminal Trials
Expert Evidence and Scientific Proof in Criminal Trials

Author: Paul Roberts

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 135156739X

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Forensic science evidence and expert witness testimony play an increasingly prominent role in modern criminal proceedings. Science produces powerful evidence of criminal offending, but has also courted controversy and sometimes contributed towards miscarriages of justice. The twenty-six articles and essays reproduced in this volume explore the theoretical foundations of modern scientific proof and critically consider the practical issues to which expert evidence gives rise in contemporary criminal trials. The essays are prefaced by a substantial new introduction which provides an overview and incisive commentary contextualising the key debates. The volume begins by placingforensic science in interdisciplinary focus, with contributions from historical, sociological, Science and Technology Studies (STS), philosophical and jurisprudential perspectives. This is followed by closer examination of the role of forensic science and other expert evidence in criminal proceedings, exposing enduring tensions and addressing recent controversies in the relationship between science and criminal law. A third set of contributions considers the practical challenges of interpreting and communicating forensic science evidence. This perennial battle continues to be fought at the intersection between the logic of scientific inference and the psychology of the fact-finder‘scommon sense reasoning. Finally, the volume‘s fourth group of essays evaluates the (limited) success of existing procedural reforms aimed at improving the reception of expert testimony in criminal adjudication, and considers future prospects for institutional renewal - with a keen eye to comparative law models and experiences, success stories and cautionary tales.

Forensic Evidence
Forensic Evidence

Author: Terrence F. Kiely

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2005-11-29

Total Pages: 534

ISBN-13: 1420038060

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Focusing on issues raised at Interpol‘s 14th Forensic Science Symposium, this volume offers a complete overview and analysis of the scientific and legal aspects of each of the forensic disciplines. It updates cases and discusses recent applications of Frye/Daubert, the admissibility of eyewitness identification, the explosion of cases and statutes addressing post-conviction DNA, the rise in attention to cold cases, and other challenges. This is the book that those in the forensic sciences need to have on hand to successfully prepare for what may await them in the courtroom.

Forensic Science Evidence
Forensic Science Evidence

Author: Donald E. Shelton

Publisher: Criminal Justice: Recent Schol

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781593325176

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Shelton describes the startling questions that have arisen about the reliability of many forms of scientific evidence which were traditionally regarded as reliable and have been routinely admitted to prove guilt. The exonerations resulting from the development of DNA have exposed the lack of truswortiness of much of the "scientific" evidence that was used to convict people who turned out to be innocent. The Congressionally commissioned report of the National Academy of Sciences documented the lack of scientific basis in many of these areas. Nevertheless, Shelton discloses that many courts continue to routinely admit such evidence in criminal cases, in spite of the obligation of judges to be the "gatekeepers" of forensic science evidence. He explores reasons for that phenomenon and describes whether and how it might change in the future.

Cracking Cases
Cracking Cases

Author: Henry C. Lee

Publisher: Prometheus Books

Published: 2011-02-10

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 161592048X

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Looks at the investigative process of five murder cases, including the O.J. Simpson case and the Woodchipper case, detailing how the forensic evidence was used at trial, and how it was used to exonerate or convict the killers.