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Law and Contemporary Problems

Evidence

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Essay: Conventions In Science And In The Courts: Images And Realities, Jerome R. Ravetz Jan 2009

Essay: Conventions In Science And In The Courts: Images And Realities, Jerome R. Ravetz

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.


Merton And The Hot Tub: Scientific Conventions And Expert Evidence In Australian Civil Procedure, Gary Edmond Jan 2009

Merton And The Hot Tub: Scientific Conventions And Expert Evidence In Australian Civil Procedure, Gary Edmond

Law and Contemporary Problems

Recently in Australia, common-law judges began to modify the way expert evidence is prepared and presented. Judges from a range of civil jurisdictions have conscientiously sought to reduce expert partisanship and the extent of expert disagreement in an attempt to enhance procedural efficiency and improve access to justice. One of these reforms, concurrent evidence, enables expert witnesses to participate in a joint session with considerable testimonial latitude. This represents a shift away from an adversarial approach and a conscientious attempt to foster scientific values and norms. Here, Edmond describes how changes to Australian civil procedure, motivated by judicial concerns about …


The Arts Of Persuasion In Science And Law: Conflicting Norms In The Courtroom, Herbert M. Kritzer Jan 2009

The Arts Of Persuasion In Science And Law: Conflicting Norms In The Courtroom, Herbert M. Kritzer

Law and Contemporary Problems

Epistemology is important in the debate about science and technology in the courtroom. The epistemological issues and the arguments about them in the context of scientific and technical evidence are now well developed. Of equal importance, though, is an understanding of norms of persuasion and how those norms may differ across disciplines and groups. Norms of persuasion in the courtroom and in legal briefs differ from norms at a scientific conference and in scientific journals. Here, Kritzer examines the disconnect between science and the courtroom in terms of the differing norms of persuasion found within the scientific community and within …


Science, Law And The Expert Witness, Joseph Sanders Jan 2009

Science, Law And The Expert Witness, Joseph Sanders

Law and Contemporary Problems

Expert witnessing is a particularly useful place to observe the clash of legal and scientific conventions because it is here that one group of people (scientific experts) who are integrated into one set of conventions are challenged by the expectations of a different set of conventions. Here, Sanders looks at how legal conventions affect the behavior of expert witnesses when they appear in court in both criminal and civil cases. He also reviews differences in scientific and legal conventions as they apply to expert knowledge and discusses two central reasons for these differences: adversarialism and closure.


Revisiting The Legal Link Between Genetics And Crime, Deborah W. Denno Apr 2006

Revisiting The Legal Link Between Genetics And Crime, Deborah W. Denno

Law and Contemporary Problems

In 1994, convicted murderer Stephen Mobley became a cause celebre when he appealed his death sentence before the Georgia Supreme Court in the case of Mobley v. State. Denno describes the potential implications arising from the high-profile case of Stephen Mobley. He sought to introduce a then-cutting-edge theory that violence could be based on a genetic or neurochemical abnormality as mitigating evidence during capital sentencing.


Behavioral Genetics Research And Criminal Dna Databases, D. H. Kaye Apr 2006

Behavioral Genetics Research And Criminal Dna Databases, D. H. Kaye

Law and Contemporary Problems

Kaye discusses DNA databanks and the potential use of such databanks for behavioral genetics research. He addresses the concern that DNA databanks serve as a limitless repository for future research and that the samples used in the databanks could be used for research into a crime gene.


Genetic Predictions Of Future Dangerousness: Is There A Blueprint For Violence?, Erica Beecher-Monas, Edgar Garcia-Rill Apr 2006

Genetic Predictions Of Future Dangerousness: Is There A Blueprint For Violence?, Erica Beecher-Monas, Edgar Garcia-Rill

Law and Contemporary Problems

Beecher-Monas and Garcia-Rill consider the unfortunate probability that behavioral genetics evidence will be misused to substantiate predictions of future dangerousness.


Hearsay Exceptions: Adjusting The Ratio Of Intuition To Psychological Science, John E. B. Myers, Ingrid Cordon, Simona Ghetti, Gail S. Goodman Jan 2002

Hearsay Exceptions: Adjusting The Ratio Of Intuition To Psychological Science, John E. B. Myers, Ingrid Cordon, Simona Ghetti, Gail S. Goodman

Law and Contemporary Problems

Myers explores hearsay exeptions by examining three exceptions: excited utterances, statements for purposes of diagnosis or treatment, and the residual hearsay exception. The focus is child declarants, and these exceptions play key roles in child abuse litigation.


The Conundrum Of Children, Confrontation, And Hearsay, Richard D. Friedman Jan 2002

The Conundrum Of Children, Confrontation, And Hearsay, Richard D. Friedman

Law and Contemporary Problems

The adjudication of child abuse claims poses an excruciatingly difficult conundrum. In many cases, a large part of the problem is that the prosecution's case depends critically on the statement or testimony of a young child.


Good Enough For Government Work: The Constitutional Duty To Preserve Forensic Interviews Of Child Victims, Lucy S. Mcgough Jan 2002

Good Enough For Government Work: The Constitutional Duty To Preserve Forensic Interviews Of Child Victims, Lucy S. Mcgough

Law and Contemporary Problems

McGough proceeds with the confidence on the premise that a forensic interview of a child by a member of the prosecutorial team offers many opportunities for compromising the reliability of the child's remembered account. A vast volume of research data now exists that documents the conclusion that the forensic interviewing of children is a very delicate, sophisticated, and high-risk enterprise.


Are Juries Competent To Evaluate Statistical Evidence?, William C. Thompson Oct 1989

Are Juries Competent To Evaluate Statistical Evidence?, William C. Thompson

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.


Eyewitness Expert Testimony And Jury Decisionmaking, Steven D. Penrod, Brian L. Cutler Oct 1989

Eyewitness Expert Testimony And Jury Decisionmaking, Steven D. Penrod, Brian L. Cutler

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.