The importance of forensic evidence for decisions on criminal guilt

Recent studies have found that the general public perceives forensic evidence to be relatively inaccurate and to involve high levels of human judgement. This study examines how important the general public finds forensic evidence by comparing decisions on guilt and punishment in criminal cases that involve forensic versus eyewitness testimony evidence and examining whether a CSI effect exists. Specifically, this experimental survey study utilized a 2 (crime type: murder or rape) × 4 (evidence type: DNA, fingerprint, victim eyewitness testimony, or bystander eyewitness testimony) ? 1 (no victim testimony for murder scenario) design, yielding seven vignettes scenarios to which participants were randomly assigned. Results indicate that forensic evidence was associated with more guilty verdicts and higher confidence in a guilty verdict. Forensic evidence did not change the expected sentence length and did not generally affect the ideal sentence length. However, for rape, respondents believed that the defendant should receive a longer sentence when forensic evidence was presented but forensic evidence did not alter likely sentence that respondents expected the defendant to receive. The results of this study did not support a CSI effect. Overall, this study suggests that forensic evidence – particularly DNA – has a stronger influence during the verdict stage than the sentencing stage.     

The Pointed Shape of a Knife Influences Eyewitness Perception

We examined the hypothesis that a pointed knife attracts particular attention because of its pointed shape. Using a visual search task method, we asked 33 participants to search 3 × 3 matrices containing outlines of knives with pointed blades such as chef’s knives and knives with rectangular blades such as Chinese chopping knives and to determine whether the matrices contained identical or non-identical knives. The participants found a pointed knife within a background of knives with rectangular blades more quickly than under the reverse condition. This result indicates that the pointed shape of a knife has an attribute that captures human attention and suggests that the visual features of a weapon affect eyewitness perception. This research would benefit forensic investigations in countries such as Japan, where gun ownership is banned and perpetrators use knives more often than firearms.     

失范鉴定人将面临的三份监管“黑名单”

鉴定意见是重要的诉讼证据,是法官发现事实真相的得力助手,但失范鉴定意见则起着相反的作用。近期全国人大常委会、最高人民法院、国家市场监督管理总局分别发文,对鉴定主体展开信用管理,对于存在失信失范行为的鉴定主体,纳入黑名单进行管理,需引起鉴定机构和鉴定人的重视。     

Eye Movement Characteristics of Cooperation Degree during Image Completion Test in Psychiatric Impairment AssessmentCSCD

Objective: To explore the difference of eye movement characteristics between uncooperative and cooperative subjects with mental disorder after cerebral trauma. Methods: Thirty-nine subjects which needed psychiatric impairment assessment were selected. According to the binomial forced-choice digit memory test (BFDMT), all subjects were divided into cooperative and uncooperative groups. The subjects were asked to take the image completion test from Wechsler adult intelligence scale. Meanwhile, the data of eye movement track, fixation, saccade, pupil and blink were recorded by the track system of eye movement. Results: There were significantly differences (P<0.05) in the data of saccade between cooperative (10 cases) and uncooperative groups (29 cases). The frequency, time, amplitude, acceleration of saccadic in uncooperative group were significantly higher than cooperation group. The saccade latencies of cooperation group increased more than uncooperative group. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in total discrete distance, average distance and total time of fixation between two groups, while the average duration time, number and frequency of fixation had no significantly difference (P>0.05) between two groups. And the blink frequency of cooperation group was higher than uncooperative group. Conclusion: Eye movement can be an objective index for the primary judgment of cooperation level. © 2017 by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine.     

论陈词证据及其定义

陈词认识论是当代西方哲学认识论的重要话题之一。对于陈词是什么,学者的意见存在分歧。可以将现有主流的定义分为三种类型:以科迪为代表的证据观;以弗里克为代表的思想表达观;以拉基为代表的思想交流观。通过对这三种类型定义的分析,可以看出语言交流行为是定义陈词的一个基本出发点。     

Adults Usually Believe Young Children: The Influence of Eliciting Questions and Suggestibility Presentations on Perceptions of Children’s Disclosures

Do people realize the danger of asking misinformed children yes–no questions? Study 1 confirmed that disclosures children made during free recall in an earlier suggestibility study were more accurate than disclosures following “yes” responses to yes–no questions, which in turn were more accurate than disclosures following “no” responses. In Studies 2 and 3, college students watched interviews of children and judged the veracity of these three disclosure patterns. Participants generally believed false reports representing the first two patterns, although watching expert testimony that included a videotaped example of a false report reduced trust in prompted disclosures. Results document the need to inform forensic decision-makers about the circumstances associated with erroneous responses to yes–no questions.     

证人拒证行为的刑事立法及对策探讨

作者为拒证行为的刑事立法提供了参考的依据,并在此基础上,探析了拒证罪应具备的四个犯罪构成要件。     

PDA取证分析与研究

目的随着PDA应用的广泛普及,针对PDA取证扣分析的需求迅速增大。为了能快速全面提取PDA中的数字证据,必须在掌握PDA控制原理的基础上,研究常用的PDA取证模型。方法本文结合国内外相关文献,根据工作中电子证据取证实践,分析了PDA的取证过程,对PDA取证的常用工具进行了分析和比对。结果针对不同的取证需求,使用相应的工具进行取证分析和研究。     

Do Jurors “Know” What Isn’t So About Child Witnesses?

Are expert witnesses needed in child sexual abuse cases to educate jurors about children’s memory, suggestibility, and reactions to abuse, or do jurors already know what such experts could tell them? To cast light on this question, we surveyed jurors and jury-eligible college students and compared their beliefs with what is known via scientific research regarding children’s memory and ability to testify, reactions to interrogation, and reactions to sexual abuse. We also asked participants to infer results of four widely cited studies of children’s suggestibility. Participants’ beliefs were consistent with findings from research on some issues (e.g., that children can be led to claim that false events occurred) but diverged from the scientific consensus on other issues (e.g., whether children can remember painful events in infancy). Similarly, participants sometimes overestimated and sometimes underestimated the level of suggestibility observed in empirical studies. Individual differences in accuracy were related to participants’ gender, education and ethnicity, and there was considerable disagreement among participants on many questions. Implications of findings for the admissibility of expert testimony in child abuse cases are discussed.     

Eyewitness Testimony in Occupational Accident Investigations: Towards a Research Agenda

Accident investigation is frequently cited as the cornerstone of an effective occupational health and safety program. We suggest that the literature on accident investigation is based on a model of witnesses as neutral and accurate recording devices. The literature on eyewitness testimony and criminal investigation offers strikingly different conclusions. We review these findings and point to their implication for research on accident investigation in occupational health and safety contexts.     

鉴定结论冲突的程序性规制

鉴定结论冲突是鉴定结论之间存在不一致性,相互对立排斥或者相互干扰。鉴定结论的冲突从某种程度上影响了诉讼的正常进行,但考察其机理,又存在着某种必然性,是一种多元因素的产物。在诉讼中运用鉴定结论,应针对其机理,实行程序性的必要的预防措施,避免其对诉讼的不良影响;此外,面对冲突的鉴定结论,亦可用程序性措施加以规制。     

法医病理检案工作中的人为现象

目的 研究法医病理检案工作中常见的人为现象及其造成法医学鉴定结论错误的原因。方法 收集13例法医病理复核鉴定案例,并对其进行回顾性分析。结果 胸外心脏按压所致肋骨骨折,胸、腹腔出血及肺动脉栓塞栓子破碎,误认为生前外伤或死因不明5例;胰腺死后变化(自溶和被膜下及间质出血),误认为急性出血坏死性胰腺炎4例;死后动物咬伤误认为生前损伤2例;腐败尸斑误认为皮下出血1例;死后颈部解剖不当造成颈部肌肉出血,影响死因分析1例。结论 法医病理检案工作中的人为现象,常导致法医学鉴定的结论错误。     

《加强美国法庭科学之路》的反响和启示

美国科学院国家研究顾问委员会2009年2月发布的《加强美国法庭科学之路》明确指出目前美国法庭科学领域的很多学科存在严重缺陷,不能很好地为司法审判服务。本文通过对该报告出台背景和一年多来的争论和反响进行分析,对其披露的问题和提出的建议进行了详细解读。目前其主要争议存在于设立独立的国家法庭科学研究院和隔离法庭科学机构与执法...     

Jurors' knowledge of battered women

An increasing number of psychologists with expertise in the area of battered women are participating in the legal system as expert witnesses and occasionally testify on behalf of a battered woman who has injured or killed her partner. Testimony about the battered woman syndrome has been offered to help the jury understand why the defendant reasonably perceived that she was in danger of harm. One of the requirements of expert testimony is that it be beyond the common understanding of the jury. Many commentators assume that jurors are uninformed or misinformed about battered women and, thus, that expert testimony is necessary to educate them. This study evaluated what jurors know about violent relationships. Approximately 300 jurors read scenarios about spousal violence and answered a questionnaire dealing with circumstances surrounding such abuse. Results suggest that on certain dimensions of spousal violence, jurors are aware of empirical research findings. On other dimensions, jurors are less well-informed and could potentially benefit from the testimony of an expert.     

A forensic visual aid: Traces versus knowledge

In this paper, I introduce the Forensic Field Map (FFM) that provides a two-dimensional view on the forensic field. This field is by definition very broad, encompassing a wide range of scientific areas and activities. The forensic work that supports solving criminal cases ranges from recognizing and preserving traces at crime scenes to explaining forensic results as expert witness in court. This goes hand in hand with the development of scientifically based methods and tooling as well as legal, forensic and laboratory procedures. Although the FFM came into being while developing a (visual) framework for digital forensic investigations, the framework turned out to be generically applicable to other forensic disciplines.