Social science in court

This article discusses the role of social science in legal proceedings with special attention to the ethical situation of the expert psychologist asked to testify about the reliability of an eyewitness identification. It argues that in this area as in others one cannot discuss the ethics of expert psychological testimony without attending to the quality of the research and theory on which the testimony is based. It also identifies as considerations that bear on the propriety of such testimony the information the fact finder is likely to receive in its absence and the factual guilt of the defendant. The paper goes on to discuss the relationship between law and social science more generally. It argues that ultimately courts do and should have the last word regarding the place of social science in legal proceedings.     

物证鉴定的能力验证

能力验证是物证鉴定质量保障体系的重要组成部分,可以非常有效的评估、监控和提高实验室物证鉴定能力和质量。本文论述了物证鉴定能力验证的主要方法、形式、类型和特点,以及在物证鉴定实验室质量管理中的具体应用,介绍了国外物证鉴定实验室参加能力验证活动的历史和现状,并提出在我国物证鉴定实验室广泛开展能力验证活动的思考。     

Forensic science and the law

Forensic Science today makes an important contribution to the operation of the Criminal Justice System providing evidence which could help decide the guilt of a suspect. Forensic Science is able to do so because it has developed to operate within the reality determined by the Criminal Justice System. Changes that are occurring today seem to upset the relationship between Forensic Sciences and the Criminal Justice System by the creation of communication problems. Examples of these problems exist in the changes occurring in the concept of death made necessary by organ transplants. These changes have shifted the focus from the quantity of life to the quality of life and make it impossible for the Forensic Scientist to answer honestly the questions that might be put him. The need for reforms in the law in view of social changes has been recognized and in many countries attempts at such changes are afoot. With these changes a new reality is being defined. Forensic Science, being a discipline that comes first in contact with a multitude of emergent problems, has a part to play in the definition of this reality.     

DNA typing and forensic science

With new typing techniques forensic scientists can characterise individuals at the fundamental level of their DNA. Variation between individuals at this level can be used to discriminate between them. Why this is so and how it is achieved is described in relatively simple terms for legal and medical practitioners who have no formal training in genetics.