Forensic Science in Court: The Role of the Expert Witness

1 Where The Law Comes From: You Don’t Mess About With The People.

2 The Legal System and How It Works.

2.1 A brief look at the court structure.

2.2 The adversarial system.

2.3 Criminal cases.

2.4 The expert.

2.5 Witnesses.

2.6 Judgments.

2.7 Justification of the expert.

2.8 Civil cases.

2.9 Magistrates’ Court.

2.10 The Crown Court.

2.11 The High Court.

2.12 The Courts of Appeal.

2.13 Small Claims Court.

2.14 Arbitration.

2.15 The Coroner’s Court.

2.16 Courts martial.

2.17 Contempt.

3 Rules of Evidence as They Apply to an Expert Witness.

4 Appointment of Experts and the Written Report.

5 The Expert Forensic Scientist in Court.

6 Statistics and Statistical Inferences.

7 Ethical and Scientific Considerations for the Forensic Scientist.

Appendix: Methods of Quoting Published Law Reports in Various Jurisdictions.

Glossary of Commonly Used Terms and Phrases.

Index.