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Presenting DNA evidence in Court - Coggle Diagram
Presenting DNA evidence in Court
Legal System
Types
Adversarial (or Accusatorial)
Prosecution & Defence "compete" against each other
Judge is referee to ensure fairness to the accused, and to ensure that the rules are followed
Assumes that best way to get to truth of a matter is through a competitive process
Places a premium on the indiv rights of the accused (including right to silence)
Inquisitorial
An official jury to ascertain the truth
Court is actively involved in the investigation of the facts
Judge is the fact-finder who supervises the gathering of evidence
Judge may ask most of the Qus
Rights of accused are secondary to the search for truth
Courts in WA
Supreme
Presided over by a Justice
Highest court in state
Two divisions
General Division: Civil & Criminal
Court of Appeal
District
Presided over by a Judge
Criminal: Serious criminal offences including serious assaults, sexual assaults, serious fraud & commercial theft, burglary & drug offences
Civil claims up to $750,000 & unlimited jurisdiction in claims for damages for personal injury
Magistrates
Presided over by a Magistrate
Adults (aged 18 or over)
Minor criminal offences (simple offences), are dealt with in the Magistrates Court
More serious offences (indictable offences), begin in the Magistrates Court, and the most serious offences are sent on to be heard in the District or Supreme Court
Children's
Presided over by a Judge or a Magistrate (depending on the seriousness of the offence)
Deals with offences alleged to have been committed by young people aged 10 to 17 years
If a young person turns 18 after the date of the alleged offence, they will still appear before the Children's Court
Coroner's
Presided over by a Coroner
A specialist court established to investigate "reportable deaths"
The purpose of these investigations is to determine the cause & manner of death and also consider ways that similar deaths may be prevented in the future
Family
Presided over by a Justice or a Magistrate
Primarily deals with disputes arising out of relationship breakdowns. Not a criminal court
FBD does not get called to give DNA evidence
Personnel
Judge
Referee & ensure that the trial is conducted fairly & proceeds in accordance with the law
Advise & guide the jury
Jury
Most criminal cases use juries
Jurors represent the community of WA in the criminal justice process
Part of the mechanism to ensure that everyone receives a fair trial
Take oath or affirmation that they will give a true verdict based on the evidence they hear in Court
Warned against discussion the case with others, or conducting internet searches
Consider all evidence, and then deliver their verdict
Prosecutor
Serious offences: Office of the DPP
Other offences: Police prosecutors
Defence
Present the defence as instructed by their client
Question the prosecution witnesses
Explore limitations of evidence
Engage & call their own witnesses
Challenge & raise doubt
Accused
Must be present
Have a right to silence
Witness
Regular witnesses: members of the public
Giving evidence about something they saw or heard
Will have provided a witness statement in advance, but are not allowed to refer to it when giving evidence - evidence must be from memory
Others
Judges associate: Helps in administration of the court including preparing documents, recording decisions & issuing orders
Orderly: Calls witnesses & helps to keep order in the court
Security guards: Maintain security & keep order
Public: Courtrooms are open to the public & members of the public are encouraged to attend trials to see for themselves how our courts operate
Expert Witnesses
Did not witness the offence
Specialist knowledge that may assist the Court in reaching a decision
Scientific (e.g. DNA, drugs, fibres)
Police science (e.g. crime scene, fingerprints, ballistics, bloodstain pattern)
Medical/dental/nursing (cause of death, injuries)
Mental health/psychiatry/psychology (e.g. mental state, fitness to stand trial)
Accident reconstruction (e.g. vehicle speed)
Role: Expert Witness
Obligations
General Duties to the Court
Overriding duty is to the court & to the admistration of justice
Act with honesty, integrity, objectivity and impartiality
Declare any conflict of interest
Act only within the limits of your professional competence
Maintain & develop your professional competence, taking account of material research & developments within the relevant field
Disclose anything that might undermine your credibility as an expert or the reliability of material you produce
Maintain confidentiality
5 rules of evidence
1. The Expertise rule
Does the witness have knowledge & experience sufficient to entitle him or her to be held out as an expert who can assist the court?
Experts must be experts and Expert evidence must be expert
2. The "area of expertise rule"
Is the claimed knowledge & expertise sufficiently recognised as from a credible area by others capable of evaluating its theoretical & experiential foundations?
3. The "common knowledge rule"
Is the info that the expert will provide really something upon which the Court needs the help of any third party, or can the Court rely upon its general knowlege & common sense
Experts can't give evidence on matters of common knowledge
4. The "ultimate issue rule"
Will the experts contribution supplant the function of the Court to decide the issue before the court? If so, it is likely to be rejected
5. The "basis rule"
To what extent can an expert's opinion be based upon matters not directly within the expert's own observations?
Typical stages in giving evidence
Summons issued to scientist - legal document that compels the recipient
Forensic Biology court report issued some time in advance
Pre-trial conference with prosecutor
Expert witness available to defence
On the day
Must wait outside court
Enter and be sworn in - oath, affirmation
Evidence in Chief
Cross examination
Re-examination
Witness excused
Challenges
Presenting DNA evidence
DNA test results & underlying scientific concepts need to be explained without resorting to any scientific terminology
Limitations of DNA evidence
Transportable evidence - relevance to the offence
Time since deposition (e.g. when was the blood deposited?)
Mechanism of deposition (direct contact or secondary transfer?)
Cell type/body fluid of origin
Defence right to silence
Media attention
Training
Moot (practice) court sessions using real completed cases
Ghost-writing reports
Start with non-complex matters & increase in complexity over time
Training takes years
Seek feedback on performance: Court Testimony Monitoring