Contents

[close]

JCL 73 (2009) 488

The Reliability of Expert Evidence: Reflections on the Law Commission's Proposals for Reform
Liz Heffernan and Mark Coen

The problems associated with the use of expert evidence by the criminal courts have been the subject of ongoing controversy. The Law Commission of England and Wales has recently added its voice to the debate with the publication of a Consultation Paper on the admissibility of expert evidence. This article examines the current law governing the reliability of expert evidence. It analyses the Law Commission¿s recommendation for the creation of a new statutory rule which would require the trial judge to assess evidentiary reliability as a matter of admissibility. The authors chart the emergence of the US Daubert test, on which the recommendation is based, and consider the lessons to be learned from American experience. While welcoming the recommendation in principle, the authors argue that the crafting and implementation of the proposed admissibility requirement would present formidable challenges.

[close]

[close]

JCL 73 (2009) 508

Anonymous Witnesses in England and Wales: Charting a Course from Strasbourg?
Jonathan Doak and Rebecca Huxley-Binns

The use of anonymous testimony in England and Wales has recently been the subject of a number of high-profile appellate decisions and legislative intervention. As the law currently stands, it is permissible for the criminal courts to receive such testimony, subject to certain safeguards. This article evaluates the position against the threshold for anonymous evidence laid down by the European Court of Human Rights. It is argued that such evidence is too readily admissible under the current legislative framework. As such, the rules regulating the use of anonymous testimony should be amended so that they comply fully with the fair trial rights of the accused.

[close]

[close]

JCL 73 (2009) 530

Responsibility, 'Bad Luck', and Delinquent Animals: Law as a Means of Explaining Tragedy
Jesse Elvin

This article examines the phenomenon of the prosecution and punishment of animals in medieval and early modern Western legal systems. Animal trials are important because examining them can help us learn more about the functions of legal proceedings. The article considers potential explanations regarding these trials. With reference to Nicholas Humphrey¿s idea that the animal trials were the product of a search for order, the article subsequently argues that the notion that law can make sense of tragedies by defining them as the consequence of culpable conduct is illuminating in the context of contemporary English law. By conducting an analysis of a well-known contemporary criminal law case, the James Bulger trial, the article shows that one can plausibly interpret the outcome of certain significant modern cases as having the function of explaining tragedies in a relatively reassuring manner, and that this function may conflict with the requirement of 'doing justice'.

[close]

[close]

Links to other issues

Volume 65 (2001) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 66 (2002) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 67 (2003) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 68 (2004) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 69 (2005) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 70 (2006) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 71 (2007) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 72 (2008) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 73 (2009) :   1   2   3   4   6

Volume 74 (2010) :   1   2   3   4

[close]