Book contents
- Evidential Legal Reasoning
- Evidential Legal Reasoning
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Evidence As an Area of Knowledge
- Part II Convergences between Systems
- Part III On Evidential Inferences
- Part IV Expert Evidence
- 12 From Institutional to Epistemic Authority: Rethinking Court-Appointed Experts
- 13 Latent Justice
- 14 Prevention and Education
- 15 Evidentiary Practices and Risks of Wrongful Conviction
- Part V Standards of Evidence As Decision-Making Rules
- Index
- References
13 - Latent Justice
Fingerprint Evidence and the Limits of Adversarialism in England, Australia and New Zealand
from Part IV - Expert Evidence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2022
By
Book contents
- Evidential Legal Reasoning
- Evidential Legal Reasoning
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Evidence As an Area of Knowledge
- Part II Convergences between Systems
- Part III On Evidential Inferences
- Part IV Expert Evidence
- 12 From Institutional to Epistemic Authority: Rethinking Court-Appointed Experts
- 13 Latent Justice
- 14 Prevention and Education
- 15 Evidentiary Practices and Risks of Wrongful Conviction
- Part V Standards of Evidence As Decision-Making Rules
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter offers a critical review of reported fingerprint cases in three common law jurisdictions covering the period from the beginning of the twentieth century until the time of publication. It considers how the tools of adversarialism were applied to the admissibility and use of fingerprint evidence in criminal proceedings. It provides a detailed survey of the manner in which defence and appellate counsel contested fingerprint evidence, how courts responded to these challenges in trials and appeals and, implicitly, how examiners testified and prosecutors presented this evidence. In order to facilitate the analysis, the chapter draws upon mainstream scientific research and recommendations. This scientific knowledge operates as a standard that can be used to evaluate legal representations and uses of fingerprint evidence, as well as the effectiveness of legal rules, procedures and personnel. The chapter concludes that legal institutions in each one of these jurisdictions were basically inattentive to the epistemological dimensions of latent fingerprint evidence. Adversarial trial safeguards, including appeals, did not bring the lack of testing and systematic over-claiming to the attention of the courts.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Evidential Legal ReasoningCrossing Civil Law and Common Law Traditions, pp. 248 - 295Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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