Expert Testimony. A Discussion

Confessions and expert testimony.

In this clinical paper, the author discusses criminal confessions from the point of view of the expert witness who may be asked to comment on the reliability of the statement and waiver of rights. From the time a suspect is in police custody, constitutional protections against self-incrimination and for due process are in place. The Supreme Court set the standard for these situations in the 196...

Medical Expert Testimony *

That sort of capacity which involves not the organic powers, moral and mental, requisite for all testimony, nor yet the emotional power of unbiased observation and statement, but the skill to acquire accurate conceptions which may be termed experiential capacity. The person possessing it is commonly called an expert. This capacity may be obtained by special training or experience, or by both. I...

Accuracy and expert testimony.

In an article in the journal Science, Faust and Ziskin have asserted that the testimony of psychologists and psychiatrists cannot "meet legal standards for expertise" for purposes of trial evidence. ' This assertion, given visibility and credence by a journal of the stature of Science, understandably has raised concern among forensic mental health profess i o n a l ~ . ~ Attorneys have begun to...

Opposing expert testimony.

Robust Trust in Expert Testimony

The standard of proof in criminal trials should require that the evidence presented by the prosecution is robust. This requirement of robustness says that it must be unlikely that additional information would change the probability that the defendant is guilty. Robustness is difficult for a judge to estimate, as it requires the judge to assess the possible effect of information that the he or s...