Prosecutorial Use of Expert Witness Testimony in Sexual Assault Cases
نویسنده
چکیده
Recent Home Office research indicates that complainants in sexual offence cases still struggle to gain credibility in the eyes of police, prosecutors and jurors. This article examines some of the credibility barriers confronting victims of sexual offences within the criminal process. In the USA, prosecutors have utilised expert witness testimony in an effort to educate jurors and restore credibility to complainants’ accounts. This article critically assesses these developments and explores the potential admissibility of ‘educational’ expert witness testimony in criminal courts in England and Wales. gap’ and recent years have seen the publication of a number of detailed studies examining the process of attrition in rape cases. The most recent report, published in February 2005, suggests that suspicion and disbelief continue to operate as significant barriers to the successful prosecution of sexual assault in England and Wales. The report speaks of a ‘culture of scepticism’ with victims still battling to gain credibility at each stage of the criminal process. This echoes previous findings ome Office figures on reported rape cases show an ongoing decline in the conviction rate for England and Wales, putting it at an all time low of 5.6 per cent. The government has expressed concern about the growing ‘justice * Email:[email protected]. I am indebted to the Leverhulme Trust for the award of a Research Fellowship which afforded me the time to conduct work in this area. 1 L. Kelly, J. Lovett and L. Regan, A Gap or a Chasm? Attrition in Reported Rape Cases, HORS 293 (Home Office: London, 2005). 2 J. Harris and S. Grace, A Question of Evidence? Investigating and Prosecuting Rape in the 1990s, HORS 196 (HMSO: London, 1999). 3 Kelly, Lovett and Regan, above n. 1. 4 Ibid. at xii.
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