Junk science Flashcards
Who is Kenneth Parks?
killed mother and stabbed but did not kill step father, walked into police with bloody shirt and confesses, hired good defence lawyer and defended that he slept walk, did a bunch of tests, history of Kenneth father slept walk and cooked (complex), all defence was left to jury, crown doesn’t call expert, crown thought it was so crazy just made an argument, evidence was clearly there
Describe the Motherisk Laboratoy
-Used by sick children hospital
-Detecting drug and alcohol use
:Child protection case
• Mother: crack mother, feeding kid cocaine on daily bases, kid had stroke and brain damage, took sample of kid hair and found cocaine, if addict do not share cocaine with child
Why can a fire investigation have wrong evidence?
many convicted for arson and family died in, problem is fire investigation is very different from when those people went to school, but now more about fire but these people don’t know about the new findings and science of fire
Why can a bullet lead investigation have wrong evidence?
FBI for many years were saying found bullet in head and found that this exact bullet was purchased from Wal-Mart a mile away were accused lived, how do they know where sold? Can tell which batch were made together and trace back to where sold, but wonky
What is CV (Cirriculum Vitae)?
Professional resume
Define expert evidence
the opinion of a person with expertise in an area that is relevant to specific issue in a case and is necessary to assist the judge or jury
Define expert witness
a witness who by virtue of education, training and skill or experience is believed to have expertise and specialized opinion about an evidence or fact issue within the scope of his/her expertise, referred to as the expert opinion
T or F
A witness can express an opinion
FALSE motherfucker
What are ordinary witnesses allowed to express their opinion on?
identity (voice or physical), speed, intoxication, handwriting, mental or emotional condition, shoeprints
What is the Mohan Legacy?
Admissibility to be determined by assessing
-Relevance: Does the evidence as a matter of logic or human experience have some tendency to advance the inquiry
:Cost benefit analysis
-Necessity :Needs to more than just helpful
For what reasons can evidence be excluded?
- More prejudicial than probative
- Time required to enter evidence is not commensurate with tis value
- May confuse the jury, has to be understandable
What are factors affecting reliability?
- Is the science generally accepted
- Can the theory be tested
- Is there a rate of error associated with the technique
- Is the theory subject to peer reviews and publication
- Does the individuals conduct meet the standard profile associated with the area
