L13: Evaluation of evidence in the court: case studies Flashcards
what are the three main issues with considering forensic evidence in court?
Alternative explanations for the evidence
The Prosecutor’s Fallacy
The interpretation of rare events (low probabilities of occurrence)
what happens din the the case of R Bowden ?
robbery post office Manchester
shotgun
3 men
shot security screen, hit with sledge hammer
what was found at bwodens house
balaclava
what evidence was on the balaclava?
- Saliva stains
- Three glass fragments
- Particles typical of gun-shot residues
why was the saliva evidence unnecessary?
he admitted it was his
How can the glass fragments be scene as evidence in court?
can’t be distinguished from each other
found In 1/100 Windows
can happen from everyday tasks
what should an expert witness do when there’s two alternative views?
state why each one could be true
How can the explosive residue be scene as evidence in court?
contained AL Ba
shot gun contained these
lack of Sb implies could be form firework.
- moderate support
what was the E v Abadom case?
Steven Abadom was convicted of robbery
why was Steven abandon convicted?
fragments of glass on his shoes alleged to have originated from the breaking of an office window
why was Steven abandon case competing evidence?
glass had a 1/25 similarity
could come form general walking around
nt very strong evidence
what was the R v Deen case?
Andrew Deen accused three rapes in Manchester with DNA profiles taken from vaginal swabs of the victims being the principal evidence linking him to the crime scenes.
Why was R v deen case prosecutors fallacy?
the dna profile would match only 1 in 3 million people
however it should of been applied to the amount of suspects.
figure interpreted worn therefore fallacy
