Court Room Science Primers Launched
Published On Wed 22 Nov 2017 by Roddy Isles
- Unique partnership between the judiciary and science academies produces plain English primers relaying core scientific evidence to judges
Easy-to-understand guides or primers on scientific evidence – developed with the help of experts from the University of Dundee – are being introduced in UK courts as a working tool for judges. The first two primers in the series, which cover DNA fingerprinting and techniques identifying people from the way they walk from CCTV, launch today (22 November 2017). The primers – Forensic DNA analysis and Forensic gait analysis –are designed to assist the judiciary when handling forensic scientific evidence in the courtroom. The project is a collaboration between the judiciary, the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Each primer is a concise document presenting a plain English, authoritative account of the technique in question, as well as considering its limitations and the challenges associated with its application. They have been written by leading scientists and working judges and peer reviewed by legal practitioners, all of whom have volunteered their time to the project.
Supreme court justice, Lord Anthony Hughes, Chair of the Primers Steering Group says, “These are the first in a series of primers designed to be working tools for judges. They aim to tackle the agreed and uncontroversial basis underlying scientific topics, which crop up from time to time in courts. The objective is to provide a judge with the scientific baseline from which any expert dispute in a particular case can begin.
“We have been very privileged to have the co-operation in preparing them of the two Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh. We are very grateful to their eminent scientists for taking the time to put complex science into a form which addresses practical trial-related questions from judges.”
Dr Julie Maxton, Executive Director of the Royal Society, says, “We are very pleased to be playing a leading role in bringing together scientists and the judiciary to ensure that we get the best possible scientific guidance into the courts – rigorous, accessible science matters to the justice system and society.”
Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh says, “We owe a lot to Professors Sue Black and Niamh Nic Daéid, from the University of Dundee for this initiative. The Royal Society of Edinburgh is delighted to support two of its Fellows in this project.”
Professor Dame Sue Black, one of the world’s foremost experts in forensic anthropology and Co-Director of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee, and Crown Court judge, Judge Mark Wall QC, led the primer on gait analysis. The primer on DNA analysis was led by Professor Niamh Nic Daéid, Professor of Forensic Science and the other Co-Director of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at Dundee, and Lady Justice Anne Rafferty of the Court of Appeal. The development of the DNA primer also drew on the expertise of Sir Alec Jeffreys, the inventor of DNA fingerprinting who in 1984 discovered a method of showing the variation in the DNA of individuals, and Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Paul Nurse.
Professor Black said, “We are honoured to have played a part in the design of the first two judicial primers. These will provide invaluable assistance to the courts and will be made available to every judge in the UK system."
Professor Nic Daéid said, “The development of judicial primers providing an authoritative scientific position underpinned by the Royal Society and Royal Society of Edinburgh was first envisaged by Lord Chief Justice Thomas. We were hugely privileged and honoured to be a part of guiding their development”.
Professor Rami Abboud, Director of the Institute of Motion Analysis and Research at the University, contributed to the primer on gait analysis. He said, “It was a great privilege to be part of the writing group of the Forensic Gait Analysis Primer to produce this stepping stone to relay objective scientific CCTV evidence (or lack of it) to the judiciary system. This is a forward stride to encourage in-depth scientific research to further enhance our knowledge and produce reliable patterns of identifiable gait signatures that could be presented to the judges.”
Whilst the Forensic DNA analysis primer covers an established scientific technique used widely as evidence in UK courts and many courts around the world, the Forensic gait analysis primer considers a young, relatively new form of evidence in the UK criminal courts and advises that the scientific evidence supporting CCTV gait analysis is “currently extremely limited”.
Future primers on the topics of statistics and the physics of vehicle collisions are planned.
Hard copies of the primers will be distributed to courts in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland through the Judicial College, the Judicial Institute, and the Judicial Studies Board for Northern Ireland.
Notes to Editors
The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and medicine. The Society’s fundamental purpose, reflected in its founding Charters of the 1660s, is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.
The Society’s strategic priorities are:
- Promoting excellence in science
- Supporting international collaboration
- Demonstrating the importance of science to everyone
Follow The Royal Society on Twitter (@royalsociety) or on Facebook (facebook.com/theroyalsociety).
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is a leading educational charity which operates on an independent and non-party-political basis to provide public benefit throughout Scotland. Established by Royal Charter in 1783 by key proponents of the Scottish Enlightenment, the RSE now has over 1600 Fellows from a wide range of disciplines. The work of the RSE includes awarding research funding, leading on major inquiries, informing public policy and delivering events across Scotland to inspire knowledge and learning.
For further information please visit rse.org.uk. You can also follow The Royal Society of Edinburgh on Twitter (@news_rse) or on Facebook (facebook.com/newsRSE).
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
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University of Dundee
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Email: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk