LEGAL AND SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY OF FORENSIC 'SCIENCES' AND 'EXPERTS'

摘要

Traditional areas of forensic science, such as handwriting and fingerprint examinations, and the newer sciences, such as molecular biology, are increasingly being scrutinized and challenged by the legal and scientific communities. These older forensic disciplines are targets for critics and sceptics as they are not founded on the traditional sciences, but have rather an empirical basis and are supported by what may be considered quasi-validated data. The paper discusses, in broad terms, the basis of these legal and scientific attitudes and various solutions to overcoming negative perceptions.