This is an article from the Guardian, 13 September 2009. It basically outlines what has happened in England & Wales and what we, here in New Zealand, should be glad has not happened – yet. Although I am sure some would argue that there is a need for the stranglehold of ESR (the main provider (read more)
Roadside drug testing; drug driving
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
One of my earlier posts commented on drug driving, the recent law changes in New Zealand and the new ad campaign in England & Wales. The answer that everyone would like (apart from the people who actually take the drugs) is a roadside device that can screen, say, saliva for the presence of drugs – (read more)
Drug driving and impairment testing
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Drug driving is illegal in many countries including New Zealand and the UK. New Zealand has recently (June 2009) changed the law in order to increase the rate of successful prosecutions . These changes, which come into force in December 2009, include giving the Police the power to conduct roadside impairment tests. Such tests were (read more)
Shoddy forensic science and bogus forensic scientists
Friday, September 11th, 2009
I noted this very interesting article in the Washington Post. There was a significant case in England a few years ago when exactly the sort of dodgy forensic scientist to which this article refers was convicted of, basically, being a conman. Details of that are in this blog’s post entitled “Why to check an Expert’s (read more)
England, Wales, Bain, Weatherston : televising of court proceedings
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
The first Justices of the Supreme Court, who currently hear appeals in Parliament, will take up their new posts in October 2009, with Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers becoming the first President of the Supreme Court. An interesting aspect is that the new court will allow its proceedings to be televised when they are asked (read more)
England & Wales Bar response, Legal Aid reform
Monday, September 7th, 2009
Bar Council statement in response to MoJ consultation on Legal Aid funding reforms – England & Wales 20 August 2009 Desmond Browne QC, Chairman of the Bar Council, commenting on the publication today of the Ministry of Justice consultation ‘Legal Aid: Funding Reforms’ said: ‘It is a total misuse of language for Lord Bach to (read more)
Legal Aid reform
Monday, September 7th, 2009
As in New Zealand, the English have just undertaken a review of the Legal Aid system. Of particular note for Expert Witnesses in NZ and England is the final paragraph of the summary below, which states : “…the Legal Services Commission will be asked to consider changes to payments made to experts in both criminal (read more)
English Law Society promotes pro bono work
Monday, September 7th, 2009
This is a late-August press release from the English Law Society. I can see the logic to it – time will tell whether it works and, indeed, whether it is welcomed by the legal fraternity. Law Society extols marketing benefits for law firms giving free legal services A commitment to free legal advice could be (read more)
Germs….
Monday, September 7th, 2009
Although this isn’t related to forensic science, it is, nonetheless, interesting. It’s written by Ed Maden who is listed as a forensic, fire, flood, mold inspection & remediation/restoration contractor. He writes that he was recently asked about which area of a house is the dirtiest or collects the most dirt. A precis of his answer (read more)
US execution: not arson
Monday, September 7th, 2009
This is a news item that has popped up many times over the past few days. If the reporting is accurate then it is a classic example of how things can go wrong in a scientific investigation. “Faulty fire investigation led to execution Associated Press A fire investigation that led to the execution of a (read more)