Criminal Law

Forensic Practice in Criminal Cases

Edited by Lynne Townley · Roger Ede
Law Society Publishing December 2003

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781853288210
Publisher
Law Society Publishing
Publication
December 2003
Format
Paperback , 5040 pages
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

Understand the uses, strengths and limitations of forensic practice with this practical guide.

It helps lawyers, the police and the courts improve their understanding of increasingly complex forensic practice in order to either prosecute or defend a criminal case.

The book offers thorough coverage of:

  • the types of forensic investigation which should be carried out
  • how investigations can go wrong
  • what further investigations need to be carried out
  • what documentary records of the investigation should exist
  • how to instruct a forensic scientist to provide or challenge scientific evidence.

This is the only work dedicated to forensic practice within the context of criminal law.

Table of Contents

Section A: Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Examination, and Presentation of Findings: 
1. Forensic evidence: its nature, uses, types and importance; 
2. Forensic investigation: the people involved in the investigation of the scene; 
3. Forensic investigation: police training and awareness, and the process of identifications; 
4. The process of examining the crime scene; 
5. Documentation of examination, removal, and submission of contact trace material (CTM) and other material and objects; 
6. The collection, removal and submission of forensic material for examination; 
7. The forensic scientist; 
8. The forensic scientist working for the prosecution; 
9. The forensic scientist working for the defence; 
10. Finding a defence forensic expert; 
11. Defence investigation of the crime scene; 
12. Forensic evidence: pre-trial; 
13. Forensic evidence in court; 
Section B: Understanding Areas of Forensic Speciality: 
14. Drugs, toxicology, and related areas of expertise; 
15. Footwear impressions and instrument marks; 
16. Contact trace and other particulates: fibres, glass, and paint; 
17. DNA blood and hair; 
18. Firearms; 
19. Traffic accident investigators; 
20. Questioned document examiners; 
21. Fingerprints; 
22. Forensic physicians; 
23. Forensic odontologists; 
24. Forensic pathologists;
25. Forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology;
26. Forensic linguists; 
27. Veterinary science;
28. Fire investigators; 
29. Forensic accountancy; 
30. Computer crime and related matters; 
31. Facial mapping, closed circuit television (CCTV), video, and image enhancement; 
32. Forensic anthropology; 
33. Forensic archaeology; 
Section C: Appendices

About the Author

Lynne Townley is a barrister practising criminal law. She has been a law reporter in the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal for the All England Law Reports and is the author of Blackstone's Book of Moots (1996).

Roger Ede is a solicitor, a member of the Law Society's Representation and Law Reform Directorate, and the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners. He also sits as a Deputy District Judge (magistrates' court).

Reviews

"This book should be compulsory reading for all lawyers; it is difficult to believe, having read it, that a case could be properly defended unless the lawyer had the level of knowledge contained in this book."

Independent Lawyer

"This text should be on the shelf of everyone with an interest in seeking justice through the use of forensic evidence."

Forensic Medicine and Ethics

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