Forensic Investigations and Miscarriages of Justice

Miscarriages of justice have been the focus of judicial and public inquiries in Britain, Canada, and Australia. The objective of Forensic Investigations and Miscarriages of Justice is to make clear that, despite the rules laid down by statutes and decided cases to ensure that criminal trials are properly conducted, there are many instances where those rules have not been properly applied. In all three jurisdictions, there have been cases in which investigations have fundamentally miscarried and where expert witnesses have given evidence that has been either fraudulent or wrong. The book reviews how these problem cases are dealt with, and the marked differences between the jurisdictions in the procedures available to identify possible errors. The authors recommend ways to narrow the gap between the rhetoric of impartial forensic science and prosecutions and the re­ality of a growing number of recognized miscarriages of justice, emphasizing that both forensic science and the legal system must change and seek to better understand each other.