THESE LEARNING STRATEGIES WILL OCCUPY YOUR TIME:

12x 2h lectures will be used to deliver the core material (sixteen hours on the legal and expert witness aspects of the module and the remainder on the statistical topics). Students will be asked to attend a session in court.
3 x 1h tutorials on the statistical aspects of this module.
In 123h of independent study time, you will consult the literature, especially in relation to carrying out research into the legal system and the application of statistics to the evaluation of evidence, either suggested by tutors or of your own choosing.

YOU WILL NEED ACCESS TO THESE RESOURCES:

Standard lecture room facilities, access to library and to computers with www and distributed learning access.
Blackboard VLE

YOU MUST SATISFY THESE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Progress to level 6 of a forensic award

Additional Assessment Information:
Students will be required to complete 2 pieces of summative assessment.
It will consist of two pieces of written course work. The first will cover the law part of the module, weighted at 50%. (LO1,2).
The second written course work will test it's statistical aspects, also weighted at 50% (LO 2,3).

For the law element of the module, formative feedback is provided by the supply of self test questions after each lecture which are discussed as a whole group in the following lecture. Formative feedback for
the statistical element of the module will be based on problem solving exercises and will be provided in the tutorial classes

The court system and its personnel. Principle of Criminal Law and forensic science relevant offences.
The conduct of a case from investigation to verdict and appeal. The nature of adversarial justice and the process of proof within it. The rules of evidence. The role and responsibilities of the expert witness. Presenting evidence in court-examination and cross-examination. There will be lectures on presenting evidence in court by expert witnesses. Learning in earlier modules about the roles of Bayesian and non-Bayesian statistics in forensic science will be consolidated in this module. The fundamentals of Bayesian statistics will be revised and then buillt upon. Students will also build upon the Case Assessment and Interpretation model.

AND REFER TO THESE TEXTS, TITLE, AUTHOR, PAGES:
SUBJECT SPECIFIC TEXTS:

THE EXPERT WITNESS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
English Legal System – Elliot and Quinn
Criminal Law – Elliott and Quinn
- Disclosure in Criminal Proceedings, D. Corker and Stephen Parkinson; Oxford University Press 2009
- Limitations of Expert Evidence, S Leadbeatter, ed, Royal College of Physicians, London, 1996
- The Role of Forensic Science Evidence in Criminal Proceedings,
- P Roberts and C Willmore, Research study No. 11 prepared for the 1993 Royal Commission on Criminal
Justice, HMSO, London, 1993

THE USE OF STATISTICS IN THE ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION OF EVIDENCE
- Essential Mathematics and Statistics for Forensic Science Adam, C, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, 2010 (an accessible text that covers both 'traditional' and Bayesian statistical methods).
- Forensic Science: 3rd edition Andrew R.W Jackson and Julie M. Jackson, Pearson 2011(Chapter 13 and
Section 3.7 of this edition is specifically concerned with statistics).
- Interpreting Evidence; Evaluating Forensic Science in the Court B Robertson and G A Vignaux, Wiley, Chichester, 1995 (a readable account of the Bayesian approach to evidence evaluation)
- Science and Justice (references to specific papers will be given in the lectures and/or tutorials)

1. DISPLAY KNOWLEDGE OF THE UK LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE RULES FOR PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE
Knowledge and Understanding

2. ANALYSE, EVALUATE AND CRITICALLY ASSESS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR ITS VALUE IN COURT PROCEEDINGS
Knowledge & Understanding
Analysis
Application
Communication
Forensic Subject Specific 1

3. APPLY THE STATISTICS TO THE ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION OF EVIDENCE Application
Enquiry
Knowledge & Understanding

You will learn about the court system and its personnel and the principle of Criminal Law and forensic science relevant offences. You will study the conduct of a case from investigation to verdict and appeal and the nature of adversarial justice and the process of proof within it. You will gain an understanding of the rules of evidence, the role and responsibilities of the expert witness and how to present evidence in court-examination and cross-examination. There will be lectures on presenting evidence in court by expert witnesses. You will enhance learning from earlier modules about the roles of Bayesian and non-Bayesian statistics in forensic science will be consolidated in this module; the fundamentals of Bayesian statistics will be revised and then built upon. You will also build upon the Case Assessment and Interpretation mode