S13E03 - Expert Evidence, Unreliable Evidence and Fresh Evidence

Listen to this week's show right here.

We have talked about expert witnesses many times over the past 12 series but we have seldom explored exactly what an "expert witness" is, what they do, to whom they are accountable, how they are regulated and how they come to be involved in cases.  

This week, we fix that by catching-up with Glen Siddall of Aequitas Forensics, Manchester.  Glen is an expert in digital forensics and he is instructed by "both sides" in criminal proceedings.  We ask him about his work and about recent changes in the world of the expert witness and about hacking Richard Bacon's iPhone.

We also talk to Glen about the recent BBC documentary, Panorama - Justice For Sale?  Did the programme accurately reflect his experience of being an expert and does he agree with the conclusions of the journalist and of Timothy Dutton QC, former Chair of the Bar about future regulation?

In the news this week, fresh evidence appeals.  We record on the day after a man walks free after being wrongly-convicted of raping his wife multiple times.  Fresh evidence emerged that the complainant (who still cannot be named) had lied about the rape, had talked about lying in advance of the trial and seemingly boasted about lying after the event.  This is the nightmare scenario that, whilst certainly rare, we would prefer to think never happens.  He had been sentenced to 9 years for each count but this was increased to 13 years by the Court of Appeal, following an Attorney-General's Reference.

With that and other matters in our minds, we look at what the Court of Appeal has recently said about fresh evidence and we'll consider whether its approach is consistent.

A little bit of Freedom of Information too, this week.  We heard that the CPS was using unpaid students to prepare cases in one of its offices.  We asked if this could possibly be true.  They answered our FOI request.  Is the answer surprising or not?


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