The Expert Witness
Fire Investigators engaged during any criminal or civil litigation matters are commonly considered an expert witness in the eyes of the court. Physical or forensic evidence is generally only as good as the “expert” tasked to examine and interpret it. Therefore, expert witnesses should be experienced, competent, reliable and ultimately their duty must be to serve the courts – not their instructing parties.
We are fortunate to have sourced an astute presenter on this topic: Katherine Biber is a legal scholar, historian, criminologist, author and the Professor of Law at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
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This presentation will cover:
1. Why is good forensic evidence important?
2. What is the legal process for presenting evidence?
3. For people with specialised knowledge (experts) how do the rules of evidence apply?
4. Why do the courts allow the legal profession to vet and select their own experts, instead of court vetted and appointed experts (especially in civil matters); will this ever change?
To register your interest please use the booking form on the NSWAFI website on the Event Calendar. The flyer for the event can be downloaded below.