Page 26 - Forensic News Journal Oct Nov 2017

Science And Technology: Their Relationship with Law

Because there is a general derstanding; however, it nals. A report published in

lack of understanding of demands definite findings the New York Times (Au-
each culture, these interac- of fact at given points gust 7, 2008) stated that
tions often lead to a cog- in time. The meeting of with a new analytical tech-

nitive friction that is both these two disciplines in nique, a fingerprint can F
disturbing and costly to the courtroom magnifies reveal much more than O

the society. Scientists are the differences between the identity of a person. It R
distrustful of the lawyers the two cultures. Even the can also identify what the E
and legal proceedings and search of truth does not person has been touching: N

prefer not to venture into serve the same aims and drugs, explosives or poi- S
the courtroom. The scien- may not be subject to the sons, for example. Such I

tific community that be- a laboratory tech- C
lieves that its methods and nique can have a
procedures are above legal wider application M

scrutiny and questioning in crime investiga- E
often frustrates lawyers. tion. The chemical T

Lawyers and scientists signature could H
seldom speak the same also help crime O
language. Each should investigators trace D

develop a better under- out one fingerprint O
standing of the principles out of the smudges L

and methods of the other’s Photo Courtesy of google.com of many overlap- O
profession. Bridging the same constraints and re- ping prints if the person G
gap between the two cul- quirements. had been exposed to a spe- Y

tures is a challenge that cific chemical.
this conference seeks to The Courts today deal

address. with complex cases relat- Then there are serious cas-
ing to highly sophisticated es of medical negligence
Science and technology crimes where criminals and related torts where ri-

seek knowledge through take care to erase all val parties seek to rely on
an open-ended search for evidence of their involve- expert evidence. Even in

expanded understanding, ment. In such cases, mod- the field of environmental
whose truths are subject ernized, scientific and pollution involving toxic
to revision. Law, too, highly sophisticated meth- substances, there is seri-

conducts an open-ended ods are required to trace ous difficulty in finding
search for expanded un- the involvement of crimi- out the levels of danger,

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