Research into juror perceptions of expert evidence in criminal trials

09/02/2011

The Bar Association's Criminal Law Committee has been approached by the lead researcher in a jury project that has the approval and support of the attorney general of New South Wales, the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the chief judge of the District Court of New South Wales. �

The aim of the project is to investigate juror perceptions of expert evidence in criminal trials.� The research team also includes Professor Jane Goodman-Delahunty (Charles Sturt University), Dr Blake McKimmie (University of Queensland), Professor Ian Freckelton SC (Monash University, Victorian Bar) and Professor Mark Israel (University of Western Australia).

The project involves surveying and interviewing jurors in 20 Sydney Supreme and District Court trials, regarding their perceptions and comprehension of expert evidence in criminal trials.� In order to obtain depth of analysis and a triangulation of views, they will also invite the trial judge, counsel and experts in the same trial to be interviewed about their perceptions of the expert evidence. �

The researchers need help from counsel in order to identify appropriate criminal jury trials with contested expert evidence running in Sydney during the next six months.� The trials they need to identify will involve the following types of contested expert evidence:

1. Sexual assault: forensic physicians, DNA experts, child development experts;
2. Murder/Manslaughter: pathologists, forensic scientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, treating and non-treating medical practitioners; and
3. Fraud cases: accountants and other financial experts.

The researchers are seeking the assistance of members in identifying relevant trials. They also want to notify all counsel that are likely to be running jury trials in Sydney in 2011, so that they will be familiar with the project background should they be approached sometime during 2011.�

The success of the project will depend upon the participation of counsel in the project. This is the first time in Australia that such an in-depth analysis of expert evidence in jury trials has been conducted. The researchers hope that it will produce results that will greatly assist counsel in future trial work.� The results will be published by the AIJA in 2012.

For more information, contact Dr Jacqueline Horan, senior lecturer and member of the Victorian Bar (academic) P: (03) 83441022 M: 0412565710 e-mail: j.horan@unimelb.edu.au�

**9 February 2011 **

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