Science in Court

Legal professionals sometimes request the assistance of scientists in the courtroom. For example, legal psychologists are asked to evaluate the reliability of eyewitness testimony, or forensic pathologists are consulted to provide a report on the cause of death. Such expert witness help can be of grave importance in preventing errors slipping into the criminal justice system, such as the occurrence of wrongful convictions. In this lecture series, we give several talks about how different scientific disciplines can contribute to justice in the courtroom. 

The individual lectures
1. Reliability of Testimony (Otgaar / 31 Oct)
2. Asking the Right Question (Duijst / 7 Nov)
3. The Impact of False Confessions on Wrongful Convictions (Schell-Leugers / 14 Nov)
4. Scientific, Analytic and Legal Perspectives on Evidence (Dolman / 21 Nov)
5. Speaker and topic t.b.a. (28 Nov)