Experts, science and the like

• Author: Stephen Grant
• Pages: 93-93

93

g Part Three g

EXPERTS, SCIENCE

AND THE LIKE

To say DNA evidence has been a game-changer, especially for the

wrongly accused, is to understate the case. Yet, all purported scientic

methods and methodologies aren’t necessarily the last word in evi-

dence, as we saw in the Goudge Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology

in Ontario. And experts, now required to hew to a statutory duty to the court

of fairness and objectivity, still stray into advocacy from time to time. Our

distinguished retired jurist, three practitioners and a law school dean weigh

in on this aspect of advocacy. Who, I ask, doesn’t enjoy debunking expertise

where it proves to be awed and misleading? No advocate worth his or her

salt that I know.