Expert Witnesses: Criminologists in the Courtroom (SUNY Series in Critical Issues in Criminal Justice)

For the first time a book documents the judicial system's new dependence on social science testimony, especially that rendered by sociologists and criminologists. In Expert Witnesses contributors show that unlike traditional forensics testimony, the intrusion of social science data into judicial decision-making has relatively recent origins. It details the uses and abuses of social science experts, and the ethical and pragmatic concerns raised by their testimony. This timely collection will appeal to a diverse audience, including attorneys, judges, and students of judicial proceedings.Included in this volume are historical examinations of the expert witnessing phenomenon, the legal, social, and ethical debates regarding the appropriate role of such witnesses, and anecdotal descriptions by eminent social science experts. The authors address such pragmatic issues as an attorney's perspective on finding the most appropriate expert or formulating the “best” questions to ask in court, and an expert's perspective on getting aid or terminating a nonworking attorney-expert relationship.Patrick R. Anderson is Professor of Criminology at Florida Southern College. L. Thomas Winfree, Jr. is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University. The first section of four essays approaches expert witnessing from both broad philosophical and narrow empirical bases. Two essays examine the historical and philosophical origins of expert witnessing in general, and a third relates the field of expert witnessing directly to criminological issues. The fourth essay is an empirically based study of a series of practical concerns that uniquely confront the expert. The unique demands of expert witnessing are further examined in the four essay of the second section. The first essay examines the relationships between the personal-biographic characteristics of 120 experts and their experiences in court. The other three essays relate many of these same demands to the authors' own areas of expertise. The issues explored include police research and police misconduct, death penalty research, pornography, and criminal justice hiring practices. The final four essays explore the personal and professional costs of appearing as an expert witness. The final three essays question the relevance of social science experts in court. The responses to questions regarding the role of social scientists in court range from measured optimism to determined negativism. 53-item bibliography, listing of cases and codes, and subject index All That Glitters Is Not Necessarily Gold : Negative Consequences Of Expert Witnessing In Criminal Justice / L. Thomas Winfree, Jr. -- The Needs Of The Judiciary And Misapplication Of Social Science Research : The Case Of Female Guards In Men's Prisons / Geoffrey P. Alpert -- The Role Of The Expert On Prison Conditions : The Battle Of Footnotes In Rhodes V. Chapman / Hans Toch -- The Ethics Of Testimony : Conflicting Views On The Role Of The Criminologist As Expert Witness / Barton L. Ingraham. Edited By Patrick R. Anderson And L. Thomas Winfree, Jr. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 209-222.