L11: testifying in court

Question 1

role of the investigator

Answer 1

• provide detailed, truthful, and non-argumentative testimony
• can be hired by either crown or defence [mostly hired by crown]
• explain what you did and why
• enter evidence into court

Question 2

questions one may be asked when testifying

Answer 2

• anything regarding your involvement on the case in question – your photos, why you processed one piece of evidence over another, why you examined an item in a certain way, CoC, notes, etc.

example questions
- ‘describe the condition of the scene when you arrived’
- ‘why did you search this area and not that one?’
- ‘why did you use this fingerprinting technique?’
- ‘what is chain of custody?’
- ‘did you take this photo?’
- ‘what is being shown in this photo?’

Question 3

who is an expert witness

Answer 3

‘one who, by experience, studies, or job training has acquired special or particular knowledge of the subject being testified upon’

Question 4

expert witness testimony

Answer 4

• properly qualified expert
• impartial, unbiased, independent
• knows more than just a lay person
• provides expert opinion on the area that the were brought into court for, base their opinion on science
• should not be prejudiced to one side vs. the other

Question 5

regular witness testimony

Answer 5

• testify about the facts of the case as asked by the lawyers
• base their opinions on what they experienced or saw