(Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential Assessment
Evidence law regimes across several contemporary legal orders provide a host of doctrinal devices designed to probe various sorts and sources of information, especially with respect to their accuracy and reliability. These legal provisions, however, are vulnerable to or even tolerant towards uninte...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Marcial Pons
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Quaestio Facti |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://revistes.udg.edu/quaestio-facti/article/view/22599 |
| _version_ | 1797818496559611904 |
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| author | Alex Biedermann Kyriakos N. Kotsoglou |
| author_facet | Alex Biedermann Kyriakos N. Kotsoglou |
| author_sort | Alex Biedermann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Evidence law regimes across several contemporary legal orders provide a host of doctrinal devices designed to probe various sorts and sources of information, especially with respect to their accuracy and reliability. These legal provisions, however, are vulnerable to or even tolerant towards uninterpretable evidence, that is evidence whose probative value cannot be assessed. This article critically examines and discusses the “littering paths” of uninterpretable evidence in legal proceedings. We point out the misinformative character and potentially misleading impact on criminal adjudication when using scientific evidence for purposes that, strictly speaking, the evidence cannot help with. We identify common causes and possible remedies and argue that to track uninterpretability, it is necessary to understand what exactly it means to say that a piece of evidence is probative in the procedural space of reasons, and how to draw the line between informative and non-informative items of evidence.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:09:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-513e76c187424d56bcc29c51f6856230 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2660-4515 2604-6202 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:09:43Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Marcial Pons |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaestio Facti |
| spelling | doaj.art-513e76c187424d56bcc29c51f68562302023-05-27T13:24:45ZengMarcial PonsQuaestio Facti2660-45152604-62022021-11-01310.33115/udg_bib/qf.i3.2259922480(Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential AssessmentAlex Biedermann0Kyriakos N. Kotsoglou1University of Lausanne, Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice and Public AdministrationNorthumbria University, Faculty of Law & Business Evidence law regimes across several contemporary legal orders provide a host of doctrinal devices designed to probe various sorts and sources of information, especially with respect to their accuracy and reliability. These legal provisions, however, are vulnerable to or even tolerant towards uninterpretable evidence, that is evidence whose probative value cannot be assessed. This article critically examines and discusses the “littering paths” of uninterpretable evidence in legal proceedings. We point out the misinformative character and potentially misleading impact on criminal adjudication when using scientific evidence for purposes that, strictly speaking, the evidence cannot help with. We identify common causes and possible remedies and argue that to track uninterpretability, it is necessary to understand what exactly it means to say that a piece of evidence is probative in the procedural space of reasons, and how to draw the line between informative and non-informative items of evidence. https://revistes.udg.edu/quaestio-facti/article/view/22599Scientific evidenceInterpretabilityProbative valuePropositionsForensic science |
| spellingShingle | Alex Biedermann Kyriakos N. Kotsoglou (Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential Assessment Quaestio Facti Scientific evidence Interpretability Probative value Propositions Forensic science |
| title | (Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential Assessment |
| title_full | (Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential Assessment |
| title_fullStr | (Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential Assessment |
| title_full_unstemmed | (Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential Assessment |
| title_short | (Un-)Interpretability in Expert Evidence: An Inquiry into the Frontiers of Evidential Assessment |
| title_sort | un interpretability in expert evidence an inquiry into the frontiers of evidential assessment |
| topic | Scientific evidence Interpretability Probative value Propositions Forensic science |
| url | https://revistes.udg.edu/quaestio-facti/article/view/22599 |
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