The Wire

The access to experts and scientists is a right granted to the parties of a civil and criminal trial. However, in a new research paper published in the Sydney Law Review, ‘The New Psychology of Expert Witness Procedure’, it has been revealed that expert witnesses are encouraged to overstate their findings without disclosing the limits of their expertise.

The recommended reforms may change the procedures involved with guiding judges in how they manage potentially biased expert evidence, though one of the co-authors, Dr Jason Chin has warned that underfunded criminal defence teams need better access to expert witnesses as well as better protection.