Unit 11: Expert Opinion
11.1 Nature and Definition of Expert
The expert — the person with the special knowledge (the science, art, trade-or-experience) beyond the ordinary person’s — whose opinion the court may receive on the relevant matters (the Evidence Act’s expert-opinion provisions — the opinion-evidence’s exception: the general rule’s exclusion of opinions vs the expert’s admission). The nature of the expert’s opinion: the opinion’s-not-fact’s character (the court’s weighing); the corroboration’s rule (the expert alone rarely convicts — the court’s own judgment retained); the expert’s duty (the court’s assistant — the objectivity’s ethic; the partisan-expert’s criticism). The forensic experts’ catalogue: the medical (the post-mortem’s doctor), the scientists (the DNA, toxicology, ballistics, documents), the fingerprint examiners, the digital forensics — the labs’ and the hospitals’ experts.
11.2 Legal Procedure of Examination and Cross-Examination of Experts
The examination-in-chief: the qualification’s proof (the training, the experience — the expert’s establishment); the opinion’s foundation (the facts-and-examination’s basis); the opinion’s elicitation (the report’s-and-findings’); the reasons’ disclosure (the methodology’s explanation). The cross-examination’s craft (the defence’s rights):
- The qualification’s challenge (the credentials, the specialisation’s fit).
- The methodology’s attack (the technique’s reliability — the validation’s questions; the contamination-and-chain; the standards’ non-following).
- The facts’-basis challenge (the sample’s adequacy, the examination’s completeness).
- The counter-expert’s leverage (the alternative’s explanation).
- The bias-and-credentials of interest (the police-lab’s independence question; the partisan history).
- The report’s language (the certainty-vs-probability — the overstatement’s exposure).
The re-examination: the clarification’s repair (the chief’s answers restored); the court’s questions (the judge’s own inquiry — the active court’s face). The Nepal procedure: the report’s submission-and-summons (the expert’s court attendance); the Civil-and-Criminal Procedure Codes’ faces; the costs-and-compensation for the expert’s attendance.
This is a preview. The complete Forensic Science notes — full unit, Exam Focus box and model questions — are in the PDF / full version. Get the complete notes →