Book Reviews

SURFING THE MAELSTROM exemplary reference for scientific and technical evidence The Litigator's Guide to Expert Witnesses that would cover most aspects of this challenging subject. Mark J Frieman, Mark L Behrenblut (Canada Law Book, Inc., Aurora, Canada, 1997,438pp, Current environmental cases, as well as many criminal ISBN 0 88804 234 5; $96.00) cases, are relying on toxicological and pharmacological

Expert witnesses and scientific evidence are at the centre of a maelstrom in the legal community worldwide. The use of expert testimony is a problem for attorneys, who must grasp unfamiliar disciplines and how they work to use in the context of their case. At trial, the attorney's job then also requires adequately educating a judge or jury in the application of that discipline to the case for them to render an informed verdict.

In this book, a panoply of expert disciplines are presented for the trial practitioner. One might not expect much depth from the breadth of subjects discussed, but this book presents a dense outline form from which many leads to other sources and ideas may be pursued. There are holes in the presentation, but for a practitioner looking for an expansive tool, this book would be an asset.

Each chapter in this book follows much the same pattern in explaining the subject of expertise and its application to evaluating, preparing and trying cases. Preliminary chapters deal with the legal basis for expert testimony, and the use of expert testimony at trial. Each chapter follows much the same format: an overview; scope of expertise, conceptualizing the approach, the expert report, expert testimony and cross-examination, and the 'cutting edge'. This is an extremely helpful format, and in the subject areas, the authors have ensured a solid progression of information for the lawyer.

The admissibility expert testimony rests on a witness' training, education or expertise that the trier of fact in a case does not have, and the ability of that specialized knowledge to be helpful to the judge or jury. Differing types of expertise require different approaches to the evaluation and presentation of evidence. Currently, the United States Supreme Court is evaluating a case that will likely decide the applicability of Daubert v. Memll-Dow Phamaceuticals to disciplines not considered to be 'scientific'. The distinctions between types of testimony generally ask questions which are based on an application of objective scientific principles or the utilization of personal experience and skill. Daubert has thus far been applied to disciplines such as accounting, business valuation, tyre failure analysis and document examination; the question is simply whether it should. This book concentrates on disciplines that would largely be in the greater world of expertise than purely scientific evidence. The existence of peer-reviewed and accepted precepts by which to measure testimony is largely dealt with in the Federal Courts Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, to which the authors occasionally refer. This book and the Federal Manual would form an

evidence; neither is covered in this book. The authors here have a greater thrust toward the proof of economic and business damages, which is overlooked in the Federal Manual. There is a difference between psychiatric and psychological evidence that might be mentioned. These criticisms are limited. The authors' approach emphasizes workable approaches, and is replete with practice suggestions, techniques for document and information management, and is likely to be a benefit to attorneys anywhere who need a cogent explanation of expert testimony in these areas.

Hon. Roderick Kennedy

ESSENTIAL FORENSIC SCIENCE Crime Scene to Court: the essentials of forensic science Peter White, ed (Royal Society of Chemistry, London and Cambridge, UK, 1998, 362pp, index, ISBN 0 85404 539 2; f 19.95)

This is a textbook of 13 chapters written by a good mix of Forensic Science Service (FSS) people, ex-FSS people and others. Naturally, the style varies somewhat from author to author but is, in general, fairly low-key and readable.

Peter Cobb's introductory chapter, Forensic Science, includes an informative summary of 'quality', although the current moves towards registration of forensic scientists are not mentioned. Two fictitious case scenarios are used to put Crime Scene Examination into the context of a burglary and a murder investigation. The scene examinations are exhaustive and informative from a layman's perspective. Although forensic scientists and scene examiners reading this chapter might raise their eyebrows at some of the things in it, Norman Weston's treatment is effective in conveying the range of knowledge that a good scene examiner needs to have and the care that is needed to preserve physical evidence.

Angela Gallop and Russell Stockdale adopt a generic approach to Trace and Contact Evidence, mentioning the various types of trace - glass, fibres, paint, hair, oils, soil, vegetation, etc. They also look at the concept of expectations and what they call the 'safety of trace evidence' - making sure that properly-qualified people have done the work. Keith Barnett tackles Marks and Impressions from the perspective of non damage-based evidence (fingerprints) and damage-based evidence (everything else). Keith's text is supported by several good illustrations, a feature also of the next chapter on The Forensic Examination of Documents by Audrey Giles.

Science & Justice 1999; 39(1): 6547