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HI, I'm sure there are a few allowed alternatives for people who need to give evidence in Court, not necessarity criminal cases but maybe Coroner's Court and others. Does anyone know what those alternatives are? Thanks.
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Hi Peter, I've done some research and find the Judge is required to provide the alternative to assist anyone giving evidence to use alternative ways, similar to the Equality Act but not quite the same. Now I know that, I can research and put pressure on the university for them to provide the means of giving evidence under Equality Act. This is about my daughter and her desire to study for her degree in Forensic Science. They have told us that she has to do a presentation to the other students and then a Mock Trial when she gives evidence in a Court setting. She is unable to talk to people she doesn't know, (Selective Mutism). They have said she will have to do it or fail the course. That cannot be right because the Equality Act requires Reasonable Adjustments and in my opinion if the Judge will allow for the adjustments so should the Uni.
Selective Mutism (SM) is not a simple disablity and does not allow simple solutions. It is easy to say she could write notes in the witness box and pass them to another person to speak on her behalf but SM will not allow her to do that as she sees it as communicating with people she does not know. Yet another complicated issue for us to deal with and to work with the UNI for the solution. Thanks Peter.
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Contact the court services, explain the issue and see what they say for their specific court. I’d be surprised if the notification to attend didn’t give some contact details
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I suspect that reasonable adjustment may still be an issue for an expert forensic witness. There is the distinct possibility of cross-examination during criminal trial and a need for explanation to the lay person of what has been presented at either court.
In a one on one situation a coroner may be sympathetic, in front of a jury it could play for the defence by undermining the credibility of the witness and the case for the prosecution.
One of my staff held a degree in forensics and made two comments about their time during interview - "it wasn't like the telly", "the mock court experience put them off" - great scientist, embarrased public speaker. It may be prudent to see if someone at the Crown Prosecution Service could offer additional advice.
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I suspect that reasonable adjustment may still be an issue for an expert forensic witness. There is the distinct possibility of cross-examination during criminal trial and a need for explanation to the lay person of what has been presented at either court.
In a one on one situation a coroner may be sympathetic, in front of a jury it could play for the defence by undermining the credibility of the witness and the case for the prosecution.
One of my staff held a degree in forensics and made two comments about their time during interview - "it wasn't like the telly", "the mock court experience put them off" - great scientist, embarrased public speaker. It may be prudent to see if someone at the Crown Prosecution Service could offer additional advice.
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Thank for the responses. I contacted a few courts yesterday and they said they haven't come across this so have no information.There is a allowance for a Pre Hearing meeting with Judge, Barristers and the Witness to arrange a plan. That could involve questions requiring Yes/No answers or other short answers, a Carer alongside in the Witness box to answer on behalf of the witness, White Boards, pre written answers on cards etc. etc.
This is for my daughter who is determined to try hard to speak because she knows how much better life will be if she can. Thanks. Edited by user 17 May 2024 11:01:23(UTC)
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Firesafety - well done for your daughter trying to overcome these challenges - but please do not assume that coroners court is any easier than an other court. From my time as an inspector i would much rather face a determined barrister that an grieving family in coroners court! At least a barrister knows the rules of engagement and a judge will make them stick to it. In coroners court anyone can ask you questions on your evidence, remember the family will be probably be desperately looking for answers and may ask some very strange questions, which to some extent the coroners will allow out of fairness to the family. I remember one case where i had found no fault by the employer where the deceased cousin spent 15 minutes asking me all kinds of questions relating to his brothers previous employment, why i had not got transcripts of his mobile phone conversations and all kinds of strange questions, before the inquest was adjourned to allow the coroner to call more witnesses. Can your daughter answer questions from behind a screen or does that still bring on the mutism?
While the equality act does say reasonable adjustments should be made, this cannot overide the rights of the accused ect in court, which includes them being able to question any evidance presented.
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I agree with Mr Snail: the issue is that she will be working as an expert witness not as the usual witness of fact. There are rules to protect witnesses of fact and they are supported to enable them to tell the court what they saw. Expert witnesses are there to give an opinion based on their professional knowledge. The barristers are fully entitled to challenge that in cross examination. UK courts do not simply take expert evidence face value unless the witness is a join expert agreed by both parties.
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![thanks](/Themes/iosh2/heart_small.png) 2 users thanked A Kurdziel for this useful post.
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Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel ![Go to Quoted Post Go to Quoted Post](/Themes/iosh2/icon_latest_reply.gif) the issue is that she will be working as an expert witness
I would dispute that - it seems to me unlikely that every graduate of a Forensic Science degree works as an expert witness in court. A university insisting that the degree is useless unless you're willing to be cross-examined by a barrister is being unreasonably inflexible, in my opinion.
The notion that you can't do any related role unless you're 'barrister ready' is laughable.
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Any material handled by a forensics scientists has to go through a chain of custody. This is recorded and everyone has to sign for it. This is to ensure that it is not tampered with, or nobody makes a mistake while processing the material. Newly graduated forensic scientists will at some point be expected to handle the material; that’s their job. Any lawyer will appreciate that mistakes can be made, or material tampered with. They may try to challenge the procedures in the lab, and they may well ask the people in that chain of custody what they did with the material. This would be in court under cross examination.
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I think both my colleges above make valid points - yes im sure there are roles that do not require you to attend court - but they will be few and far between once you start handling evidence on your own. I remember early on in my enforcement carrier being called to the witness stand to describe how i had delivered official documentation for a colleague - even though i knew nothing about the case. Its much easier to get a case dismissed because of a fault in procedure than on the evidence collected. In this case i had delivered it correctly and my colleague won his case!
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EDIT - some of what I typed below is similar to what had been said in posts submitted whilst I was typing!
I could see many scenarios where a practising forensic scientist might be called to give evidence on the facts (including their analysis of the evidence) often not presented as an "Expert". So, as example, the road traffic accident occurs and the police breathalyse the driver. The forensic scientist analyses the sample and finds that the alcohol in blood level was X. No need for an Expert Witness if the law says that the limit is X divided by 10, if established practice says that using equipment A in the prescribed manner leaves little margin of error on the results. Conversely, the forensic scientist analyses the sample and finds that the level of some solvent in blood level is Y. There is no tablet of legal stone which says what level of that solvent in blood counts as impairing the driver from being safe at the wheel. So, at that point you need an Expert who can comment on what Y solvent in blood means in terms of capacity to drive safely. Either way, that person might be subject to cross-examination when in the witness box, so the issue here is what would count as "reasonable adjustments". It might well be that the role the graduate of Forensic Science means that actually they are never likely to end up in the witness box. But the University can't predict what their student's future employment will be, so should be preparing them for likely career patterns which are often likely to include standing up in a Courtroom. Edited by user 20 May 2024 13:54:54(UTC)
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I can also add that the criteria for the course are probably not down to the university or college, but are down to the requirements of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, who accredit forensic science courses.
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Originally Posted by: peter gotch ![Go to Quoted Post Go to Quoted Post](/Themes/iosh2/icon_latest_reply.gif) But the University can't predict what their student's future employment will be, so should be preparing them for likely career patterns which are often likely to include standing up in a Courtroom.
That seems to me an invalid argument. Universities are not expected to prepare graduates of their courses for every possible application of that degree. It's precisely because the university can't predict that the student will be working as a cross-examined expert witness that they should not be making it a requisite of passing the course that you can withstand cross-examination.
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Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel ![Go to Quoted Post Go to Quoted Post](/Themes/iosh2/icon_latest_reply.gif) I can also add that the criteria for the course are probably not down to the university or college, but are down to the requirements of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, who accredit forensic science courses.
That's a very good point.
https://www.csofs.org/quality-standards/educational-standards/accreditation-is-it-for-me/ has the degree course Educational Quality Standards documentation. The requirements for Interpretation, Evaluation & Presentation of Evidence under communication (item 9) says "Realistic court room exercises should ideally be in-person and include a jury. This may include court room exercises both as professional witness and expert witness Exception may be made for students with disabilities provided that such students are given an appropriate alternative opportunity to demonstrate these skills." (my emphasis). I'd be asking the university why they are not making an exception given that the chartered society that presumably accredits the course identifies that it can be appropriate to do so. Edited by user 20 May 2024 14:19:49(UTC)
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Universities are not expected to prepare graduates of their courses for every possible application of that degree. It's precisely because the university can't predict that the student will be working as a cross-examined expert witness that they should not be making it a requisite of passing the course that you can withstand cross-examination.
No but they do quote the contents of a course and pass fail criteria. I have just googled a couple of courses and where i could find course details it included witness preparation. Not sure what the pass criteria was. For my degree we got a mark based on 4 elements, written exam, practical exam, a set project we all had to complete separately and our individual dissertations, but if you failed any single element that was it. You couldnot pass on other 3 alone.
sorry i must have been typing my response at the same time as Achrn - so it does look like its worth asking the question of the Uni. Edited by user 20 May 2024 15:19:26(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: firesafety101 ![Go to Quoted Post Go to Quoted Post](/Themes/iosh2/icon_latest_reply.gif) Thank for the responses.I contacted a few courts yesterday and they said they haven't come across this so have no information.There is aallowance for a Pre Hearing meeting with Judge, Barristers and the Witness to arrange a plan. That could involve questions requiring Yes/No answers or other short answers, a Carer alongside in the Witness box to answer on behalf of the witness, White Boards, pre written answers on cards etc. etc. This is for my daughter who is determined to try hard to speak because she knows how much better life will be if she can.Thanks. As has been said above, amazed a Uni demands ability to public speaking is part of a course. As you know it’s a very long way between passing a course and being sufficiently competent to give expert evidence. Depending on what are she is looking towards after the course - forensic scientists is a generic phrase rather than for a specific subject. She will Be looking for a company to work for to gain experience, perhaps she can do some of the role that way and no be an ‘expert witness. Having been in the E/witness role, it would certainly be a challenge when being questioned / challenged about what she would have to say, getting instructed would be the sooner hurdle than actually being in court
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Brilliant replies thank you all. We attended Merseyside Police SOC department and were shown around the Lab where real forensic work was carried out. We were told every change of evidence work required a change of gloves to avoid cross contanination. There was one forensic guy working on fingerprints and chemicals on sheets of paper. I lost count of the number of times he changed his gloves. Every single time has to be documented.
There wa a case thrown out of court because a Barrister noticed gloves hadn't been documented as changed just once when they should have been.
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Hi, for update, email received from University as follows. The course can be adjusted but courtroom setting must be questioned by Prosecution and defence council who will be staff. In front of a Judge, also staff. The Courtroom setting in year 3 will be based on her Crime Scene examination and Laboratory findings. Her course is Forensic Biology and they say if the above is not suitable you may wish to study Archiology only. That opens up another door, leading to Equality Act and discrimination. My daughtern has said she is determined to force herself to speak before her oral presentations are due.
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Good afternoon, Just had a Teams meeting with Uni and the Social worker. The Uni lady started the meeting by reminding us of the requirement to speak in a court setting in year three, however there are adjustments that can be made during years one and two. We didn't respond as we would have liked to because we don't want to rock the boat. Once Annie is in the Uni we can take it up then. Social worker not happy the way the meting was opened, (threat). The Fire Evacuation arrangements are now causing an issue whereby they are not aware of how Annie will react to the sounding of the fire alarm. For example as she has high anxiety would she have a Panic Attack on hearing the fire alarm????? They have told us they need something in writing to confirm Annie will be OK to evacuate herself, or there may be a need for an 'all night' Carer sleeping in the same building whose main job is to go to Annie's room on hearing the alarm. I would not recommend this as it could be affected by a fire.
The Social Worker has said she will run this past their solicitors because the UNI does not make demands like this to all students. Thinking discrimination. Annie has not been made a final offer yet because all her results are not yet available but she has Distinctions for every single assignment and has been put forward by her Chemistry tutor for Student of the Year. Our question is "how can anyone confirm Annie will respond correctly on hearing the fire alarm?" Appreciate any comments/thoughts. Thanks.
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"how can anyone confirm Annie will respond correctly on hearing the fire alarm?" It’s not a case of how Annie or anyone will react to a fire alarm, it is a case of how the Uni will manage this situation. The uni I work at has dealt with similar cases; they inform the students “buddy” that this might happen, and the person stays with the student. They can evacuate if needs be when it all quietens down. It’s not rocket science.
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How can anyone confirm how anyone will respond on hearing a fire alarm? Yesterday's news showed Henry Winkler with the fire crew outside a Dublin Hotel saying he thought it was an alarm clock going off and it was only after ringing reception he was told everyone was evacuating. Meanwhile at work it is amazing the number of people who just carry on when the alarm sounds on a day or time that is not the scheduled practice.
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How can anyone confirm how anyone will respond on hearing a fire alarm? Yesterday's news showed Henry Winkler with the fire crew outside a Dublin Hotel saying he thought it was an alarm clock going off and it was only after ringing reception he was told everyone was evacuating. Meanwhile at work it is amazing the number of people who just carry on when the alarm sounds on a day or time that is not the scheduled practice.
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On a visit to the Uni and attending a sample lecture the fire alarm sounded. I knew what it was and began to move with my two family members. The Lecturer then said "I suppose we should evacuate" and we followed her to the assembly point. Everyone who evacuated did so very calmly. The H&S Manager just wants to cover her ass with paper.
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Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel ![Go to Quoted Post Go to Quoted Post](/Themes/iosh2/icon_latest_reply.gif) "how can anyone confirm Annie will respond correctly on hearing the fire alarm?" It’s not a case of how Annie or anyone will react to a fire alarm, it is a case of how the Uni will manage this situation. The uni I work at has dealt with similar cases; they inform the students “buddy” that this might happen, and the person stays with the student. They can evacuate if needs be when it all quietens down. It’s not rocket science.
We are trying to avoid an overnight Carer for Annie but it may be necessary. As I wrote and regarding your 'Buddy" where will he/she be sleeping and may need to walk through the fire to get to Annie's room.
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Annie has a Social Worker who has been in touch with their Legal Team about the question of Annie responding to the fire alartm. As a result of their conversation she told us she will challenge any attempt to further delay Annie's access to the Uni because of that issue.
Further, I have realised that making Annie speak during a presentation is not viable because it is a disability that prevents her speaking. In no way can that be "Reasonable" to expect a person with Mutism to speak, especially under the pressure of examination conditions. It would be discriminatory. Annie has not yet received her Offer, there is every reason for that Offer to be made especially as she finished her Access Course with flying colours, Distinctions for every singe assignment and awarded with the Student of the Year.
Hard to grasp the enormity of her achievement especially the way she has ben treated by every school and college she has attended. It goes on and on but should be over soon we all hope.
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