Atkins v The Emperor: the ‘cautious’ use of unreliable ‘expert’ opinion

Title
Atkins v The Emperor: the ‘cautious’ use of unreliable ‘expert’ opinion
Publication Date
2010-04-01
Author(s)
Edmond, Gary
Kemp, Richard
Porter, Glenn
Hamer, David
Burton, Mike
Biber, Katherine
Roque, Mehera San
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1350/ijep.2010.14.2.349
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/27417
Abstract
What happens to a country under constant surveillance? The recent decision in Atkins v The Queen provides a partial answer.1 The sheer availability of images seems to be driving decisions about their admissibility and use as identification evidence. Confronted with CCTV recordings associated with criminal activities English courts have been reluctant to restrict their admission or impose limitations on the scope or form of incriminating opinion derived from them. Although the Court of Appeal decision in Atkins v The Queen is concerned primarily with the way in which an opinion derived from CCTV images was expressed, the decision exposes jurisprudential weakness and continuing problems with photo comparison and facial-mapping evidence.
Link
Citation
The International Journal of Evidence & Proof, 14(2), p. 146-166
ISSN
1740-5572
1365-7127
Start page
146
End page
166

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