Procedural aspects of the new regime for the admissibility of expert evidence: what the digital forensic expert needs to know

Abstract

This paper reviews some aspects of the proposed reform on the admissibility of the expert evidence in criminal trials. The review focuses on the impact such reform will have on several procedural aspects of the criminal trial such as the role of trial judge, burden of proof for evidential reliability, power of the court to disapply the reliability test and the engagement of court appointed experts. The paper argues that some of the procedural aspects bring new challenges that may not be easily solved. On the other hand the digital forensics community may now have a new opportunity to play an integral part in assisting the legal profession in light of the requirements of the new regime.