Judge And Jury

The "CSI effect" is forcing judges to stay on top of the latest scientific advancements.

Television shows such as the hit CSI franchise can cause their viewers to have high expectations about scientific evidence. These expectations can then follow them when they are part of a jury during a court case. "Because of the CSI effect and the public having these raised expectations about what they think about science, we as judges need to be better gatekeepers," Judge Stephanie Domitrovich of the Court of Common Pleas in Erie, Pennsylvania told The Beacon Journal. Fans of shows like CSI often don't realize that the information presented on the show is not necessarily accurate. Domitrovich remembered a juror that believed that handwriting could indicate gender. The truth is that this is not the case.

It's important for judges to know information like this since they are responsible for determining which evidence to allow in court. Ohio State University presented a three-day seminar for judges as part of a program to teach them developing science. The program was congressionally mandated and helps the judges to avoid being taken advantage of. "Hired guns" are experts in medicine or science who are rewarded for their testimony with money or fame. Judge Janet Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland said that if "you don't have scientific knowledge you're kind of throwing up your hands." A judge with scientific knowledge would have a better idea of whether the testimony is valid or if it was made up "to sell to the highest bidder."

Judges know that science will continue to play an important role in court cases. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer predicts that science will be even more important in the future than it is now. "We've always been required to resolve important social issues that the legislatures don't resolve or the people don't resolve on their own and they come to the courts," he said. "And we're going to get some very interesting and dramatic cases."

The original article is from The Beacon Journal.

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