Questions, propositions and assessing different levels of evidence: Forensic voice comparison in practice

This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about the distinction between observations and propositions in forensic inference, with a specific focus on forensic voice comparison casework conducted in the UK. We outline both linguistic and legal issues which make the evaluation of voice evidence and the refinement of propositions problematic in practice, and illustrate these using case examples. We will argue that group-level observations from the offender sample will always be evidential and that the value of this evidence must be determined by the expert.
Source: Science and Justice - Category: Forensic Medicine Authors: Tags: Professional practice Source Type: research