2013 Awards for Excellence
Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: Drugs and Alcohol Today, Volume 14, Issue 1
The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Drugs and Alcohol Today
"Partial confessions of an expert court witness in the prosecution and defence of alleged drug offences"
Gary Sutton
London, UK
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the work of an expert witness working in drug trials in Crown courts. – The approach is a case study of a single expert witness, drawing on experiences over several years. – The evidence produced in court is subject to the personal limitations and organisational constraints of the experts involved. Prosecution often relies on unreliable and secretive sources. It is important to increase transparency and for a robust challenge to be made to some claims. Many experts are former police officers who are rarely objective or neutral, hence the need for independent experts from within the field. – Personal experience cannot always be generalised so limits the information presented in this case study. – The role of expert witness is a career development opportunity for people working in the drugs and alcohol field. – It is important to understand the subjective way in which testimony and evidence is produced. – This paper gives a rare insight into a key aspect of the legal process. Criminal courts, Criminal justice process, Drug-related crime, Expert witness, Trial, UK
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This article originally appeared in Volume 12 Number 2, 2012, Drugs and Alcohol Today
The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award
"From gatekeeper to friend and back again: embracing the world of the street drug user"
Daniel Briggs
This article originally appeared in Volume 12 Number 2, 2012, Drugs and Alcohol Today
"How to handle legal highs? Findings from a German online survey and considerations on drug policy issues"
Bernd Werse and Cornelia Morgenstern
This article originally appeared in Volume 12 Number 4, 2012, Drugs and Alcohol Today
Outstanding Reviewer
Blaine Stothard
