Expert

In resolving disputes in court whether criminal or civil, reliance is often placed on evidence. Very often this evidence is available in the form of oral testimony. In fact, there has been a lot of discussion in the past over corroboration in the cases of sexual assault. These discussions center around the need for corroborating oral testimony which is often lacking because crimes generally and sexual offences in particular are committed in private. These discussions have therefore culminated in a need for external evidence which is reliable and mathematical in its accuracy. Forensic science fills this void. Using a doctrinal method, this paper examines the use of forensic evidence in court and the role that the expert witness plays to ensure the effective use of this type of evidence.