ABSTRACT
It is important to review all information available to the court and make decisions on what will be relevant to the expert’s specific instructions. Evidence that is gathered for a range of purposes other than assessment of the defendant—including witness statements, crime scene information, and pathology reports—may be relevant to consider. It may also sometimes be necessary to gather other specific information to test particular hypotheses raised during the assessment—for example, collateral interviews with family members of the defendant, details of weather conditions on the day of the homicide, and Internet or news media material the defendant claims to have viewed prior to the killing. It is important to ensure that the expert report sets out and addresses the specific instructions that have been agreed upon, that the range of evidence used is set out, and that the analysis is consistent with the final conclusions. Of equal importance to preparation of the expert report is preparation for giving evidence, which includes not only reviewing the report writer’s own information, analysis, and conclusions, but also anticipating and preparing for likely questions that will be asked by the prosecution and defence. Such questions may flow directly from items in the expert report—for example “Please explain to the jury what a psychometric assessment is”—or may be more over-arching—for example, “Based on the totality of the evidence you have reviewed, how likely is it that the defendant could have planned the attack the day before the killing?” A logical and defensible position needs to be held whenever the expert is invited to adjust a written report or an opinion given in evidence: put simply, hold to clearly held opinions, but be open to change in response to new information or arguments that may arise.
