ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some aspects of the productive yet problematic relationship between science and law. It shows how scientific evidence is woven into the prosecution case, scrutinized and possibly challenged by the defence, and finally evaluated by the court. In most criminal investigations the prosecution builds a case to which the defence reacts. The prosecution sometimes seeks scientific assistance in response to scientific evidence produced by the defence. The prosecution has a marked advantage over the defence in the regard because it enjoys established and generally unproblematic working relationships with the six regional Forensic Science Service (FSS) laboratories and with the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory. In assisting defence solicitors to evaluate and respond to the case for the prosecution, forensic scientists instructed by the defence discharge an important function within our adversarial process of criminal justice. Scenes of crime visits allow FSS scientists to assist in determining which material is preserved and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
