ABSTRACT
The current and future intersection between criminology and criminal law is aptly evidenced by the use of criminologists as expert witnesses in criminal law cases. When defense attorneys or prosecutors employ criminologists as experts, the criminal justice system acknowledges the value of criminology for deciphering the particular criminal law case at issue and also for determining future cases. The criminologist’s key authority for providing expert testimony is Marvin Wolfgang’s heralded article, “The Social Scientist in Court”. The Maxwell court’s evidentiary openness also spurred the start of several remarkable trends demonstrating the intersection between criminology and criminal law: courts’ increasing acceptance of criminological research as evidence in criminal law cases and courts’ growing recognition of criminologists as experts in criminal law cases. It also includes courts’ recognition that criminological research could potentially demonstrate that some aspects of the criminal justice system are unconstitutional.
