Beyond Common Knowledge: Reviewing the Use of Social Science Evidence in Australian Courts

Beyond Common Knowledge: Reviewing the Use of Social Science Evidence in Australian Courts

Courts are increasingly called upon to adjudicate hard cases involving questions of social facts. In deciding these matters, in a just and efficient manner according to law, courts will desirably have recourse to social science material and, perhaps less desirably, be influenced by underlying assumptions based on the decision-maker’s personal views. This article comments on three ways in which courts use social facts and treat social science material in the course of judicial decision-making. The authors suggest a ‘best practice’ approach for judges in approaching these questions, in the light of identified problems with the status quo.

McMillan, Kathryn

Pokarier, Nicholas

The University of Queensland Law Journal; Vol. 38 No. 2 (2019): Special issue on expert evidence; 389-406

1839-289X

0083-4041

10.38127/uqlj.v38i2

The University of Queensland School of Law

2020-02-18

Copyright (c) 2020 The University of Queensland Law Journal

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eng

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Peer-reviewed Article