The challenges facing evidence-based law have never been so substantial. Courts are grappling with an exponentially growing body of scientific research that is of uneven quality and transparency. Perhaps not surprisingly then, invalid or misleading forensic science evidence has contributed to many wrongful convictions in Australia and abroad. At the heart of the problem is the interdisciplinary challenge of communicating uncertainty about science to laypeople.

Addressing the problem head on, we bring together an international collection of researchers in forensic science, law, research synthesis, psychology, metaresearch, and criminology. We will use short presentations and interactive sessions to share advances across fields, innovate new approaches and methodologies, and build new collaborations.

Stipends

We have a number of $250 stipends available to assist with travel to Canberra for our workshop. This may be especially helpful for those travelling to Sydney for the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) conference and would like to attend this workshop beforehand. Please email Jason Chin (jason.chin@anu.edu.au) to ask about the stipend.

Speakers

Anna-Maria Arabia, Australian Academy of Science

Anna-Maria has over 20 years’ experience in the science sector and is currently leading the Australian Academy of Science, an independent not for profit organisation that provides authoritative and influential scientific advice, represents Australia on key international scientific bodies, builds public awareness and understanding of science, and champions and supports excellence in Australian science. 

In this role Anna-Maria has led significant reform in global science engagement, in science policy matters, and in improving diversity and inclusion in science.

Starting her career as a neuroscientist, Anna-Maria undertook medical research in Australia and abroad, before applying her skills to policy development both in the Australian public service and in politics where she has provided policy advice across many social and economic portfolios.

She has held several senior executive positions in the science sector as CEO of Science and Technology Australia and Deputy Director at Questacon – the National Science and Technology Centre. In these roles, Anna-Maria has worked extensively with parliamentarians, the business and community sectors, and the media.

She is a strategic advocate for science, social justice, and diversity and inclusion.

Dr Kaye Ballantyne, Chief Forensic Scientist, Victoria Police

Kaye Ballantyne is the Chief Forensic Scientist for Victoria Police Forensic Services Department. She has previously held the roles of Senior Research and Development Officer at Victoria Police, Senior Project Officer at the Australia New Zealand National Institute of Forensic Sciences, adjunct Senior Researcher in the College of Arts and Law at the University of Tasmania, and adjunct Associate Professor at La Trobe University School of Psychology and Public Health. She has published extensively in books and peer-reviewed journals in the fields of forensic science and molecular genetics, and provided seminars and workshops across Australia and internationally. Kaye’s research interests include cognitive forensics, validity and risk in forensic science, the development and maintenance of expertise, and evidence interpretation and communication.

As Chief Forensic Scientist, Kaye is responsible for ensuring that all scientific evidence produced by Victoria Police Forensic Services Department meets scientific and legal standards, that research, development and innovation is targeted to producing improved service delivery to the Victorian and forensic communities, that staff are trained and supported to deliver expert scientific services, and that the practices utilised in support of investigations and criminal justice processes are robust, reliable and transparent.

Dr Jason Chin, Senior Lecturer, ANU College of Law

Jason Chin studies the ways in which research informs the legal system, and particularly how that relationship can be improved. This includes making sure law relies on the most transparent and reliable psychology, forensic science, criminology, and empirical legal research. In law, this often applies to expert evidence and law reform.

Jason received a PhD in social psychology from the University of British Columbia, where he was a Killam Scholar and a JD from the University of Toronto. He also graduated cum laude from the University of Virginia with a BA in Psychology and Economics.

Prior to returning to academia, Jason practiced litigation at a large international law firm and was called to the bar in both New York and Ontario. His research has been featured in the New York Times and Sydney Morning Herald, and cited by the Court of Appeal for Ontario and by the Australian Law Reform Commission.

Professor Gary Edmond, Professor, University of New South Wales

Gary Edmond is a law professor in the School of Law, Society and Criminology at the University of New South Wales, where he directs the Program in Expertise, Evidence and Law and Research Professor (fractional), School of Law, Northumbria University. Originally trained in the history and philosophy of science, he subsequently studied law at the University of Sydney and took a PhD in law from the University of Cambridge. An active commentator on expert evidence in Australia, England, the US and Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, a member of the editorial board of the Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, and for a decade a member of the Council of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences. In 2007-2008 he served as an international adviser to the Goudge Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, Canada. He is Chair of the Evidence-based forensics initiative and is co-author of Australian Evidence: A principled approach to the common law and the uniform acts (6th ed. LexisNexis, 2017) and many publications on the relations between law and science.

Anna Heavey, Forensic Scientist, PathWest Laboratory Medicine and Curtin University

Anna Heavey (BSc, MBA, AFAIM) is a forensic scientist with over 20 years’ experience in the field of forensic biology and quality management, currently as the Manager of Quality, Safety, Training & Risk for the Forensic Biology Department of PathWest Laboratory Medicine Western Australia. She is the Chair of the Quality Specialist Advisory Group under the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency-National Institute of Forensic Science (ANZPAA NIFS) providing expert advice and coordination on forensic quality matters to the agencies of the Australia New Zealand Forensic Executive Committee. She is a NATA accreditation Technical Assessor, a Committee member of the WA Branch of the Australia New Zealand Forensic Science Society and a member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. Anna is an award-winning author and presenter on the topic of forensic quality management, with published works including invited journal articles and chapters in the current edition of the Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences. Anna lectures in undergraduate and postgraduate forensic science programs at Murdoch University and Curtin University in Perth and is currently a PhD Candidate at Curtin University where she is researching the categorisation, investigation and disclosure of quality issues in forensic science.

Professor Max Houck, Professor, Florida International University

An award-winning international expert in the forensic sciences, Dr Max M. Houck has over 30 years of expertise in casework, research, management, and writing. His casework includes the Branch Davidian Investigation, the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon, the D.B. Cooper case, and the West Memphis Three, among hundreds of others including his casework at the FBI Laboratory. He has managed tens of millions of dollars in grants and his committee work includes the White House, the National Academies of Science, the Royal Society, and Interpol. Dr Houck is one of the most published professionals in his field and his work among the most cited (top 2% of legal and forensic medicine researchers globally). He is Editor-in-Chief of Forensic Science International: Synergy, the first Gold Open Access and Registered Reports journal in the discipline. Dr Houck is also Editor-in-Chief of the third edition of The Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences. Dr Houck is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a full member of Sigma Xi, and a retired member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. Dr Houck has appeared on Forensic Files, National Geographic, and History Channel. He is currently the Graduate Program Director for the Professional Science Masters series at the Global Forensic and Justice Center at Florida International University.

Professor Kristy Martire, Professor, University of New South Wales

Kristy Martire is a Professor in the School of Psychology. Her research aims to better understand the development of expertise, processes of evidence evaluation in criminal trials, and to improve the communication between experts and lay decision-makers in forensic settings.

Dr Matt Page, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University

Dr Matthew Page is a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Head of the Methods in Evidence Synthesis Unit in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University in Australia. His research aims to improve the credibility of syntheses of health and medical research. He co-led the development of the PRISMA 2020 statement for systematic reviews and was a member of the core group who developed the RoB 2 tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials. He is an associate scientific editor for the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. He frequently collaborates with clinicians on systematic reviews of interventions for a range of conditions, which often informs his meta-research agenda.

Associate Professor Mehera San Roque, Associate Professor, University of New South Wales

Mehera San Roque's research interests include evidence law, feminist analysis of law, law and surveillance/visual cultures, and the newly emerging field of law and sound. She has a particular interest in cross-disciplinary collaborations, including an ARC funded multidisciplinary and international project examining the participation of deaf citizens as jurors, working with linguists, NSW Legal Aid, interpreters and colleagues from Interpreting and Translation Studies. With colleagues in law, forensic science, psychology and medicine, she is involved in research on identification evidence and surveillance technologies aimed at improving the reliability and evaluation of evidence in criminal trials. She is a member of the Evidence-Based Forensics Initiative at UNSW and on the Council of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Professor Simine Vazire, Professor, University of Melbourne

Simine Vazire’s research examines whether and how science self-corrects, focusing on psychology. She studies the research methods and practices used in psychology, as well as structural systems in science, such as peer review. She also examines whether people know themselves, and where our blind spots are in our self-knowledge. She teaches research methods.

She is editor in chief of Collabra: Psychology, one of the PIs on the repliCATS project, and the co-founder (with Brian Nosek) of the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science.