Dr Rhonda Wheate

Bio

Rhonda is currently Education & External Relations Manager at the Forensice Institute, where she deals regularly with crime and criminal justice issues to do with trial and appellate courts in the UK and abroad, particularly in relation to their handling of scientific and complex evidence.

Her current research relates to the effect of flawed scientific evidence and scientific reasoning on criminal trials, and a comparison of the treatment of scientific evidence in the UK and USA. She is also examining the use of ‘verbal scales’ in expert evidence produced for criminal courts; the disclosure of evidence to the defence; and the use of DNA in UK courts to date.

In her previous position as Reader in Law at GCU Rhonda researched jury comprehension of complex evidence, as well as the principles and procedures surrounding expert evidence. She also taught Evidence, Criminal Law and Forensic Identification, as well as being an external examiner in Law at several Scottish universities. She has been a legal consultant for the National Institute of Forensic Science in Australia and maintains links with Forensic Foundations, Australia. She has also conducted research into DNA databases for New South Wales Police and the National Institute of Forensic Science, Australia. As a lecturer in law at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law she taught foundation law subjects and expert evidence courses which dealt with crime and criminal justice.

She has also conducted research into DNA databases for New South Wales Police and the National Institute of Forensic Science, Australia. As a lecturer in law at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law she taught foundation law subjects and expert evidence courses which dealt with crime and criminal justice, and at Glasgow Caledonian University she taught Evidence, Criminal Law and Forensic Identification.

Keywords: Expert evidence, forensic science, jury, juries, witnesses

Keywords: Forensic science, science, jury, juries, witness(es), criminal law, evidence.