Tony Ward

The Forensic Ethics of Scientific Communication

Journal of Criminal Law, 2022

An important part of the work of forensic scientists is communicating accurate information to lay... more An important part of the work of forensic scientists is communicating accurate information to lay factfinders under conditions of uncertainty. It is an ethically demanding role as it obliges scientists to disclose information that may call their own authority into question. Similar issues arise in other areas of applied science, for example climate science. This article builds the ethical framework for scientific communication under uncertainty proposed by Keohane, Lane and Oppenheimer and argues that with some modifications their work provides useful guidance for forensic scientists. It also questions whether the current system of Streamlined Forensic Reporting is compatible with that framework.

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Non-Conviction Based Asset Recovery in Nigeria

Within Nigeria, anti-money laundering and asset recovery powers lie primarily with agencies estab... more Within Nigeria, anti-money laundering and asset recovery powers lie primarily with agencies established under the Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Act 2000, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004 and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006. International efforts to recover assets associated with serious and organised crime emanating from Nigeria frequently focus on the proceeds of corruption. Despite the powers of Nigerian authorities and extensive international efforts, relatively few cases of grand corruption are prosecuted successfully, and the value of the assets recovered from financially-motivated criminals are very low in comparison to the value of the proceeds they are said to generate. Kleptocrats and other Politically Exposed Persons have been able to exploit legal loopholes in the criminal courts to avoid or delay conviction, enabling them to conceal massive amounts of stolen wealth in offshore financial centres around the world. The aim of this contribution is to focus on non-conviction based asset recovery and its availability to the Nigerian authorities in their efforts to combat financial crime. Despite extensive debate over the existence of non-conviction based asset recovery-related legislation, we demonstrate such provisions are available, however, we also show that there are many barriers to their effective implementation which may obscure their usefulness.

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State Crime and Civil Activism: On the Dialectics of Repression and Resistance

Routledge, 2019

State Crime and Civil Activism explores the work of non-government organisations (NGOs) challeng... more State Crime and Civil Activism explores the work of non-government organisations (NGOs) challenging state violence and corruption in six countries – Colombia, Tunisia, Kenya, Turkey, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea. It discusses the motives and methods of activists, and how they document and criticise wrongdoing by governments.
Drawing on over 350 interviews with activists, this book discusses their motives; the tactics they use to withstand and challenge repression; and the legal and other norms they draw upon to challenge the state, including various forms of law and religious teaching. It analyses the relation between political activism and charitable work, and the often ambivalent views of civil society organisations towards violence. It highlights struggles over land as one of the key areas of state and corporate crime and civil resistance.
Building on the theoretical foundations laid in their previous book State Crime: Governments, Violence and Corruption (Pluto 2004), the book explores the vital part that civil society plays in defining, documenting and denouncing state crime, and documents the dialectical process by which repression stimulates and shapes the forces of resistance against it.

Torture: Moral Absolutes and Ambiguities

Not so long ago, the only respectable question for philosophical, legal and political scholars to... more Not so long ago, the only respectable question for philosophical, legal and political scholars to ask about torture was how to ensure its effective legal prohibition. Recently, however, some leading lawyers and legal theorists have challenged those who are absolutely opposed to torture, arguing that in some circumstances torture may be morally permissible or even required. This has provoked a range of responses, from outraged dismissal to cautious concessions that the law has to adjust to new realities. This volume contains contributions by some of the leading contributors to these debates. Distinctively, however, it supplements these direct contributions to debate about the morality of torture – and the morality of discussing torture – with essays which provide important legal, sociological, historical analyses of this appalling human practice and of attempts to control it. With an international and interdisciplinary authorship, “Torture: Moral Absolutes and Ambiguities” will be essential reading for legal and political theorists, philosophers, sociologists, historians and indeed anybody interested in serious and informed thinking about this most disturbing phenomenon.

Law and Crime

This book is an introductory account of the institution of criminal law, written for students and... more This book is an introductory account of the institution of criminal law, written for students and scholars of criminology and related social sciences. It is not a book on ‘law for criminologists’ but rather seeks to provide an interdisciplinary analysis of key elements of the institution of criminal law. The disciplines we draw upon include not only criminology and law, but also history, philosophy, politics and sociology. We explore the creation, development and key features of criminal law, along with some of the ideas, values and projects that have shaped the institution and our expectations of it.
Our account of criminal law is a critical one. We do not start out by making the assumption that criminal law is a necessary social institution – necessary to restrain the tendency which many people have to behave in ways that are seriously wrongful and harmful. Nor do we assume that the criminal law of today is a distinct improvement over what went before. Rather, we want to provide a fair hearing to the viewpoint that criminal law is a deeply flawed institution – e.g. one which causes more harm than it prevents or which unjustifiably violates the liberties of people in order to provide spurious benefits to society. On the other hand, we will seek to avoid the opposite error of taking it for granted that criminal law is a ‘failing’ social institution. Despite its deficiencies, we acknowledge the crucial role played by criminal law in articulating and defending important social values.

The Forensic Ethics of Scientific Communication

The Journal of Criminal Law

An important part of the work of forensic scientists is communicating accurate information to lay... more An important part of the work of forensic scientists is communicating accurate information to lay factfinders under conditions of uncertainty. It is an ethically demanding role as it obliges scientists to disclose information that may call their own authority into question. Similar issues arise in other areas of applied science, for example climate science. This article builds the ethical framework for scientific communication under uncertainty proposed by Keohane, Lane and Oppenheimer and argues that with some modifications their work provides useful guidance for forensic scientists. It also questions whether the current system of Streamlined Forensic Reporting is compatible with that framework.

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The Forensic Ethics of Scientific Communication

Journal of Criminal Law, 2022

An important part of the work of forensic scientists is communicating accurate information to lay... more An important part of the work of forensic scientists is communicating accurate information to lay factfinders under conditions of uncertainty. It is an ethically demanding role as it obliges scientists to disclose information that may call their own authority into question. Similar issues arise in other areas of applied science, for example climate science. This article builds the ethical framework for scientific communication under uncertainty proposed by Keohane, Lane and Oppenheimer and argues that with some modifications their work provides useful guidance for forensic scientists. It also questions whether the current system of Streamlined Forensic Reporting is compatible with that framework.

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Emergent authority and expert knowledge: Psychiatry and criminal responsibility in the UK

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2014

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Expert Testimony Issues in the UK

Security Journal, 2004

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The Long-Term Detention of Those Found Unfit to Plead and Legally Insane

The British Journal of Criminology, 1994

Abstract Very little is known about patients who have been the subject of long-term detention as ... more Abstract Very little is known about patients who have been the subject of long-term detention as a result of a finding ofunfitness to plead or legal insanity. In order to discover more about such patients permission was sought to examine Home Office files on all those who had been detained for 15 years of more up to December 1988. Permission was also obtained to interview a number of these patients who were held in three of the high security Special Hospitals. Two issues highlighted by the research were the use of &amp;#x27;common sense&amp;#x27;criteria ...

Expert Testimony, Law and Epistemic Authority

Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2016

This article discusses the concept of epistemic authority in the context of English law relating ... more This article discusses the concept of epistemic authority in the context of English law relating to expert testimony. It distinguishes between two conceptions of epistemic authority (and epistemic deference), one strong and one weak, and argues that only the weak conception is appropriate in a legal context, or in any other setting where reliance on experts can be publicly justified. It critically examines Linda Zagzebski's defence of a stronger conception of epistemic authority and questions whether epistemic authority is as closely analogous to practical authority as she maintains. Zagzebski elucidates a kind of deference that courts generally, and rightly, try to avoid. Her concept of 'first person reasons', however, does capture an important aspect of the deliberations of conscientious legal actors.

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Insanity in summary trials

The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 1997

Page 1. Insanity in summary trials TONY WARD ... Exparte K, they held, applied only where the off... more

12. Elias, organised violence and terrorism

Globalisation, citizenship and the war on terror, 2007

What contribution can criminology make to the explanation of terrorism? The growth of terrorism a... more What contribution can criminology make to the explanation of terrorism? The growth of terrorism and the global war on it are two of the most signiﬁcant social changes of late modern society. Terrorism is a type of violent crime and the war on it marks a distinct type of global control response. The subject matter of criminology is the study of crime and its control, so a criminological explanation of both ought to be possible; it ought to come from its core.

Liars, Damned Liars and Expert Witnesses: Video Identification and the Law of Expert Evidence

Security Journal, 1999

This article discusses the principles governing the use of expert evidence in English criminal tr... more This article discusses the principles governing the use of expert evidence in English criminal trials, with particular reference to evidence on the interpretation of video recordings and photographs. Drawing in part on debates in the USA, it argues that English law is inconsistent in its response to the question of how far juries need to be protected from being unduly influenced by experts.

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State Crime and Civil Activism

State Crime and Civil Activism explores the work of non-government organisations (NGOs) challengi... more State Crime and Civil Activism explores the work of non-government organisations (NGOs) challenging state violence and corruption in six countries – Colombia, Tunisia, Kenya, Turkey, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea. It discusses the motives and methods of activists, and how they document and criticise wrongdoing by governments. Drawing on over 350 interviews with activists, this book discusses their motives; the tactics they use to withstand and challenge repression; and the legal and other norms they draw upon to challenge the state, including various forms of law and religious teaching. It analyses the relation between political activism and charitable work, and the often ambivalent views of civil society organisations towards violence. It highlights struggles over land as one of the key areas of state and corporate crime and civil resistance. Building on the theoretical foundations laid in their previous book State Crime: Governments, Violence and Corruption (Pluto 2004), the book explores the vital part that civil society plays in defining, documenting and denouncing state crime, and documents the dialectical process by which repression stimulates and shapes the forces of resistance against it.

Law and crime

Family Studies, 2008

Human Trafficking, Victims’ Rights and Fair Trials

The Journal of Criminal Law, 2018

Cases of human trafficking are known to be difficult to prosecute. In this article we identify se... more Cases of human trafficking are known to be difficult to prosecute. In this article we identify several issues in the law of evidence that may contribute to these difficulties. We argue for the victims' rights as an important factor in evidential decisions, coupled with an insistence that such rights cannot trump the defendant's right to a fair trial. Restrictions on evidence of a witness's bad character or sexual history should not be interpreted in such a way as to prevent the defence from introducing evidence, or asking questions, that are of substantial probative value, even if they are potentially distressing to witnesses; but such evidence and questioning should be limited to what is necessary for a fair trial. The protection of victims and witnesses may also justify a relatively flexible approach to the admission of hearsay evidence, which avoids prejudging the truth of a witness's evidence in order to establish that s/he is in fear.

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Explaining and trusting expert evidence: What is a ‘sufficiently reliable scientific basis’?

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof, 2020

Through a series of judicial decisions and Practice Directions, the English courts have developed... more Through a series of judicial decisions and Practice Directions, the English courts have developed a rule that expert evidence must have ‘a sufficiently reliable scientific basis to be admitted’. There is a dearth of case-law as to what degree of reliability is ‘sufficient’. This article argues that the test should be interpreted as analogous to one developed in the law of hearsay: expert evidence (scientific or otherwise) must be ‘potentially safely reliable’ in the context of the evidence as a whole. The implications of this test will vary according to the relationship between the expert evidence and the other evidence in the case. The article identifies three main patterns into which this relationship falls. Whether the jury relies upon the evidence will depend upon what they regard as the best explanation of the evidence and how far they trust the expert. Whether their reliance is safe (as a basis for conviction) depends on whether they could rationally rule out explanations cons...

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Prison Doctors and Prison Suicide Research

The Health of Prisoners, 1995

Le role et la responsabilite du corps medical dans l'augmentation du nombre de suicides en pr... more

Arguments and Stories in Legal Reasoning: The Case of Evidence Law

Archiv fuer Rechts- und Sozialphilosphie, 2020

We argue that legal argumentation, as the subject matter as well as a special subfield of Argumen... more We argue that legal argumentation, as the subject matter as well as a special subfield of Argumentation Studies (AS), has to be examined by making skilled use of the full panoply of tools such as argumentation and story schemes which are at the forefront of current work in AS. In reviewing the literature, we make explicit our own methodological choices (particularly regarding the place of normative deliberation in practical reasoning) and then illustrate the implications of such an approach through the analysis of a case study in the English law of evidence. We argue that a clear distinction must be drawn between practical argumentation and stories. Because of the institutional separation between legal judgment and fact-finding in common-law jury trials, we argue for the combination of argument and story-based analysis.

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