Competencies of court experts in bloodstain pattern analysis.

Abstract

The court experts and the opinions prepared by them, play an important role in criminal proceedings, especially in connection with the intensive development of forensic science and forensic techniques. In such conditions, evidence obtained from expert opinions often plays the inglorious role of resolving important trial issues. It should be noted that the average judge do not have knowledge of all scientific fields. By extension, they must base their judgments on knowledge and someone else's experience. These people are called court experts. Currently, there are over 19 440 court experts in Poland listed on the lists kept by the presidents of district courts. To draw up opinions, judges also appoints ad hoc experts due to their specialized knowledge. As a result, the number of people who draw up opinions for courts increases to 20,000. Out of so many people drawing up opinions for courts, there are only six from the bloodstain pattern analysis. Moreover, only four of them were renewed by courts in 2024.