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31 January 2008 / John Cooper KC
Issue: 7306 / Categories: Features
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Book Reviews

witness testimony:PSYCHOLOGICAL, INVESTIGATIVE AND EVIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVES
Edited by Anthony Heaton-Armstrong, Eric Shepherd, Gisli Gudjonsson and David Wolchover / Oxford University Press /
RRP £49.95 / 496 pages

The role of the criminal justice system must be to find the truth. Quite what that “truth” means has and continues to be the subject of much debate. Some confuse truth with proof.  An analysis of the law of evidence only takes us as far as establishing how much can be proven, but proof does not always equate to truth. A person will be acquitted if the prosecution has failed to prove the case but it does not follow that that acquittal contains within it the truth of what happened.

This book, edited by a team of eminent people in their fields, develops a unique analysis of the way our adversarial system works and guides the reader through a series of closely argued sections designed to produce clear, cogent, accurate and reliable evidence.

Beginning with psychological perspectives, a series of writers, principally the respected Gisli Gudjonsson, deal with

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Nikki Bowker, Devonshires

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Nikki Bowker, head of litigation and dispute resolution at Devonshires, on career resilience, diversity in law and channelling Elle Woods when the pressure is on

Ellisons—Sarah Osborne

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Leasehold enfranchisement specialist joins residential property team

DWF—Chris Air

DWF—Chris Air

Firm strengthens commercial team in Manchester with partner appointment

NEWS
Contract damages are usually assessed at the date of breach—but not always. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Gascoigne, knowledge lawyer at LexisNexis, examines the growing body of cases where courts have allowed later events to reshape compensation
The Supreme Court has restored ‘doctrinal coherence’ to unfair prejudice litigation, writes Natalie Quinlivan, partner at Fieldfisher LLP, in this week' NLJ
The High Court’s refusal to recognise a prolific sperm donor as a child’s legal parent has highlighted the risks of informal conception arrangements, according to Liam Hurren, associate at Kingsley Napley, in NLJ this week
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur may have settled questions around litigation supervision, but the profession should not simply ‘move on’, argues Jennifer Coupland, CEO of CILEX, in this week's NLJ
A simple phrase like ‘subject to references’ may not protect employers as much as they think. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, analyses recent employment cases showing how conditional job offers can still create binding contracts
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