If you are taking the unit 3 controlled assessment, these are the exact model answers I used which got me an A grade. These are well developed answers, without links to the brief (as that is relevant to your exam).
With reference to the brief and other examples you have studied, examine sources
of information for validity (15)
EVIDENCE
Evidence is presented to the court in a criminal trial by both the prosecution
and the defence. The evidence is examined and observed by the jury/judge,
and they determine the validity of that evidence, so they can reach a fair and
just verdict. The evidence must be credible, reliable, and admissible. The
evidence presented can be physical (weapons, fingerprints etc), testimonial
(eye-witness testimony) or expert witnesses (doctors, psychiatrists). (Refer to
the brief if there is a link).
An expert witness is somebody who provides evidence in court that will help
the jury in their decisions. Expert witnesses are generally regarded as having
good validity as they should be objective and draw on evidence of years of
experience. However, this isn't guaranteed as expert witnesses can also
make mistakes such as in the case of Sally Clark. Sally Clark was sentenced
to life in prison in 1999 as she was found guilty of the murders of her two
infant sons. Her first child had fallen unconscious after being put to bed, and
her second son had been discovered dead. Clark was home alone with the
baby, and there was evidence of trauma. The eldest child, Christopher, was
born in September 1996 and died 11 weeks later. Sir Roy Meadows provided
expert evidence concerning the likelihood and causes of sudden infant death
syndrome in the cases of Sally Clark and Angela Cannings. Cannings was
, found guilty of the murders of her two sons in 1991 and 1999. Gemma, her
first child, died of SIDS in 1989. Her conviction was based on allegations that
she suffocated the children. Both women were convicted of the murder of
their children and later released. The trial evidence came from a world expert
on SIDS (cot deaths). Sally Clark and Angela Cannings were convicted
almost solely based on Meadow's testimony. Therefore, the currency of his
evidence was tremendous as the jury believed him. His testimony was given a
great deal of validity in court by non-expert jurors. Because different
professionals had different opinions on cot death, the outcome of the trial
depended on who you had as an expert witness in court. The outcome of the
case was dependent on interpretation and understanding. Therefore, the
circumstances of the case could be subject to invalidity. The accuracy of
the evidence used was poor as it relied heavily on statistics that proved to be
unreliable because they did not consider hereditary disposition. This means
that the statistics used were not valid. Additionally, the evidence based on
suspicion was heavily bias. If a woman had a child that died from cot death it
was always seen as a tragic accident, however, the thinking at the time was
that if 2 children from the same mother died from cot death it should be
treated with suspicion. This appeared to be true only because there was a
bias attached to it, meaning that the evidence lacked validity. Furthermore,
based on the statistics presented to the court, the first death was treated as
SIDs, but the second death changed the expert’s opinion; This opinion was
therefore not valid.
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