"How can people like Smith, Morrison and Carter fool eminent lawyers and judges year after year?
Shouldn’t it be remarkably simple to ferret out these rogue expert witnesses?
How about this for starters: Any lawyer who retains an expert witness must check the credentials of the witness. Failure to do so should be considered professional negligence.
Too difficult and time consuming? Rubbish. In many cases, one call to a governing body would suffice.
In some cases a call to the university that purported to have granted a degree would be enough to flush out a rogue or bogus expert.
What about a simple Internet search to determine if the university even exists outside the world of one’s imagination?..."
ALAN SHANOFF: THE TORONTO SUN; Allan Shanoff, who had a long run as in-house counsel to the Toronto Sun, is now writes insightful hard-hitting columns for the Sun and related publications.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Gene Morrison and Charles Smith had many things in common - but one stands out. They both managed to bamboozle people in their respective justice systems, including judges, prosecutors, police and even defence lawyers, into believing that they were genuine forensic experts. Morrison purported to be a forensic expert in the areas of handwriting, drugs, lie detection, toxicology, facial mapping and forensic dentistry, who had earned his qualifications through who a BSc in forensic psychology, an MSc in forensic investigation, and a PhD in criminology which he purchased from Rochville University, an online website offering 'life experience degrees'. Smith misrepresented himself as a qualified forensic pathologist (while staring down those who dared to disagree with him) even though he had no professional qualifications in the area, no specialized training to speak of as a forensic pathologist, and had never been trained or mentored by a genuine forensic pathologist. He would later admit to the independent Goudge inquiry into many of his cases that his knowledge of forensic pathology was "woefully inadequate," that his training was "minimal," that he was basically ''self-taught", and that he was "profoundly ignorant" of the role of expert witnesses and the way in which the criminal justice system works. (Not true. He wrote impressive articles on the role of experts, and lectured to homicide officers on issues involving the criminal justice system); In spite of his admission of being "woefully inadequate" and "self-taught," Smith's evidence from the witness box brimmed with confidence, certainty, experience, and a sense of deep knowledge of his field. One major difference: Morrison was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to prison for five years for his fraud upon the justice system; Charles Smith remains untouched. I am publishing this series of posts on Gene Morrison without editorial comment (not an easy task) so that our readers can make up their own minds about whether Smith should be prosecuted. I will publish my personal views at the end of the series.
HAROLD LEVY: PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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"We seem to be living in an era of proliferating rogue expert witnesses," the Toronto Sun column by Alan Shanoff published on August 8, 2010 under the heading, "Flushing out bogus experts not rocket science," begins.
"Dr. Charles Smith was the subject of a highly publicized 2008 public inquiry report which found he made questionable conclusions of foul play in 20 pediatric autopsies that led to the wrongful prosecutions of several parents and caregivers," the column continues.
"The inquiry found he “actively misled” his superiors, made “false and misleading statements in court” and exaggerated his own expertise.
Smith never trained as a forensic pathologist, nor was he ever certified as such, yet he testified as an expert in that field on dozens of occasions in criminal trials, leaving an epidemic of miscarriages of justice in his wake.
We may never know how many innocent people were wrongly convicted of murder or manslaughter due to Smith’s testimony.
Gregory Carter, of Whitby, Ont., held himself out as a doctor of psychology in numerous family court hearings.
He referred to himself as a doctor even though his registration with the College of Psychologists, as a psychological associate, didn’t allow the designation. His PhD came from a university recognized as a diploma mill.
His so-called expert evidence was relied on by judges in making custody rulings.
He is facing fraud and perjury charges.
Carter pleaded guilty to professional misconduct two months ago for referring to himself as a doctor and providing diagnosis without supervision. He was suspended for three months by the College.
English authorities are still grappling with the Gene Morrison debacle.
Morrison posed as a forensic scientist for more than 20 years, providing expert opinions in about 700 cases.
Morrison had no education or training in his purported areas of expertise.
Bogus degrees
His professed BSc in forensic psychology, an MSc in forensic investigation, and a PhD in criminology were bogus, downloaded from a website upon payment of a fee.
Morrison was nothing more than a con artist who referred to himself as Dr. Gene A. Morrison, director of the Criminal and Forensics investigations Bureau.
Morrison received a five-year sentence for fraud in 2007.
Aubrey Levin, an Alberta psychiatrist, currently faces 21 sex assault charges involving patients.
Levin is alleged to have assaulted the patients during court-ordered psychiatric and counselling sessions.
While there’s no suggestion he wasn’t qualified to provide expert evidence, his testimony in 38 criminal cases is under review for obvious reasons.
How can people like Smith, Morrison and Carter fool eminent lawyers and judges year after year?
Shouldn’t it be remarkably simple to ferret out these rogue expert witnesses?
How about this for starters: Any lawyer who retains an expert witness must check the credentials of the witness. Failure to do so should be considered professional negligence.
Too difficult and time consuming? Rubbish. In many cases, one call to a governing body would suffice.
In some cases a call to the university that purported to have granted a degree would be enough to flush out a rogue or bogus expert.
What about a simple Internet search to determine if the university even exists outside the world of one’s imagination?
Governing bodies can also assist by making their records available via the Internet.
There’s no reason why professional bodies like the College of Physicians and Surgeons and College of Psychologists can’t provide a member’s list showing each member’s year of accreditation, specialty and a history of disciplinary complaints and their outcome.
Expert testimony often forms the basis of court rulings. That’s why we need experts to testify and provide opinions on a diverse range of topics in virtually every field of law.
Our legal system could not function without expert witnesses.
But that need for expert witnesses opens up an opportunity for rogues and that opens the door to potential miscarriages of justice.
Shame on all the lawyers and judges who have been fooled by rogue experts."-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/alan_shanoff/2010/08/06/14947196.html
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
