The Goudge Inquiry and the role of medical expert witnesses

Iacobucci, Frank; Hamilton, Graeme

doi:10.1503/cmaj.090833

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The Goudge Inquiry has attracted academic writing as well as being quoted in Canadian courts (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). This has included medical, legal, and sociological scholars on the results of the Goudge inquiry, as well as the function of inquiries themselves.…”

Section: Academic Writing On the Goudge Inquirymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Goudge Inquiry and Forensic Pathology in Canada

Milroy¹

2023

Academic Forensic Pathology

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Aims: This article analyses the effects of The Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, commonly known as the Goudge Inquiry, and its effects upon forensic pathology in Canada. Methods: The Goudge Inquiry was a Government of Ontario public inquiry that examined the delivery of pediatric forensic pathology services to the Ontario Coroner’s Office and the Canadian criminal justice system. The inquiry was conducted by Mr. Justice Goudge, a court of Appeal Judge and made substantial recommendations of improving forensic pathology in a Coroner system and its role in delivering evidence to the criminal justice system. This article reviews the inquiry and discusses the effect of the inquiry on the development of forensic pathology in Canada and academic literature about the inquiry. Results: The Inquiry has had important effects on the role of all expert witnesses in the courts and is the most substantial examination of forensic pathology by any judicial inquiry. Conclusions: The Goudge Inquiry has been considered a significant success, being described as transformative.

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Section: Academic Writing On the Goudge Inquirymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Goudge Inquiry and Forensic Pathology in Canada

Milroy¹

2023

Academic Forensic Pathology

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“…The quality of some paediatricians’ testimony has been criticised by legal and medical professionals and the media, including accusations of bias or misinforming decision-makers, thus contributing to miscarriages of justice. This has resulted in reputational and career damage, censure and restrictions on medical practice 12–17. This has also led to decreased public and professional confidence in paediatrician expert testimony 18 19.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has resulted in reputational and career damage, censure and restrictions on medical practice. [12][13][14][15][16][17] This has also led to decreased public and professional confidence in paediatrician expert testimony. 18 19 Furthermore, it has reduced paediatrician willingness to engage in this type of work impacting workforce recruitment and retention.…”

Section: Introduction Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts on paediatricians testifying in cases of child maltreatment: protocol for a systematic review

Horstman,

Smith,

Bassed

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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IntroductionPaediatricians perform medical assessments for children in cases of suspected child maltreatment. Due to their role with statutory child protection agencies and police, paediatricians may be asked to testify in court about child protection and criminal justice matters. To the authors’ knowledge, there has been no previous systematic review of the literature synthesising the evidence on the impacts on paediatricians testifying in cases of child maltreatment.Methods and analysisA search strategy comprising indexed and key terms will be applied to six electronic reference databases from inception to May 2023: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Criminal Justice Abstracts and Cochrane Library. Two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts and full-text articles against predefined eligibility criteria to identify studies of interest. Conflicts will be independently adjudicated by a third reviewer.Ethics and disseminationSince the systematic review methodology aims at synthesising information from available publications, this study does not require ethical approval. An article reporting the results of the systematic review will be submitted for publication in a scientific journal, presented at relevant conferences and used in subsequent stakeholder consultations.

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“…Concerns regarding the interaction between medical expert witnesses and the justice system were identified in the Goudge inquiry in Canada, which examined miscarriages of justice involving the expert testimony of Dr Charles Smith, a paediatric forensic pathologist. A recent analysis of this inquiry provides a comprehensive review of the expert witness role and provides clear guidelines 3 …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%