Expert Evidence and the Ultimate Issue Rule

Author

Siyuan CHEN, Singapore Management UniversityFollow

Publication Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

Typically, witnesses can only testify as to what they directly perceived, and cannot express their inferences. Exceptions exist somewhat for experts, but sometimes they render opinions that go to the very issues only the court can adjudicate upon, which the ultimate issue rule theoretically forbids. In Hoklai, the Court of Appeal [CA] acquitted an accused because it was highly sceptical of certain expert evidence. In so doing, the CA alluded to the seldom-discussed ultimate issue rule, which this piece addresses.

Discipline

Courts | Evidence

Publisher

Bepress Selected Works

Citation

CHEN, Siyuan. Expert Evidence and the Ultimate Issue Rule. (2011).
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research_smu/21

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.