We are now 10 years on from Lord Woolf’s review of the civil justice system, Access to Justice. Since then, the use of expert evidence in civil trials has been significantly overhauled. Although concerns remain about delays, lack of impartiality, transparency and cost, the Woolf reforms – in particular the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) – have helped to raise standards and reduce complaints while allowing complete judicial control over the use of expert evidence.
But the name of one man casts a long shadow over the daily work of expert witnesses. Professor Sir Roy Meadow, a retired paediatrician and frequent expert witness in criminal trials, has become synonymous in the public mind with flawed judgment and miscarriages of justice: Sally Clark, Angela Cannings, Donna Anthony and Trupti Patel. These four women were all convicted of killing their children – in part because of expert evidence given by Meadow.
