The National Academy of Sciences reported that bias is a severe problem in forensic sciences. Cognitive biases were described as, “common features of decision making, and they cannot be willed away.” Is recognizing bias, alone, sufficient to address cognitive, motivational and other biases? What can a forensic expert do to avoid the bias trap? How can attorneys spot and deal with a forensic expert’s bias?
In this course, forensic document examiner Mike Wakshull asks the tough question: will bias cost you your next case? Mike mainly discusses the different types of bias, attorney & judge biases, bias in forensic sciences & expert witnesses, how bias leads to errors during trial and potential solutions for attorneys to overcome bias. Additional issues discussed include actual bias, advocate’s bias, implied bias, judicial bias, implicit bias, motivational bias, contextual bias, anchoring, confirmation bias, juries & heuristics, telling stories, familiarity, context, human error, expert methodology and how recognizing bias gives you a strategic advantage. After this course you will be able to recognize & reduce your biases, know how to counter the opposition’s biases, determine whether your forensic examiner’s report is biased, recognize the effects of bias on forensic examiners’ opinions and learn how biases impacts juries.
A court-qualified forensic document examiner, Michael N. Wakshull has been involved in the Forensic Document Examination arena since 2010 and belongs to a number of Document Examination Associations. A licensed attorney in California, Jason Castillo actively participated in this course.