VIC Chapter
Chairman
The Hon. Justice John Champion
Secretary
Ms Anna Davey
Chapter Council members
Mr Louis Andrews
Prof Richard Bassed
Ms Ruth Champion
Assoc. Prof Dimitri Gerostamoulos
Ms Laura Heffes
Dr Rebecca Kogios PSM
Mr Andrew Short
Dr Jamie Walvisch
Contact the Secretary
E: aafs.vicchapter@gmail.com
Raison d’être
The Victorian Chapter of the AAFS was revitalised in the wake of the wrongful convictions of Farah Jama and Tomas Klamo. Ensuring the highest integrity of our criminal justice system is a never-ending task of review and improvement.
This work involves constant surveillance of all components of the system, not only to detect failure, but also to incorporate continual scientific, medical, technological and legal advances. It is clear that the diverse components of the criminal justice system need to communicate effectively across multiple levels to expedite the necessary review and improvement. The Victorian Chapter of the AAFS seeks to facilitate this communication.
The particular focus of the Victorian Chapter of the AAFS is the proper provision and receipt of expert evidence, specifically that relating to forensic medicine and science. Expert evidence presented as probative, whether by the prosecution or the defence, should be valid, reliable and comprehensible. The Court should be responsible for determining that these criteria have been satisfied.
Equally important, we believe, is the research and training which is necessary to ensure that forensic medical and scientific evidence is valid and reliable, and to promote the effective communication of that evidence to decision makers in the criminal justice system.