Elements of forensic medicine 515
Professor P L Waller
15 points * One 3-hour session per week * First semester * Clayton
The aim of the subject is to give law students a general introduction to forensic medicine, encompassing forensic pathology, clinical forensic medicine, forensic odontology, forensic science and forensic psychiatry. Areas of forensic medicine of particular relevance to the legal profession, including the organisation of and background to the preparation and production of expert statements and opinions in both criminal and civil proceedings, will be considered. Among subjects to be examined will be the classification and medico-legal interpretation of injuries, forensic examination of suspects and victims of crime, and the coroner's system. Nearly all sessions will be held in the Victorian Institute of Forensic Pathology, Kavanagh Street, Sth Melbourne. Professor Stephen Cordner, professor of forensic medicine and director of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Pathology, and a number of his colleagues, will participate in the teaching.
Assessment
Two class tests (20 minutes each): 10% each * Written research paper on approved subject (2500-3000 words): 30% * Terminal examination (2 hours plus 30 minutes for reading and noting): 50%
Prescribed texts
Phillips J H and Bowen J K Forensic science and the expert witness rev. edn, Law Book, 1989