Thanks to the work of the late Professor Mike Redmayne, LSE Law has gained a reputation as a centre of excellence for the teaching and the research of criminal evidence. The law of evidence is a popular course on our LLB and is often chosen by our LLB students as the subject area for their dissertation. Our research in the field is wide-ranging, covering both theoretical and practical aspects, and including policy-oriented and socio-legal work. Recently, our research has focused on the right to a fair trial, on lay participation in the criminal process, on intermediate verdicts, on the admissibility of rap lyrics, and on testimonial injustice in evidential reasoning. We have strong ties with epistemologists working in the LSE Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. The Criminal Justice Forum regularly features internationally renowned evidence scholars.
Federico Picinali works on evidence law theory and legal epistemology, but has also written on criminal law subjects. He is the author of the monograph Justice In-Between: A Study of Intermediate Criminal Verdicts (OUP 2022). His current research focuses on epistemic injustice in the context of evidential reasoning, on the role that the fact finder’s beliefs play in the justification of the verdict, and on the right to a fair trial. He teaches evidence law and jurisprudence on the LLB.
Abenaa Owusu-Bempah works on criminal procedure, evidence, and criminal justice. She is author of the monograph, Defendant Participation in the Criminal Process (Routledge 2017) and has written extensively on the participatory role of defendants and the right to a fair trial. Abenaa has also worked on the procedure for prosecuting hate crime offences. Her current work explores and challenges the use of rap music as evidence in criminal proceedings. Abenaa teaches evidence law and criminal law on the LLB.