Dr Chris Lawless

ESRC Postdoctoral Research fellow

Tel: 020 7849 4630
Fax: 020 7955 6578
Email: c.j.lawless@lse.ac.uk|

Research interests

• Use of evidence and probability theory in decision-making
• The law-science relationship
• Risk and regulation issues associated with forensic science
• Commercialization of science

Selected publications

• Lawless, C.J. (forthcoming, accepted for publication) 'Managing Epistemic Risk in Forensic Science: Sociological Aspects and Issues', Sociology Compass.
• Lawless, C.J., Shaw, I. and Mennell, C.J. (2009) 'The Current Position of Fingerprint Evidence - A Literature Review', submitted to The Fingerprint Inquiry Scotland, published online 25 November 2009.
• Lawless, C.J. (2009) 'Introducing the Problem of Risk in Forensic Science and Criminal Justice', paper presented at King's Risk Research Symposium, King's College London.

Current projects

• Commercialization and Regulation of Forensic Science
• Exploring Investigative Epistemologies

Selected news items

• Gave a paper entitled 'The Disputed Territory of Forensics: Competing Claims to the Epistemic Identity of the Law-Science Interface' at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science, in Tokyo on 25-29 August.
• Co-authored a paper entitled 'Helping with Inquiries, or Helping with Profit?: The Trials and Tribulations of a Technology of Forensic Reasoning' that will be published in the October issue of Social Studies of Science in a special issue on the theme of the commercialization of science.
• Co-authored a review on fingerprint examination, entitled 'The Current Position of Fingerprint Evidence' has been published by an inquiry - ongoing in Scotland - assessing this type of evidence in the light of recent controversial cases.
• Presented a paper entitled 'Risk, Regulation and Forensic Science: Challenges and Opportunities' at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Forensic Science Society, October 2009.