I am interested in the use of expert evidence in the courtroom, including:
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Forensic science, particularly forensic DNA tests
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Statistical testimony
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Social science evidence of all types
I study and write about the strengths and limitations of various types of evidence and about the ability of lay juries to evaluate evidence. My work is multidisciplinary, it involves law, psychology, various areas of biology (particularly genetics and molecular biology), and statistics.
Web Links of Research Sites
Selected Publications
Thompson, W.C. (2009). Painting the target around the matching profile: The Texas sharpshooter fallacy in forensic DNA interpretation. Law, Probability and Risk (forthcoming). Thompson W.C., (2009). Interpretation: Observer Effects, in Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science, Jamieson, A., Moenssens, A. (eds). John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, UK, pp 1575-1579. Thompson, W.C. (2008). Beyond bad apples: Analyzing the role of forensic science in wrongful convictions. Southwestern Law Review, 37(4), 1027-1050. Thompson, W.C. & Dioso-Villa, R. (2008). Turning a blind eye to misleading scientific testimony: Failure of procedural safeguards in a capital case. Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology, 18, 151-204. Kaasa, S.O., Peterson, T., Morris, E.K., & Thompson, W.C. (2007). Statistical inference and forensic evidence: Evaluating a bullet lead match. Law & Human Behavior, 31(5), 433-44. Thompson, W.C. (2005) Analyzing the relevance and admissibility of bullet-lead evidence: Did the NRC report miss the target? Jurimetrics, 46, 65-89. Quas, J.A., Thompson, W.C., & Clarke-Stewart, C.K.A. (2005) Do jurors "know" what isn't so about child witnesses? Law and Human Behavior, 29, 425 : 456. Thompson, W.C., Taroni, F. & Aitken, C.G.G. (2003). How the probability of a false positive affects the value of DNA evidence. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 48(1), 47-54. Risinger, D.M., Saks, M.J., Thompson, W.C. & Rosenthal, R. (2002). The Daubert/Kumho implications of observer effects in forensic science: Hidden problems of expectation and suggestion. California Law Review, 90(1), 1-56. Thompson, W.C. & Pathak, M.K. (1999). Empirical Study of Hearsay Rules: Bridging the Gap Between Psychology and Law. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 5(2), 456-472 (1999). Thompson, W.C., Clarke-Stewart, K.A., & Lepore, S.J. (1997). What did the janitor do? Suggestive interviewing and the accuracy of children's accounts, Law & Human Behavior, 21(4), 405-426. Thompson, W.C. A Sociological Perspective on the Science of Forensic DNA Testing. U.C. Davis Law Review , 30(4) 1113-1136 (1997). Thompson, W.C. DNA Evidence in the O.J. Simpson Trial, Colorado Law Review , 67 (4), 827-857 (1996). Thompson, W.C. Subjective interpretation, laboratory error and the value of DNA evidence: Three case studies, Genetica , 96: 153-168 (1995). Thompson, W.C. Evaluating the admissibility of new genetic identification tests: Lessons from the "DNA War". Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 84, 22-104 (1993). Thompson, W.C. & Ford, S. DNA typing: Acceptance and weight of the new genetic identification tests. Virginia Law Review, 1989, 75, 45-108. Thompson, W.C. Death qualification after Wainwright v. Witt and Lockhart v. McCree. Law and Human Behavior , 1989, 13, 185-215. Thompson, W.C. & Schumann, E.L. Interpretation of statistical evidence in criminal trials: The prosecutor's fallacy and the defense attorney's fallacy. Law and Human Behavior , 1987, 11, 167-187.