On 24 October 2022, a workshop involving many eminent participants was convened by the Research Hub for Language in Forensic Evidence and Deakin Law School, in collaboration with Melbourne Law School’s Criminal Research Forum. The workshop considered problems identified by linguistic science regarding the use of transcripts by police ‘ad hoc experts’ to assist jurors in understanding indistinct forensic audio admitted as evidence in criminal trials.

The outcomes of the workshop have been summarised in the attached memorandum.

The videos and readings utilised at the workshop can be accessed here: https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/language-forensics/legal/.