For many years, forensic pharmacologist Morris S. Zedeck kept notes
for a memoir of his experience as an expert witness in the justice
system. When he decided to turn the notes into a book, he called it
Expert Witness in the Legal System:
A Scientist’s Search for Justice.
Morris had unusual credentials for writing such a book. A Ph.D.
in pharmacology, he is married to Ellen Lieberman, a lawyer, so he
is comfortable in the legal milieu. He came to study the ways that
scientific evidence was used — and abused — in the civil
and criminal courts and emerged with a nuanced sense of what can be
done to remedy some of the injustice that is taking place all around
us. That’s what his book addressed, along with a brief history of
some forensic sciences at the end of the twentieth century.
He elected to self-publish his book so that he could finish it,
publish it and move on. His friend Bill Bernhardt, an English
professor, suggested that Morris get in touch with Ellen E. M.
Roberts at Where Books Begin for a thorough review of the book
before it was published. Ellen, a fan of CSI, adored the book
because it went into depth where the TV shows simply skimmed the
surface. She and Morris set about working to make the book
conceptually clear, consistent, continuous and charming. They gave
themselves three months for the task.
This book is unusual in its convergence of topic and author.
Morris’ background as a teacher gave him a tremendous edge in
presenting scientific information as part of his story. He had been
explaining complicated science to judges, juries, attorneys and the
media, most of whom are hopeless when it comes to science. Writing
for the lay reader came naturally to him. He had the added advantage
of being married to a smart lawyer, so he could show the legal side
of scientific evidence in a dinner conversation style that was
absorbing and interesting.
The introduction of special DNA analysis in the 1980s, the public’s
embrace of it and the unexpected consequences of its success as an
evidence tool, particularly for exonerating wrongfully convicted
persons, all make his saga especially fascinating. The role of other
scientific disciplines such as analysis of fingerprints, bullets,
documents and drugs are also discussed.
However, this introduced a problem in editing because the role of
DNA analysis as well as of other forensic sciences in the justice
system was changing weekly. It was hard to know when to stop
researching and get down to the final writing. For Ellen, who had
shepherded more than a thousand books to publication, that decision
was easy: She advised Morris to set a deadline for himself. After
that date, no changes. Each time the book was reprinted he could
update it. When the changes added up to 15% of the total text, he
could issue a Revised Edition of the original book.
To enhance the presence of Morris S. Zedeck, Expert Witness, Ellen
urged Morris to state his individual experiences and, even
idiosyncratic, assessments of the judicial system to keep the reader
engaged in his unique presentation of the facts. The personal voice
does much to make the author’s positions memorable.
Today the book is available at
RoseDog Books
and at Amazon.
