Review of: Law for Forensic Scientists By WeednVW, MelsonKE Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2026. 378pp.

Existing at the intersection of law and science, forensic science has supporting foundations in two fields of knowledge with different vocabularies and philosophies, and sometimes, conflicting goals. Until the 1990s, the credentialing institutions of lawyers and scientists rarely attempted to address both fields, with the institutions confident that instruction in one field was sufficient for success. Law schools were the first to recognize the need for at least some familiarity with the scientific field and instruction in scientific evidence was added, at least as elective courses or seminars, to most schools' curriculums. Textbooks on general scientific evidence and other books addressing specific forensic science fields designed to educate lawyers on science, including newer technologies like DNA analysis and digital forensics became available. Forensic science degree-conferring institutions are now trying to fill the knowledge gap from the other direction to give their students some familiarity with legal principles and procedures they will encounter. These institutions, however, have lacked resources specifically designed to instruct scientists on the law. Law for Forensic Scientists is one of the first textbooks designed to introduce legal concepts and procedures to students. Written by a former federal prosecutor and a former medical examiner, both with extensive accomplishments in the forensic science community, the text is intended for students pursuing forensic science degrees. The textbook's 17 chapters appropriately cover civil and criminal law, but with a primary focus on criminal issues, and legal procedures from investigation through trial and appeal. Substantive emphasis is given to search and seizure issues, forensic evidence collection and preservation, and scientific evidence admissibility and weight. The text benefits from the authors' considerable teaching experience in both format and content. It is written at a college entry level, focuses on broad topics, and emphasizes fundamental issues such as due process, confrontation, and search and seizure. The explanations of relevant procedures, both in the courtroom and out, are understandable and convey the important concepts. The introductory portions of each chapter, particularly the historical background sections, while lacking citations that a practitioner or lawyer would appreciate, are entertaining enough to capture the attention of students. Instructors will appreciate that the learning objectives accurately reflect the chapter content and the ending summaries and terms sections provide a good reminder of the fundamental concepts introduced in the chapter. Subsequent editions will hopefully benefit from input from students and instructors as to the content and focus. Three chapters on the Fourth Amendment search and seizure law seem unnecessary for forensic scientists, particularly those in degree programs who are overwhelmingly destined for laboratories and will not need the same focus on these issues as law enforcement. Conversely, the two chapters on forensic evidence, especially the chapter on integrity and preservation, could benefit from more discussion of the role court evidentiary rules on authentication and admissibility play in laboratory procedures and policies. The textbook would have benefited from more rigorous editing to remove the distraction of incomplete or nonsense sentences and stray punctuation marks that undermine the overall quality of the text. The textbook's substance overcomes this diminishment, however, and the unique focus of educating forensic science students on the law makes this textbook a valuable resource for forensic-science degree conferring institutions.