This entails the court procedure and conduct especially in Uganda as compared with the British system The doctor and court relationship

1. • Forensic medicine: It is the application of principle
and knowledge of medical sciences to legal
purposes and legal proceedings so as to aid in the
administration of justice.
• Medical jurisprudence: It is the application of
knowledge of law in relation to practice of
medicine. It includes:
i. Doctor-patient relationship
ii. Doctor-doctor relationship
iii. Doctor-State relationship.

2. • Medical etiquette: These are the conventional laws and
customs of courtesy which are followed between
members of same profession.
– A doctor should behave with his colleagues, as he would like
to have them behave with him, e.g. he should not charge
another doctor or members of his family for professional
service.
• Medical ethics: It is concerned with moral principles for
the members of the medical profession in their dealings
with each other, their patients and the State.
– It is a self-imposed code of conduct assumed voluntarily by
medical professionals.

3. INQUEST
• An inquest is a legal inquiry into the
circumstances and cause of death in cases of
sudden suspicious or unnatural deaths
• Types of inquest
– Police inquest
– Magistrate inquest
– Coroners inquest
– Medical examiner system

4. Court hierarchy in Uganda
• Supreme court
• Court of Appeal
• High court
• Magistrates court
• Judge : My Lord/Your Lordship, Your Honour
• Magistrate: Your Worship

5. • Summons: Is a document commanding the
attendance of a witness in a court of law
– Must be obeyed unless there are valid and urgent
reasons
• A witness who wilfully avoids to appear before
a court after having been duly served a
summons is guilty of contempt of court

6. Procedure
• Oath
• Examination in chief
• Cross examination
• Re-examination
• Court questions

7. Medical evidence
• Medical certificates: sickness, insanity, death etc
• Medicolegal reports: injury, sexual offence, death
etc
• Dying declaration: statement written or oral made
by the person who is on the verge of dying as a
result of un-natural causes
– Relate to cause of imminent death
– Dying person speaks only the truth
– Gestures can be deciphered
– Not in presence of investigating officer
– If recoded in writing must be signed by declarant

8. Conduct of a doctor in court
• Well prepared
• Relevant documemts
• Do not memorise
• Well dressed and modest
• Speak audibly and clearly
• Simple language
• Do not exaggerate; avoid superlatives
• Address court officers responsibly

9. • Do not evade questions
• Admit if not sure
• Do not lose your temper
• Do not argue
• Express opinion on basis of knowledge
• Be honest
• Be impartial

10. • Always tell the truth.
• Say “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember” when uncertain
about something. It is better to admit to not knowing
something than to guess and potentially provide false
information
• Make it clear when questions or issues fall outside of your area
of expertise—admit to the limits of your knowledge.
• Be a neutral witness.
• Provide an objective, unbiased opinion.
• Speak in a clear, loud voice.
• Be alert, objective, and unemotional.
• Maintain dignity, credibility, and self-control.

11. • Acknowledge the attorney when he is asking a
question, then turn your attention to the jury and
direct your answer to the jury.
• Pause briefly when answering questions posed during
cross examination to allow the opposing attorney to
make any objections.
– If you have begun to answer a question when an objection
is raised, do not complete an answer until instructed to do
so by the judge, because if the objection is sustained, the
question should not be answered.
• Answer only the question being asked.

12. Don’t
• Be cocky, self-assured, or dogmatic.
• Be adversarial.
• Confuse the jury.
• Fiddle, shift your weight or repeatedly/repetitively change
your body position; these unconscious behaviors can give
the appearance that an expert witness is uncomfortable.
• Look at the attorney who called you to testify when
answering questions posed during cross examination— this
may give the appearance that you are being coached by the
opposing attorney.
• Allow yourself to be “pinned down” to a narrow window of
possibility when you are not comfortable with it; examples
include narrowing a likely survival time from “a few hours
or so” to “between 60 and 90 minutes.”

13. • Discuss the case until the trial is over or observe
any other aspects of the trial
• Answer beyond the scope of a question.
• Allow yourself to be forced to answer “yes” or
“no” to a confusing question.
– If you must, ask the judge if you may explain your
answer.
• Allow your answer to a question to be interrupted
before you can finish in instances when an
inadequately or partially answered question may
give an inaccurate interpretation that you did not
intend.