The paper examines key problems and encouraging trends in the evolution of forensic psychology, in terms of elaboration of expert criteria for the forensic psychological evaluation of legally relevant characteristics of examinees. The need for continued practice-based scientific inquiry in this area of forensic science is emphasized.

The paper looks at the circumstances that shape forensic situations, the resolution of which requires the court to appoint a forensic expert or specialist possessing special knowledge in construction and construction engineering. It proposes a system for typification of forensic situations that serves to identify their key characteristics, which, according to the author, would in turn facilitate further development of the theory of construction forensics and its adaptation to practical settings.

The paper addresses key innovations brought forward by the draft federal law “On forensic science services in the Russian Federation”, e.g. validation of methodological documentation on forensic operations, certification of the competence of forensic examiners, certification of methodological support for forensic operations, standardization of forensic practices, as well as the record of the practical application of these innovations in the operations of the RFCFS of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

Interrogation of the expert is very significant difficulty for the subjects of interrogation, as the plaintiff, the defendant and the court are not well versed in the area of knowledge possessed by the expert. It is not always tactically ready and competent experts for the implementation of this procedural action. However, it is an expert- Interrogation helps to assess the probative value of its conclusion. This article presents some tactical recommendations Interrogation of experts and specialists in civil and arbitration processes, knowledge and observance of which will be useful both to the court and the representatives of the parties and experts.

The paper discusses the issue of criminal psychological influence, and highlights the importance of the problem in the context of forensic practice. Several possible strategies for tackling this problem are proposed, based on the synthesis of categories from general psychology and law. To illustrate the approach, the author analyzes an case of criminal psychological influence.

Questions ratio of subjective and objective in the criminal proceedings are essential to ensure a fair trial. To increase the objectivity of the conclusions of forensic experts need to strictly observe the presumption of innocence, to develop guidelines for certain types of expertise, production of which is not carried out in the state forensic institutions to adopt national standard governing the manufacture of the forensic examination.

A methodology for roundwood examination is proposed, with an example from forensic casework illustrating how it can be used in a criminal case.

The notions of «indicator» and «property» are examined in application to forensic linguistic analysis, drawing from the fundamental understanding of these categories in criminalistics and forensic science theory. The paper offers a systematic interpretation and classification of various indicators in products of speech as objects of forensic linguistic analysis.

The article describes the method of MP3, WMA, OGG and Vorbis codecs traces detection in audio signal. The method reveals digital audio editing, sampling rate changing and traces of multiple coding.

The author presents recommendations on how to order a forensic environmental investigation and prepare relevant case materials, as a way of improving the efficiency of forensic operations.

A summary of the methodology covers the theoretical underpinnings of forensic linguistic analysis in cases involving criminal insult, as well as methods of achieving forensic objectives. A full-text print version of the methodology is planned for release later this year.

The author analyzes traces from the scene of a traffic accident using photos obtained from case materials, and transfers them to a dimensional drawing of the damaged vehicle with subsequent characterization of their shape, size and location with the help of graphics editors.

The method of measuring the temperature of smoldering tobacco by thermocouples and its values are given for some cigarette brands defined by this method.

The methods of investigation which an expert linguist has been no real indication of the mode of its actions, and the inventory of possible means of expression values and aspects of their analysis are described. The article provides an overview of methods, experts in the conclusions in the text of the opinion. These types of analysis are divided into formal and proper semantic and discussed in terms of the correctness of description, verifiability and applicability of the linguistic expertise in determining the meaning of what was said. A definition of the general method of linguistic expertise semantic type, based on the provisions of the theory of the forensic expert methods. The article also addresses the issue of the composition used in the linguistic expertise of scientific methods (observation, description, experiment, measurement and modeling).

The author reviews court rulings related to cheque counterfeiting. It is revealed that recognition of cheques as securities is a controversial and arguable issue. Particularly, the author presents the rationale for considering cheques as cash payment documents rather than securities.

Information about recently defended PhD dissertations on topics relevant to the field of forensic science and criminalistics.