2024 Carl Smith Medal lecture

This year's Carl Smith Research Medalist and Rowheath Trust Award recipient, Associate Professor Anna High from the Faculty of Law, will deliver a lecture titled "Proving a Point: Evidence in Law and Academia."

She will discuss questions of proof arising across a variety of research topics, from socio-legal fieldwork in China to sexual violence and evidentiary law reform in Aotearoa.

Evidence is what warrants a belief that something is true. In law, judges must assess the probative value of evidence before it can be relied upon as proof in a trial. In academia, various metrics are commonly used as evidence of success. In both contexts, ‘common sense’ assumptions about proof can be questioned.

The Rowheath Trust Award and Carl Smith Medal is one of the University's most prestigious honours, awarded annually to an early career staff member for exceptional research performance.

Host or Publisher University of Otago