Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World

  • Author: Michael J. Saks

Why is forensic bitemark identification likely to be abolished as a form of trial evidence?

The public holds exaggerated views of the quality of the scientific foundations of a surprising number of forensics sciences, as well as of the courts’ scrutiny of that evidence. The most significant of the weaknesses were made plain in a report by the (U.S.) National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which concluded: “The bottom line is simple: In a number of forensic science disciplines, forensic science professionals have yet to establish either the validity of their approach or the accuracy of their conclusions.”

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