Full metadata
Title
Forensic bitemark identification: weak foundations, exaggerated claims
Description
Several forensic sciences, especially of the pattern-matching kind, are increasingly seen to lack the scientific foundation needed to justify continuing admission as trial evidence. Indeed, several have been abolished in the recent past. A likely next candidate for elimination is bitemark identification. A number of DNA exonerations have occurred in recent years for individuals convicted based on erroneous bitemark identifications. Intense scientific and legal scrutiny has resulted. An important National Academies review found little scientific support for the field. The Texas Forensic Science Commission recently recommended a moratorium on the admission of bitemark expert testimony. The California Supreme Court has a case before it that could start a national dismantling of forensic odontology. This article describes the (legal) basis for the rise of bitemark identification and the (scientific) basis for its impending fall. The article explains the general logic of forensic identification, the claims of bitemark identification, and reviews relevant empirical research on bitemark identification—highlighting both the lack of research and the lack of support provided by what research does exist. The rise and possible fall of bitemark identification evidence has broader implications—highlighting the weak scientific culture of forensic science and the law's difficulty in evaluating and responding to unreliable and unscientific evidence.
Date Created
2016-11-23
Contributors
- Saks, Michael (Author)
- Albright, Thomas (Author)
- Bohan, Thomas L. (Author)
- Bierer, Barbara E. (Author)
- Bowers, C. Michael (Author)
- Bush, Mary A. (Author)
- Bush, Peter J. (Author)
- Casadevall, Arturo (Author)
- Cole, Simon A. (Author)
- Denton, M. Bonner (Author)
- Seidman Diamond, Shari (Author)
- Dioso-Villa, Rachel (Author)
- Epstein, Jules (Author)
- Faigman, David (Author)
- Faigman, Lisa (Author)
- Fienberg, Stephen E. (Author)
- Garrett, Brandon L. (Author)
- Giannelli, Paul C. (Author)
- Greely, Henry T. (Author)
- Imwinkelried, Edward (Author)
- Jamieson, Allan (Author)
- Kafadar, Karen (Author)
- Kassirer, Jerome P. (Author)
- Koehler, Jonathan 'Jay' (Author)
- Korn, David (Author)
- Mnookin, Jennifer (Author)
- Morrison, Alan B. (Author)
- Murphy, Erin (Author)
- Peerwani, Nizam (Author)
- Peterson, Joseph L. (Author)
- Risinger, D. Michael (Author)
- Sensabaugh, George F. (Author)
- Spiegelman, Clifford (Author)
- Stern, Hal (Author)
- Thompson, William C. (Author)
- Wayman, James L. (Author)
- Zabell, Sandy (Author)
- Zumwalt, Ross E. (Author)
- Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor)
Resource Type
Extent
38 pages
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Identifier
Digital object identifier: 10.1093/jlb/lsw045
Identifier Type
International standard serial number
Identifier Value
2053-9711
Series
JOURNAL OF LAW AND THE BIOSCIENCES
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.45395
Preferred Citation
Saks, M. J., Albright, T., Bohan, T. L., Bierer, B. E., Bowers, C. M., Bush, M. A., . . . Zumwalt, R. E. (2016). Forensic bitemark identification: weak foundations, exaggerated claims. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 3(3), 538-575. doi:10.1093/jlb/lsw045
Level of coding
minimal
Cataloging Standards
Note
The final version of this article, as published in Journal of Law and the Biosciences, can be viewed online at: https://academic.oup.com/jlb/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/jlb/lsw045
System Created
- 2017-09-12 05:17:07
System Modified
- 2021-08-16 02:23:30
- 3 years 2 months ago
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