title: The past and present legal weight of bite marks as evidence.
abstract: Bite mark evidence, which is most often associated with violent crimes, is legally accepted and admissible in a court of law. However, current legal attacks are underway against the admission of such evidence. Indeed, over the last 20 years, bite mark forensics have sustained a multitude of legal challenges, some concerning the constitutional rights of the accused and others the scientific acceptance of such an approach. Bite marks are considered hard evidence and are highly persuasive to juries who weigh the evidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, University of Detroit-Mercy School of Dentistry, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Aksu
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gobetti
mesh_terms: D001734:Bites, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D005553:Forensic Dentistry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans