title: The coming paradigm shift in forensic identification science.
abstract: Converging legal and scientific forces are pushing the traditional forensic identification sciences toward fundamental change. The assumption of discernible uniqueness that resides at the core of these fields is weakened by evidence of errors in proficiency testing and in actual cases. Changes in the law pertaining to the admissibility of expert evidence in court, together with the emergence of DNA typing as a model for a scientifically defensible approach to questions of shared identity, are driving the older forensic sciences toward a new scientific paradigm.
authors.affiliation: College of Law, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. saks@asu.edu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Saks
authors.forename: Jonathan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Koehler
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000145:classification; D005104:Expert Testimony; D005544:Forecasting; D044707:Forensic Sciences / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D004247:DNA