ABSTRACT
The issue raised by the National Academy of Sciences’ 2009 report [1] that bitemark evidence and other forms of pattern evidence have not been demonstrated to be scientifically reliable is discussed in depth elsewhere in this book. The present chapter points out what has long been the case: that our system of justice holds that, despite the fact that such evidence does not fall completely within the realm of “pure” science, if it is properly managed, it is a valuable tool toward arriving at judicial “truth.” The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the appropriate role of the forensic dentist as an expert witness in bitemark cases until such time as the courts rule that this form of evidence is inadmissible as a source of information for juries and other legal triers of fact.
