Michael Saks

An article by Regents’ Professor Michael Saks, “Forensic Identification: From a Faith-Based ‘Science’ to a Scientific Science,” has been published in the April issue of Forensic Science International.

The article reviews the fundamental assumptions of forensic identification (“individualization”) science and notes the lack of empirical evidence or theory supporting its typical strong claims. Saks discusses three general research strategies for placing these fields on firmer scientific ground, and concludes by suggesting what forensic identification science experts can do while awaiting that scientific foundation.

Forensic Science International publishes original contributions in the many different scientific disciplines pertaining to the forensic sciences, including forensic pathology and histochemistry, chemistry, biochemistry and toxicology, biology, serology and psychiatry, as well as investigations of value to public health, and the important marginal area where science and medicine interact with the law.

To read Saks’ article, click here.

Saks is a Regents’ Professor of Law and Psychology, and a Faculty Fellow in the College of Law’s Center for Law, Science & Innovation. His research focuses on empirical studies of the legal system, especially decision-making, the behavior of the litigation system, and the law’s use of science. Saks is the fourth most-cited law-and-social-science scholar in the U.S., and has authored approximately 200 articles and books. Courses he has taught include criminal law, evidence, law and science, property and torts.