Michael Saks

Regents’ Professor Michael Saks was quoted in the Nov. 19 edition of The Arizona Republic in an article, “Arizona crime labs need reform, experts say.”

While techniques for analyzing crime-scene evidence are more sophisticated today, oversight and standards for labs performing forensic science testing in Arizona and elsewhere have not, according to the article by reporter Dustin Gardiner. Top scientists believe that crime-lab work often is not based on sound science, Gardiner reported.

“Scientists and forensic scientists don’t really occupy the same intellectual world,” said Saks, a Faculty Fellow in the College of Law’s Center for Law, Science & Innovation, who testified before a National Academy of Sciences committee that produced a 2009 report which was critical of the forensic sciences. “The culture of science is not alive and well in crime laboratories.”

To read the full article, click here.

Saks’ 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. He is the fourth most-cited law-and-social-science scholar in the United States, and has authored approximately 200 articles and books. Courses Saks has taught include criminal law, evidence, law and science, property and torts.