Book Description

Forensic science is in crisis and at a cross-roads. Movies and television dramas depict forensic heroes with high-tech tools and dazzling intellects who-inside an hour, notwithstanding commercials-piece together past-event puzzles from crime scenes and autopsies. Likewise, Sherlock Holmes-the iconic fictional detective, and the invention of forensic doctor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-is held up as a paragon of forensic and scientific inspiration. Holmes does not "reason forward" as most people do, but "reasons backwards." Put more plainly, rather than learning the train of events and seeing whether the resultant clues match those events, Holmes determines what happened in the past by looking at the clues. Impressive and infalliable as this technique appears to be-it must be recognized that infallibility lies only in works of fiction. Reasoning backward does not work in real life; reality is far less tidy. In courtrooms everywhere, innocent people pay the price of life imitating art, of science following detective fiction. In particular, this book looks at the long and disastrous shadow cast by that icon of deductive reasoning, Sherlock Holmes. Key Features Expertly combines personal anecdote, scientific principles, career advice, and stories ripped from the headlines to provide insightful criticism of current forensic practices, Authored by a highly credentialed, medically trained forensic examiner with real-world experience and a proven track record of results, Written in an engaging, conversational style that exhibits wit, clarity, and insight into Common misconceptions held by practitioners, Lifts the veil on the "elephant in the room" in forensic inquiry-flawed logic in forensic practice and investigations, A must-read treatise for forensic science practitioners, students, judges, and lawyers Book jacket.