379

Jurisprudence and

Legal Issues

roBert e. Barsley

thomas J. david

hasKell m. pitluCK

Contents
16.1 Legal Overview 3 79
16.1.1 Introduction 379
16.1.2 The American Legal System 380
16.1.2.1 Criminal Litigation 380
16.1.2.2 Civil Litigation 381
16.1.3 Court Systems 381
16.1.3.1 State Courts 381
16.1.3.2 Federal Courts 3 82
16.1.3.3 The U.S. Constitution 3 83
16.1.4 Court Decision Reporting Systems 3 83
16.2 Forensic Dentists and Criminal Litigation 3 84
16.2.1 Expert Witnesses 3 84
16.3 Forensic Dentists and Civil Litigation 3 85
16.3.1 The Civil Litigation Process 3 86
16.3.1.1 Dentists as Defendants 3 88
16.3.1.2 Dentists as Fact Witnesses 3 88
16.3.1.3 Dentists as Expert Witnesses 3 88
16.3.2 Standard of Care Litigation (Malpractice) 388
16.3.3 Personal Injury Litigation 3 89
16.3.4 Dentists as Expert Witness Defendants 390
16.4 Case Law 390
16.5 Conclusion 392
References 393

16.1 Legal Overview

16.1.1 Introduction

An understanding of the law and the functioning of the legal system is

essential for anyone who practices forensic dentistry. Inevitably, the opinion

16