The Prosecution View of Dental Evidence

TLDR: The legal position of the assailant who is to be examined to afford dental data is looked at, in so far as that position is crucially affected by passing through different stages from initial suspicion to arrest.

Abstract: This paper deals firstly with some of the more obvious considerations facing the Crown in Scotland in the preparation of a criminal prosecution in which dental evidence is material—liaison between Police, Procurator Fiscal, Dental Experts and other expert witnesses and preparation of reports and statements. It then looks at the legal position of the assailant who is to be examined to afford dental data, in so far as that position is crucially affected by passing through different stages from initial suspicion to arrest. It reviews some of the significant judicial decisions on this topic and offers an assessment of recent trends, including drawing some conclusions from the famous Hay Case in 1968.