White coat syndrome is not unlike the CSI effect, which is an elevated expectation from juries of what real-life forensic science can deliver. The White coat syndrome is specific to DNA evidence and it is when laymen/jurists are overwhelmed by expert testimony involving DNA evidence. Due to a lack of complete understanding of DNA, juries place more importance on the DNA evidence than necessary or appropriate. This is a problem because unlike the CSI effect, which will lead jurists to acquit due to lack of overwhelming evidence like they see on TV shows, it causes jurists to be more likely to convict a defendant just because DNA evidence is presented at his/her trial. This is because jurists are not confident enough in their own knowledge of DNA based evidence to regard it as fallible, hence if they hear DNA evidence at a trial they assume it is unquestionably correct. Potentials for errors in DNA evidence such as laboratory errors or coincidental matches and statistical likelihoods are often disregarded by juries due to a belief that DNA evidence does not lie.
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Check out our entry on what the CSI effect is, and the possible implications in court
Tags: Add new tag, CSI, DNA, Evidence, Forensic, Forensic Science, trials, white coat syndrome
