How reliable is a claim that a bullet is from a person's gun if the claim is made by a ballistic's expert?

Well granted my knowledge is from CSI:Miami, but I'm pretty sure they have to be pretty sure to testify to that. And that's kind of their job. Is this a situation where you know it wasn't the gun, but someone testified that it was? A little more info could help here.

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Originally Posted by sassysambol

How reliable is a claim that a bullet is from a person's gun if the claim is made by a ballistic's expert?

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Where I am if there is actually a qualified expert and all the testing was done and testified to - 100%.

The rifling inside a gun barrel is as unique as a fingerprint. This is what makes it possible to identify whether a bullet was fired from a specific gun. This is a science, not guesswork. However, depending on the damage to the bullet, an expert may have to make a guess on a partial ballistics match. This is generally solid forensics evidence.

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Originally Posted by sassysambol

How reliable is a claim that a bullet is from a person's gun if the claim is made by a ballistic's expert?

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Hello sassy:

If the "expert" remains an expert after he's taken apart by a good defense attorney, his testimony will be believed by BOTH a judge and a jury.

excon

Ballistics identification is a science, preformed under very strict conditions.

If the testimony is from a legitimate expert, the accuracy is all but fool proof.

Rifling is like fingerprints, there are no two guns with the exact pattern, so the expert testimony is VERY reliable.

I have read about two occasions over many years, where the experts (both State Police but different states) admitted to falsifying results. They did it to beef up up their reputaion for convictions. But except in these rare cases, the evidence is tough to dispute.