Section 1833

Citation: Section 1833
Parent Document: Berry v. Chaplin, 74 Cal. App. 2d 652 (1946)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1946-05-27
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2616982/berry-v-chaplin/ ↗

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Ascertainment of the factual truth in the adjudication of any controversy is a consummation devoutly to be wished. Time was when the courts could rely only upon human testimony. But modern science brought new aids. The microscope, electricity, X-ray, psychology, psychiatry, chemistry and many other scientific means and instrumentalities have revised the judicial guessing game of the past into an institution approaching accuracy in portraying the truth as to the actual fact where, in the pursuit of which, scientific devices may be applied. The chemical tests for learning the presence of poisons in the blood stream, application of the Roentgen ray in defining the fracture of a bone, the use of the microscope in acquiring exact knowledge of the authorship of documents, of the presence of bacteria or of the prevalence of white corpuscles,--all argue eloquently for a reliance upon scientific devices for ascertaining the truth. If the courts do not utilize these unimpeachable methods for acquiring accurate knowledge of pertinent facts they will neglect the employment of available, potent agencies which serve to avoid miscarriages of justice.

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