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In this case study of Buck v. Bell, Professor Alison Dundes Renteln discusses the problems that occur when legal decisions are based on bad science. Based on unquestioning support for the eugenics movement, in 1927 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an order to forcibly sterilize “feebleminded” people. Despite research that has cast doubt on this judgment of Carrie Buck’s intelligence, the court ruling has never been overturned.