New Jersey on Thursday became the first state in the U.S. to bar expert testimony on "shaken baby syndrome" (SBS) from the courtroom when there is no other evidence of trauma.

In a 109-page opinion , a 6–1 majority of the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that there was no longer a consensus among relevant experts regarding whether shaking alone, without any other impact, could produce the trio of symptoms classically associated with SBS, now called "abusive head trauma" (AHT).

The landmark ruling follows several decades of intense debate and dozens of overturned convictions based on the diagnosis. The theory that whiplash from shaking could cause serious or fatal brain injuries in infants gained prominence in the 1970s, but its use in criminal prosecutions came under serious scrutiny start

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