  There is now a rapidly growing body of experimental data relevant to the
question of whether the standard model CKM quark mixing matrix is a correct
description of \CP-violation as well as of non--\CP-violating flavor decay
processes. In the detailed comparisons with theoretical predictions that are
required to investigate this, a key challenge has been the representation of
non-statistical uncertainties, especially those arising in theoretical
calculations. The analytical procedures that have been used to date require
procedural value judgments on this matter that color the interpretation of the
quantitative results they produce. Differences arising from these value
judgments in the results obtained from the various global CKM fitting
techniques in the literature are of a scale comparable to those arising from
the other uncertainties in the input data and therefore cannot be ignored.
  We have developed techniques for studying and visualizing the sensitivity of
global CKM fits to non-statistical uncertainties and their parameterization, as
well as techniques for visual evaluation of the consistency of experimental and
theoretical inputs that minimize the implicit use of such value judgments,
while illuminating their effects. We present these techniques and the results
of such studies using recently updated theoretical and experimental inputs,
discuss their implications for the interpretation of global CKM fits, and
illustrate their possible future application as the uncertainties on the inputs
are improved over the next several years.
