Judging Science : Scientific Knowledge and the Federal Courts

by Kenneth R. Foster and Peter W. Huber

• ISBN13: 9780262561204
• ISBN10: 0262561204
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-30
• Publisher: Mit Pr

Summary

What is "scientific knowledge" and when is it reliable? These deceptively simple questions have been the source of endless controversy. In 1993, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling on the use of scientific evidence in federal courts. Federal judges may admit expert scientific evidence only if it merits the label "scientific knowledge." The testimony must be scientifically "reliable" and "valid." This book is organized around the criteria set out in the 1993 ruling. Following a general overview, the authors look at issues of fit-whether a plausible theory relates specific facts to the larger factual issues in contention; philosophical concepts such as the falsifiability of scientific claims; scientific error; reliability in science, particularly in fields such as epidemiology and toxicology; the meaning of "scientific validity"; peer review and the problem of boundary setting; and the risks of confusion and prejudice when presenting science to a jury. The book's conclusion attempts to reconcile the law's need for workable rules of evidence with the views of scientific validity and reliability that emerge from science and other disciplines.

Table of Contents

Scientific Knowledge	p. 1
Fit	p. 23
Testability and Falsification	p. 37
Errors in Science	p. 69
Reliability	p. 111
Scientific Validity	p. 137
Peer Review and the Scientific Community	p. 163
Prejudicing, Confusing, or Misleading the Jury	p. 207
Conclusion	p. 225
Bendectin in the Press: The Misreporting of Law and Science	p. 261
William Daubert et al v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (U.S. Supreme Court, 1993)	p. 277
William Daubert et al v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1995)	p. 293
Notes	p. 309
Index	p. 329
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.