Suchergebnisse

Recently, in the case of Kumho Tire Co v. Carmichael, the US Supreme Court revisited the seminal Daubert judgment, and the meaning of the Federal Rules of Evidence (1975) when considering the appropriate admissibility standard for non-scientific expert evidence in US federal courts. This article examines the Kumho decision in relation to the evolving US federal jurisprudence surrounding the admission and use of expert evidence. In particular, inter-related representations of law, science and engineering, the jury, expertise, and the social costs of litigation, derived from amicus curiae briefs and briefs submitted on behalf of each of the parties, are contrasted with the eventual judgment in an attempt to map some of the social contours informing the decision. As part of an ongoing contest, the case of Kumho is interpreted as the latest in a series of judgments generally favourable to corporate defendants aspiring to raise the standard for the admissibility of expert evidence through strategically adumbrated images of evidentiary reliability, concerns about jury competence, and the prevalence of so-called `junk science'.

The National Science Foundation provides support for basic social science research on law and legal institutions through the Law and Social Sciences Program. The primary emphasis of the program is on research that will enhance understanding of the nature and sources of variation in legal rules and institutions and their consequences. Proposals directed to developing methodologies for the social scientific study of law are also considered. Proposals concerning criminal aspects of the law will be considered if they relate primarily to theoretical questions in the social scientific study of the law. However, the central focus of the Law and Social Sciences Program is on noncriminal aspects of the legal system.Those who anticipate submitting proposals might keep in mind the broad concerns that are central to the program:1. The capacity of law, through statutes, administrative regulations, and court decisions, to affect individual and organizational behavior, its limitations in regulating action, conditions which enhance or diminish the impact of law, and the processes by which that impact is achieved or diminished.2. The use of alternative methods, both formal (legal) and informal (extra-legal), for dealing with disputes, and factors that contribute to the selection of the alternatives used.3. Change in the legal system, its causes and the processes by which it occurs, with particular emphasis on factors affecting the use of law as an instrument of social control.

Forensic Testimony: Science, Law and Expert Evidence-favored with an Honorable Mention in Law & Legal Studies at the Association of American Publishers' 2015 PROSE Awards-provides a clear and intuitive discussion of the legal presentation of expert testimony. The book delves into the effects, processes, and battles that occur in the presentation of opinion and scientific evidence by court-accepted forensic experts. It provides a timely review of the United States Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) regarding expert testimony, and includes a multi-disciplinary look at the strengths and weaknesses in forensic science courtroom testimony. The statutes and the effects of judicial uses (or non-use) of the FRE, Daubert, Kumho, and the 2009 NAS Report on Forensic Science are also included. The presentation expands to study case law, legal opinions, and studies on the reliability and pitfalls of forensic expertise in the US court system. This book is an essential reference for anyone preparing to give expert testimony of forensic evidence

This book applies the best of scientific decision-making practices and introduces the concept of risk management and its application in the structure of national security decisions. It examines the acquisition and utilization of all-source intelligence and addresses reaction and prevention strategies applicable to chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; agricultural terrorism; cyberterrorism; and other potential threats to our critical infrastructure. It discusses legal issues and illustrates the dispassionate analysis of our intelligence, law enforcement, and military operations and action.

"The relationships between law, science, and society are central to a diverse range of practical, ethical and theoretical issues. With an increasing emphasis on the fluidity and uncertainty of each of these areas, the analysis of their intersection(s) has become complex. This book examines the interface between studies of these topics from the socio-legal studies and science and technology studies (STS) perspectives. The scholars gathered here interrogate the joint roles of law and science in the construction and stabilization of socio-technical networks, objects, and standards, as well as their place in the production of contemporary social realities and subjectivities. Accordingly, scholars have borrowed from a range of disciplines and case studies to analyse not only how such intersections materialize, but also how and from where they should be approached. Knowledge, Technology and Law illustrates how these complex and multifaceted links between scientific knowledge, material artefacts, practices and identities can be charted. This volume presents original dialogues on this emerging field and will therefore be of great interest to those researching the intersections of law, science, and society"--