Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence: Third Edition

National Research Council, Federal Judicial Center, Policy and Global Affairs, Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, Committee on the Development of the Third Edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence

National Academies Press, Oct 26, 2011 - Political Science - 1034 pages

The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Third Edition, assists judges in managing cases involving complex scientific and technical evidence by describing the basic tenets of key scientific fields from which legal evidence is typically derived and by providing examples of cases in which that evidence has been used.

First published in 1994 by the Federal Judicial Center, the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence has been relied upon in the legal and academic communities and is often cited by various courts and others. Judges faced with disputes over the admissibility of scientific and technical evidence refer to the manual to help them better understand and evaluate the relevance, reliability and usefulness of the evidence being proffered. The manual is not intended to tell judges what is good science and what is not. Instead, it serves to help judges identify issues on which experts are likely to differ and to guide the inquiry of the court in seeking an informed resolution of the conflict.

The core of the manual consists of a series of chapters (reference guides) on various scientific topics, each authored by an expert in that field. The topics have been chosen by an oversight committee because of their complexity and frequency in litigation. Each chapter is intended to provide a general overview of the topic in lay terms, identifying issues that will be useful to judges and others in the legal profession. They are written for a non-technical audience and are not intended as exhaustive presentations of the topic. Rather, the chapters seek to provide judges with the basic information in an area of science, to allow them to have an informed conversation with the experts and attorneys.

Contents

• How Science WorksDavid Goodstein: 37
• Reference Guide on Forensic Identification ExpertisePaul C Giannelli Edward J Imwinkelried and Joseph L Peterson: 55
• Reference Guide on DNA Identification EvidenceDavid H Kaye and George Sensabaugh: 129
• Reference Guide on StatisticsDavid H Kaye and David A Freedman: 211
• Reference Guide on Multiple RegressionDaniel L Rubinfeld: 303
• Reference Guide on Survey ResearchShari Seidman Diamond: 359
• Reference Guide on Estimation of Economic DamagesMark A Allen Robert E Hall and Victoria A Lazear: 425
• Reference Guide on Exposure ScienceJoseph V Rodricks: 503
• Reference Guide on EpidemiologyMichael D Green D Michal Freedman and Leon Gordis: 549
• Reference Guide on ToxicologyBernard D Goldstein and Mary Sue Henifin: 633
• Reference Guide on Medical TestimonyJohn B Wong Lawrence O Gostin and Oscar A Cabrera: 687
• Reference Guide on NeuroscienceHenry T Greely and Anthony D Wagner: 747
• Reference Guide on Mental Health EvidencePaul S Appelbaum: 813
• Reference Guide on EngineeringChanning R Robertson John E Moalli and David L Black: 897
• Biographical Information of Committee and Staff: 961
• Index: 969

Bibliographic information

• Title: Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence: Third Edition
• Authors: National Research Council, Federal Judicial Center, Policy and Global Affairs, Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, Committee on the Development of the Third Edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: National Academies Press, 2011
• ISBN: 0309214211, 9780309214216
• Length: 1034 pages
• Subjects: Law / General; Political Science / Public Policy / Science & Technology Policy; Science / Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics; Social Science / Criminology