Monday, April 05, 2004

Brooklyn Law School's Journal of Law & Policy Launches Series on "Science for Judges"

The current issue of Brooklyn Law School's Journal of Law & Policy (vol. XII, no. 1) heralds the first installment in a series of issues on "Science for Judges." According to Prof. Margaret Berger's introductory piece:

These articles are a felicitous outgrowth of a grant from the Common Benefit Trust established in the Silicone Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation to hold a series of conferences at Brooklyn Law School for federal and state judges to discuss complex questions that arise at the intersection of science and the law. The programs, under the auspices of Brooklyn Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy, are being presented in collaboration with the Federal Judicial Center, the National Center of State Courts, and the Panel on Science, Law and Technology of the National Academy of Sciences.
The inaugural salvo includes the following articles, available for download at the link given above:

David L. Eaton, "Scientific Judgment and Toxic Torts -- a Primer in Toxicology for Judges and Lawyers"

Douglas L. Weed, "Causation: An Epidemiologic Perspective (in Five Parts)"
Thanks to the Blueblanket Blawg Review for alerting us to the news.
Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.