No Magic Wand

The Idealization of Science in Law

By (author) David S. Caudill, Lewis H. LaRue

Publication date:

29 June 2006

Length of book:

170 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742550223

Since 1993, Supreme Court precedent has asked judges to serve as gatekeepers to their expert witnesses, admitting only reliable scientific testimony. Lacking a strong background in science, however, some judges admit dubious scientific testimony packages by articulate practitioners, while others reject reliable evidence that is unreasonably portrayed as full of holes. Seeking a balance between undue deference and undeserved skepticism, Caudill and LaRue draw on the philosophy of science to help judges, juries, and advocates better understand its goals and limitations.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 1. What's the Problem?
Chapter 3 2. On Judges Who Are Too Strict
Chapter 4 3. On Judges Who Are Too Gullible
Chapter 5 4. The Idealizations of Legal Scholars
Chapter 6 5. Science is a Pragmatic Activity
Chapter 7 6. Science Studies for Law

Legal actors' understanding of how scientific knowledge is produced is a matter of immense and increasing importance in contemporary society. Caudill and LaRue make a significant contribution to this debate by drawing on science studies research as a prophylactic against the temptation to adopt idealized or "romantic," as they call them, images of scientific activity. No Magic Wand demonstrates that bringing a science studies perspective to bear on legal problems leads, not to meaningless relativism, but to a profoundly pragmatic approach to assessing the value of knowledge claims that invoke the mantle of science.