By Sheila Jasanoff. 285 pp. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1995. $29.95. ISBN 0-674-79302-1.
To many physicians, science in the courtroom means trouble.Science, it is claimed, deals with objective facts and theorieswhose validity can be judged only by those with lengthy trainingin scientific method. Law, in contrast, involves rules and regulationsapplied by judges and juries almost always lacking competence— and often demonstrating striking incompetence —in evaluating scientific evidence. Putting science at the baris therefore an invitation to outrageous malpractice awards,to the testimony of charlatans who are taken seriously by juries,to the awarding of irrationally large damages in "toxic tort"cases in the absence of scientific . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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