What Researchers Need To Know About the Law and the Courts (From Use/Nonuse/Misuse of Applied Social Research in the Courts, 1980, P 74-81, Michael J Saks and Charles H Baron, ed. - See NCJ-75219)

• NCJ Number: 75226
• Author(s): S Breyer; P Chernoff; O W Ketcham
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Abt Books
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Lawyers and social scientists need to know much more about each other's disciplines than they do in order for social research to become a valuable commodity for the legal system.

Abstract

It is difficult for people who are held to different standards to communicate intellectually. Most trial judges do not feel that they are in the business of finding the ultimate truth, and the efforts by attorneys to win litigation should not be confused with the search for truth. Social science can be used to prove a fact, determine a question of law, or determine in administrative law if an action is reasonable. However, the quality of social science research varies according to the collection of data, the structure of the research, and advocacy of the administrators of the research. Judges need to acquire the expertise to handle these decisions. Social scientists are sometimes shocked that they do not receive the deference they think they deserve. Furthermore, until recently, the courts themselves resisted research on sentencing, and this has contributed to the rapid movement toward mandatory and presumptive sentencing. There is a great need for social scientists to have more interaction with the legal system and to learn how the courts actually operate. References are provided.