Law Commons^™

Law & Science: Toward A Unified Field, Deborah Hussey Freeland

Deborah M. Hussey Freeland

To be relevant to the real world and to have a reasonable chance of producing fair outcomes, legal and political decisionmaking must take science into account. Scholars have been aware of this for over fifty years. The need for law to be informed by rigorous science is compelling, as we must make collective decisions that impact our sustainability and our humanity on a global scale. However, the field of Law & Science remains as fragmented now as it was a half-century ago. We have yet to find a reliable way to establish coherent interdisciplinary interaction that enables science to inform …

Speaking Science To Law, Deborah Hussey Freeland

Deborah M. Hussey Freeland

involving a strong scientific consensus, the powerful qualities of scientific knowledge are easily lost in translation. Moreover, even prominent scientists who are committed to providing accurate information to legal fact-finders may suffer reputational harm simply for participating in an adversarial process.

This article analyzes the connection between law and science through the expert witness from the perspectives of epistemology and cross-cultural communication, focusing on the distinct ways in which scientists and lawyers know, value and express their knowledge. When a lawyer meets with a scientific expert witness, more confusion attends their interaction than either likely realizes. Linguistic translation is necessary--but …

What Is A Lawyer? A Reconstruction Of The Lawyer As An Officer Of The Court, Deborah Hussey Freeland

Deborah M. Hussey Freeland

This paper engages with the central question in legal ethics concerning the lawyer's role, analyzing this fundamental question in terms of professional identity. Literature in this debate frames the lawyer either as a professional who exists entirely to serve her client (the "standard conception"), or as a professional whose primary duties are to the legal system. I reposit and examine the lawyer's professional identity as an officer of the court--an identity marginalized by those who favor the standard conception--noting that the phrase was coined to draw attention to a supplanting threat to legal professionalism. Providing a uniquely detailed examination of …

Maieusis Through A Gated Membrane: "Getting The Science Right" In Public Decisionmaking, Deborah Hussey Freeland

Deborah M. Hussey Freeland

Law meets science in a remarkable variety of contexts. While their interactions are often studied in particular contexts, general theories of their interaction are wanting. This paper presents a general model of an interface between law and science that identifies how their interaction must be structured to promote effective interdisciplinary collaboration, and then demonstrates how this model can be used to analyze problems as diverse as: a large-scale intergovernmental attempt at ecosystem restoration; and the effects of a method of science-based alternative dispute resolution on science and negotiated outcomes. In both cases, the model features of a properly functioning law-science …