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Scientific evidence is crucial in a burgeoning number of litigated cases, legislative enactments, regulatory decisions, and scholarly arguments. Evaluating Scientific Evidence explores the question of what counts as scientific knowledge, a question that has become a focus of heated courtroom and scholarly debate, not only in the United States, but in other common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Controversies are rife over what is permissible use of genetic information, whether chemical exposure causes disease, whether future dangerousness of violent or sexual offenders can be predicted, whether such time-honored methods of criminal identification (such as microscopic hair analysis, for example) have any better foundation than ancient divination rituals, among other important topics. This book examines the process of evaluating scientific evidence in both civil and criminal contexts, and explains how decisions by nonscientists that embody scientific knowledge can be improved.
Arousal in Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases focuses on the dysregulation of arousal found in many neurological and psychiatric disorders. Chapters describe the physiology of each process, how it presents in each disorder, and the most appropriate treatment(s). The book also imparts the understanding of the RAS as a system that not only modulates waking, but also survival mechanisms, such as fight vs. flight responses and other reflexes. This book helps neuroscientists, sleep researchers, neurologists and psychiatrists understand the basic mechanisms that modulate arousal in health and disease. In addition, it promotes therapies that can alter the severity and manifestation of multiple disorders. - Provides a comprehensive overview of the basic mechanisms behind dysregulation of arousal in neurological and psychiatric disorders - Describes, in detail, the function of the Reticular Activating System with respect to higher functions, motor control and the intertwining of arousal and motor disorders - Covers multiple neurological disorders, including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and autism
What does neuroscience tell us about voluntary movement? Why is the definition of “volition” so different from that of the legal definition of “intent”? Why are courts dismissing medically accepted mental health diagnoses? How can we draft better laws that are more scientifically based? What can recent advances in neuroscience tell us about the way we apply the law? This volume provides groundbreaking insights into the areas of scientific evidence and the intersection of neuroscience and law, and is the product of a collaboration by two experts in their respective fields. It is a primer for all those interested in neurolaw.
Forensic science evidence and expert witness testimony play an increasingly prominent role in modern criminal proceedings. Science produces powerful evidence of criminal offending, but has also courted controversy and sometimes contributed towards miscarriages of justice. The twenty-six articles and essays reproduced in this volume explore the theoretical foundations of modern scientific proof and critically consider the practical issues to which expert evidence gives rise in contemporary criminal trials. The essays are prefaced by a substantial new introduction which provides an overview and incisive commentary contextualising the key debates. The volume begins by placingforensic science in...
A nuanced justification of what types of diversity initiatives are most useful for corporations, and how they should be implemented.
Part autobiography, part thought piece, part references, the book takes an insightful look at the experience and cases of renowned paediatrician and forensic expert witness Dr. Charles Ferguson. The book presents the interaction of science and law as it applies, specifically, the Canadian courts, but the justice process as a whole. Dr. Ferguson’s experience—from a scientist and medical professional’s perspective—in dealing with lawyers, judges, and the process of testifying in numerous court—offers a unique glimpse into how the two worlds of science and law don’t always mesh. In some cases the evidence is compelling and definitive. In others, far from it. Ultimately, the book pre...
A study of the role of abductive inference in everyday argumentation and legal evidence Examines three areas in which abductive reasoning is especially important: medicine, science, and law. The reader is introduced to abduction and shown how it has evolved historically into the framework of conventional wisdom in logic. Discussions draw upon recent techniques used in artificial intelligence, particularly in the areas of multi-agent systems and plan recognition, to develop a dialogue model of explanation. Cases of causal explanations in law are analyzed using abductive reasoning, and all the components are finally brought together to build a new account of abductive reasoning. By clarifying the notion of abduction as a common and significant type of reasoning in everyday argumentation, Abductive Reasoning will be useful to scholars and students in many fields, including argumentation, computing and artificial intelligence, psychology and cognitive science, law, philosophy, linguistics, and speech communication and rhetoric.
This comprehensive Research Handbook is the first study to link law and Earth system science through the epistemic lens of the planetary boundaries framework. It critically examines the legal and governance aspects of the framework, considering not only each planetary boundary, but also a range of systemic issues, including the ability of law to keep us within the planetary boundaries’ safe operating space.
A shocking and deeply reported account of the persistent plague of institutional racism and junk forensic science in our criminal justice system, and its devastating effect on innocent lives After two three-year-old girls were raped and murdered in rural Mississippi, law enforcement pursued and convicted two innocent men: Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks. Together they spent a combined thirty years in prison before finally being exonerated in 2008. Meanwhile, the real killer remained free. The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist recounts the story of how the criminal justice system allowed this to happen, and of how two men, Dr. Steven Hayne and Dr. Michael West, built successful careers on ...
In the past few decades, economic analysis of law has been challenged by a growing body of experimental and empirical studies that attest to prevalent and systematic deviations from the assumptions of economic rationality. While the findings on bounded rationality and heuristics and biases were initially perceived as antithetical to standard economic and legal-economic analysis, over time they have been largely integrated into mainstream economic analysis, including economic analysis of law. Moreover, the impact of behavioral insights has long since transcended purely economic analysis of law: in recent years, the behavioral movement has become one of the most influential developments in leg...