Black Robes, White Coats: The Puzzle of Judicial Policymaking and Scientific Evidence

by Rebecca C. Harris

Overview

Scientific evidence is commonplace in today's criminal trials. From hair and handwriting analysis to ink and DNA fingerprints, scientists have brought their world to bear on the justice system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813545646
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	09/18/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	367,834
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Rebecca C. Harris is an assistant professor of politics at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She is a public policy scholar with an emphasis on law and science.

Table of Contents

List of Tables vii Introduction 1
1 The Mystery of the Gatekeepers 7
2 Clues to Judicial Behavior 14
3 Forensic DNA: Law Enforcement in the Laboratory 36
4 Lie Detection: Victim of Law and Politics 68
5 Syndrome Evidence: Science Isn't Everything 105
6 Gatekeepers and the Politics of Knowledge 134
7 New Clues? Gatekeeping and the Twenty-first Century 143 Appendix A State Supreme Court Cases for Forensic DNA 165 Appendix B State Supreme Court Decisions for Polygraph Evidence 171 Appendix C State Supreme Court Decisions for Syndrome Evidence 177 Notes 181 Bibliography 183 Index 191