NCJ Number
137702
Journal
Criminal Justice Research Bulletin Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 1-8
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Social science research can contribute to the decisionmaking of appellate courts, and social scientists can take an active role in communicating their research results to the courts for use in case decisions.
Abstract
The law is largely a normative or prescriptive discipline, and legal rules governing individuals derive from and explicitly promote a complex of political and social value judgments. The distinctively objective nature of science, including the social sciences, makes scientific research evidence potentially valuable to judicial decisionmaking. For social science research relating to legal issues, several avenues are available to foster more informed judicial use of such evidence. Perhaps the most effective mechanism is the amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief. This brief is a powerful vehicle that can be used by social scientists to alert appellate courts to the existence, strengths, and weaknesses of research evidence and to assist judges in making informed decisions about issues of legislative fact. At least one social science organization, the American Psychological Association, has made a concerted commitment to offer its members' expertise to courts through amicus curiae briefs. The use of social science research evidence by the U.S. Supreme Court is discussed. 49 references, 7 notes, and 2 tables